Wonderful, Ashwood. Why don’t you threaten him just to ensure any chance of an alliance is well and truly dead.
But her threat was real. She would come back if she had to, and the feathering of his jaw said he knew it.
“You would risk everything for a mere creature?” Eros prodded, that sharp curiosity on full display.
A breath slid from her throat. “I would.”
Eros finally blinked. Then the expression on his face went from some nameless emotion to . . . to awe, and it was her turn to blink as, one by one, every person in his retinue dropped to their knees and lowered their heads.
The princess whined about the muck until Neri gave the girl a stern look that could make Sun Lords cower, and then queen and princess joined the rest.
Bowing—they were bowing. The entire royal family and trusted courtiers, even the royal guard. Their fine silk capes and linen pants were soiled in the muddy sand. Their eyes downcast, hands clasped together as if praying.
“I know mortals are strange,” Xandrian murmured behind her, “but what in the Goddess’s name are they doing?”
“Paying fealty to their one true Goddess-Born,” Stolas answered.
And it was only then that she allowed herself to believe what she was witnessing.
To hope.
Swallowing, she looked to Eros. “I don’t understand. I failed your test.”
Eros rose, mud and water darkening his seafoam colored cape, and met her questioning stare. “There was no ancient artifact to retrieve.”
“I don’t—you lied?”
“Lie is a strong word. That cave did harbor the magickal jewels I mentioned, but I retrieved them the first day I arrived in Veserack.” His eyes softened as they darted to the cave above before returning to her. “We were incredibly lucky, and the sea orc was out hunting. Her dragonets had yet to hatch.”
“Then why send me in there at all? You knew I would have to fight. You knew—”
“He wasn’t testing your ability to retrieve the artifact,” Stolas informed her, and there was a begrudging respect in his voice. “He was testing you.”
Eros stepped forward, his boots squelching in the wet sand. “I’ve known from the moment you entered my throne room that you were descended from the Goddess. When you’ve been around runecasters long enough, you recognize power, and yours is like nothing I’ve ever felt. What I didn’t know is if you were capable of mercy.”
Surprise made her voice come out sharper than intended. “Since when do mortal kings care about trivial things such as mercy?”
“I needed to know if allying with you would just be trading one monster for another.”
One monster for another. She remembered his version of the prophecy, how her path could branch off toward the light—or into the darkness.
If she had been him, she might have done the same.
“So by sparing the dragon . . .” She waited, forcing him to say the words aloud. To make it real.
“You passed the test,” he confirmed. “And earned the absolute allegiance of the kingdoms of the Broken Three. We are yours. Our armies. Our cities. My palace. For as long as I sit on the throne, Goddess-Born, we swear an oath of obedience to you.”
This wasn’t just an alliance. No. As full understanding dawned, a shiver ran through her.
King Eros had just given her full command of the Broken Three.
26
It was late when they returned to the city so they stayed a final night, despite Haven’s protests that she was perfectly fine to travel. Now that they’d accomplished their task—and then some—her thoughts veered back to Shadoria and their people. Even after a gloriously hot bath, she tossed and turned in her bed, worrying.
The few times she slipped into her dreams, they were nightmarish. A horrifying repeat of Archeron’s spelled visions replaying in her head. Every detail remained. Her senses overloaded with the scent of blood, the sound of screams, the taste of ash and destruction in the air.
At the first sign of the dawn creeping over the ivory floor, she shot up, dressed, and dragged herself to the king’s personal dining balcony overlooking the port city.
A sleepy attendant let her by. The city was just waking up, and the squawk of gulls mixed with the calls of fisherman and captains, the occasional ship’s horn, made her smile.
It was still dark enough that runelight sconces flickered over the white and gold-veined marble table, their soft glow gliding over the handsome face of her companion—King Eros.
He didn’t appear surprised to see her as he swept his arm out, calling her