that,” I whispered into her ebony curls, checking to make sure the artist’s ears hadn’t pricked. Hunched over his paint mixtures, he gave no sign that he could overhear our conversation.
Navara twisted in her chair to look at me. The princess truly was a beauty. The dusky-rose tinge of her full cheeks and lips complemented the richness of her dark eyes and hair. I’d never seen such an elegant chin either. If the artist did too fine a job rendering her into paint, I would ask for revisions. I would accuse him of endowing a young girl with sensual characteristics.
“Time will prove it,” Navara replied, facing forward again. Her fingers found a hard shape under the collar of her dress. The pale fabric couldn’t hide the brilliant red of her mother’s ruby necklace.
Ah. A small act of protest. She planned to hide it until the artist had already begun and we could not flinch for fear of ruining the tableau. How daring.
“In time, proof won’t matter.” I grasped the chain of her necklace. With one hard yank, I broke the clasp. Navara gasped.
By the gem’s weight and vibrant hue, I knew it would taste better and satisfy me longer than any I’d yet tasted. Making sure the artist was distracted, I set it on my tongue and took a bite. It felt like digging my teeth into a smooth, perfect strawberry. Unable to stop myself, I emitted a quiet moan of pleasure.
Navara stared, transfixed and horrified. I watched her through the slits in my eyes as I finished the decadent feast and licked my fingers.
The door opened. Damiatta peeked her head into the drawing room. I motioned her inside. She wore one of my more modest black gowns with elegant embellishments.
Father Peramati had underestimated Damiatta’s intelligence and potential. I would not make the same mistake. Already, the former altar girl had served me well, spreading the lie of the priest’s tumble down the stairs. Now he was a pile of ashes in the royal crypt. His quarters looked orderly and untouched.
“The king seems to be improving,” she said for Navara’s sake. “I just cleared his dinner. He says he wants to see his wife again.”
“Very well,” I said, knowing which wife she truly meant. “This may take some time, but I’ll visit him after.”
“There’s one other thing, Your Majesty.” She motioned me aside and we huddled in the corner. Navara sat still, clearly shaken.
“My contact in the Uprising told me that the sealed scroll is hidden at an edifice in a village—”
“Send soldiers to burn it,” I interrupted.
“The village?”
“The edifice.”
“The commander won’t allow that.”
“Then let him tell me so himself,” I hissed. “Draw up the command. Myron will sign it.”
She nodded and left the room.
Nexantius would have made me strike with more precision. But this morning, he had stepped away from my mind to confer with the other Fallen. Just like the last time he had departed, I still felt him anchored in my soul, though I was glad to be rid of his voice in my head for a short while. He would want me to personally retrieve the scroll and kill anyone who might have lain eyes on it. He had nearly convinced me to kill Navara until we learned she had no inkling of the scroll’s contents.
This quest to find the apocrypha was inconvenient and, frankly, mundane. According to Nexantius, it contained the truth about how to defeat the Fallen. But tracking it down had become a waste of time and resources, and it seemed to me that he was using it as an excuse to delay our plans for Valory.
I had already risked everything killing the priest. Burning the edifice would have to suffice.
I inspected my reflection in the mirror and experimented with different poses. My silver dress was a work of art in and of itself. The royal clothier had worked night and day, glaring at the tiny glass beads by flickering candle flame. The result was a fluid masterpiece that danced with fragments of light.
The silence in my head suddenly crackled like the charge before a bolt of lightning. Nexantius had returned.
Silimos is waiting, he said. The chasm vacated by the Water allowed her a passage into your world, but she needs a living vessel.
Does this mean—?
Silimos will trap your enemy Valory Braiosa, holding her hostage until she cares for no one and nothing…until she is a willing vessel. She will become callous, impassive, lazy, the worst queen this world has ever known. We