A Queen of Gilded Horns (A River of Royal Blood #2) - Amanda Joy Page 0,119

to his purpose to discover knowledge about the crown.” I glanced behind me, and found Baccha listening with a sober expression. “Baccha is by no means without flaw, but neither were the orders he was given. No, I don’t believe he should be punished.”

The Elderi began arguing among themselves. Ysai, apart from them, tipped her head in acknowledgment, though by the flat set of her lips, I could tell she did not agree with my conclusion.

Finally, Arsa broke apart from the others, palms pressed together as if in prayer. “We do not all agree, but I was given the task of assigning the trial, and it is up to my judgment whether you fail or pass this test.” She dipped at the waist, carmine eyes crinkling as she smiled. “And I say you pass.”

Arsa returned to her seat on Ysai’s right side. Finally, the young woman stood.

“Princess Eva,” Ysai began. “Since arriving, I have heard many stories about you. Of your magick and skill with a blade. Tales of deadliness. Nothing about this surprises me. Our ancestors fell to Raina’s cursed magick, but I will not accept a Queen who believes all her problems can be solved with a sword. For your third trial, I assign to you this: Solve the problem of your Rival Heir sister without killing.”

“What?” I gasped, then remembered myself. “Mother Ysai, how can I be expected to do that?”

“Killing is easy, clean, some would say.” Ysai inclined her head, nose wrinkling. “It’s much harder to seek a complex solution to your problems. I don’t doubt you could kill your sister with one swing of that sword at your waist. But this task is not meant to be easily done, Princess.”

Chapter 31

Eva

A week later, as Mother promised, they arrived.

Perched on the roof of what was once General Sareen’s manor, I watched the rows of tents that hadn’t been there last night. Thousands of soldiers blanketed the earth; from afar they looked like writhing ants.

When the scouts returned yesterday morning with news that two battalions of the Queen’s Army were marching up the mountain, Dthazi and Aketo had gone to sweep the mountains around Sher n’Cai, making sure everyone was inside.

I faced my friends’ grim expressions. Aketo, Anali, Falun, and Baccha had joined me on the roof and they at least deserved the truth. “A week ago my mother sent this.”

I handed Aketo the note. His eyes scanned it, and the look of betrayal in his eyes was a knife in my side. “You knew?”

“I didn’t tell you, because this problem is mine to solve,” I said. “Before you ask, yes, I’m going to agree to it. Don’t try to change my mind. I have to; this place would become a deathtrap in a siege.”

I’d already sent one of Mateen’s Jackals with a note, accepting my mother’s indicating I would meet them in the morning, and I hoped it would be enough to hold them off tonight. So far they seemed content to wait.

“What about the trial?” Aketo asked.

“What choice do I have? If I kill”—I swallowed back the bile rising in my throat—“Isa, I will be the True Heir, Elderi approval or not. But there’s another problem to consider. I’m not certain my mother will be content to leave this fight to me and Isa.”

I didn’t want to believe she would interfere, but considering what the Queen allowed to go on in the Enclosure, my understanding of which lines Lilith would or wouldn’t cross was no longer reliable.

“Baccha and Fal, I need your eyes on my mother. If it seems as though she is plotting to ensure only Isadore can walk away from our fight, it will be up to you to subdue her.” I turned to Aketo and Anali. “If I fall, I need you two to promise you won’t try to get revenge. Swear to me that you will help Dthazi get everyone into the caves.”

The cave network in the A’Nir offered the only slim chance of escape if everything went to hell tomorrow.

Anali bit her lip, but nodded.

Aketo, eyes unreadable, pulled me aside. “What are you planning, Eva?”

I rose up on the tips of my toes and kissed him thoroughly. “To keep you safe.”

* * *

Around midnight, I stood before a tall standing mirror, holding a candlestick in one hand. I pictured Isadore’s face in my mind’s eye. Her small mouth always twisted into a pout, her eyes of freshly trimmed grass.

I hadn’t ever attempted to shift my features, but it worked. I