“As have I.” Stolas’s breath caressed Haven’s neck. She’d almost forgotten he was behind her. “By chance, was this Demon Lord called the Prince of Ash?”
The queen managed to hide her surprise behind a saccharine smile. “Yes, although he introduced himself as Raziel Nightfell. I only learned of the peculiar nickname later.” Her smile deepened. “He made quite an impression on many in my court. If he had not insisted on leaving so soon, I fear he would have caused a severe disruption between my soldiers.”
It was impossible to miss the way the queen’s personal guard—the Valkyries in particular—grinned.
The queen cut a steely gaze toward Stolas. “How could you know such a thing?”
Stolas met Haven’s eyes as he said, “Because he gave that painting to my court along with a number of illicit items shortly before Morgryth’s betrayal.”
“How fortuitous,” the queen murmured. “The painting, not the betrayal.”
Stolas shifted his attention to the queen, staring for a heartbeat too long. “Indeed.”
A chill swept over Haven, raising goose bumps along her bare arms. “But the painting’s not in the castle, Stolas. It’s inside that . . . that thing.”
She wouldn’t say mirror, because whatever was locked away, fortified behind that spelled iron cage, was not a mirror. It was something else.
Something wrong. Not of this world.
A muscle flexed in Stolas’s sharp-edged jaw. “It was in my possession until a few days ago, although I didn’t know what it was at the time.” He released a ragged sigh. “What you saw inside that jade frame, Haven—that is the home of the Keeper.”
Surai sucked in a breath. “The blood augur from the Demon Lands? That’s who’s inside the mirror you nearly died trying to destroy? The one whose curse would have ended your life?”
Stolas’s eyelashes dipped as he nodded.
“Why is she called the Keeper?” Haven asked, knowing full well the answer would be awful.
And it was.
“Because when she tells you your future,” Surai whispered, as if the witch could hear them discussing her, “she takes something in return. Sometimes it’s a seemingly random object like a favorite necklace or the button off your shirt. Other times the price is your favorite child or a sliver of your soul.”
Haven frowned. “Can we enter through the mirror?”
Stolas shook his head. “The mirror is a one-sided portal that travels into our world. Only the Keeper can pass through from our side back to hers.”
“And where exactly is that?” Haven pressed.
“The Demon Realm.”
Just like that, Haven’s hopes turned to ash in her throat.
The queen tsked. “Only a fool would meddle with such forsaken creatures. They say she is the mistress to a powerful Demon Lord. That she has lived since the ancient times and is part demon, part something else. Tell me you only consulted with the demon witch that one instance, Prince Darkshade.”
“Twice.” Stolas’s voice was raw, eaten up with suppressed anguish.
A shudder coursed through Haven. “We know you gave the Keeper the painting. What was the price the first time?”
Agony darkened his eyes to pewter, and he answered softly, “A sum I could not pay. So she took something infinitely more precious in its stead.”
The way every muscle in his body seemed to tense and cord warned he didn’t want to discuss the event further. Not that they had time to delve into his past. Every second they wasted without a plan gave Archeron time to amass more of his forces around them.
“Tell me,” the queen said. “Besides the sentimental component, why do you seek this piece of art?”
Haven searched the queen’s eyes. She wasn’t sure what she was looking for, but whatever she saw convinced Haven the queen could be trusted with the truth. “Immortality. That is what I seek.”
“Ah. A Goddess-Born whose flesh wrinkles and decays in the blink of an eye does cause a bit of a problem.”
Haven reached out and clasped the queen’s hand. The cool flesh was flaked with dried blood. “If I succeed, can I count on your alliance?”
The queen’s guards rushed to stop Haven, but the queen called them off with a look. She stared down at Haven’s fingers over hers. When her gaze shifted up to Haven’s, her eyes were bright with emotion. “Tell me, how exactly did my daughter die?”
“She died saving me. I was surrounded by Gremwyrs and she fought them back so that I could escape.” She inhaled, breathing through the unexpected grief swelling her throat. “Because of her selfless bravery, I’m standing here today.”