A Queen of Gilded Horns (A River of Royal Blood #2) - Amanda Joy Page 0,55

ajar.

“What?” I snapped, unnerved by their silence.

Isa, still beside me, heaved a sigh. She pointed at the bed and shot back, “Eva, you are so thick. Look down.”

I did.

My feet floated a few inches above the bed.

Except, no, I wasn’t floating. I was hovering, bobbing slightly with every movement I made.

I felt them then. The muscles of my back straining as wings . . . my wings lifted me up into the air.

My . . . wings.

The moment I understood what was happening, and tried to keep my body aloft, I fell. I screamed as my knees crashed into the foot of the bed, reaching out blindly. Isa, standing closest, caught one of my arms.

She eased me back onto my bottom and drew even closer, green eyes glaring at me. “Calm down,” she ordered. “You’re fine.”

Before I could get out a word, Isa looked up at Aketo and Anali, and pointed at Lady Lirra and the khimaer fellow. “Get them out of here. You need to talk without an audience.”

When the door shut behind Lirra and the man I could only assume was another distant relative, Anali rounded on Isadore. “Away. Stand against the wall until I’m sure what we’ll do with you.”

“What?” Isa and I said together.

“Are you ready to swear you won’t harm your sister, Princess Isadore?” the Captain said, thumb stroking the hilt of her belt knife. Eyes white as salt bore into Isa’s, and to her credit, my sister did not shrink. Her chin lifted and her hands curled into fists.

“I—” Her eyes darted toward me. “I’m sorry, I can’t.”

“Apologizing now, are we?” I laughed, voice rising in pitch.

She backed away until she lay flush against the wall, arms folded across her chest. “I would not harm you while you are incapacitated, all right? That I can promise. Imagine the embarrassment.”

“Banran the Second?” I guessed. The third Queen in our line had earned her place by murdering her elder sister in her sleep. Despite a peaceful and fortuitous reign, because of her cowardice, history did not hold her in high regard.

Isa nodded, though her eyes didn’t meet mine. She must have forgotten about Banran when she decided to kidnap Aketo on my nameday.

I turned to my friends. My skin pebbled as the feathers of my wings brushed against the bed. I shivered violently, but shook my head when Aketo stepped forward. “What happened to me? I remember climbing and being pushed, but . . . what is this?”

“When you fell, you . . . shifted.” Aketo tugged at a tendril of hair that had escaped his braid. “You grew wings, but it was too late. When you hit the ground . . . we thought you were gone. That’s when those two showed up—your cousins, Lady Lirra and Osir. They had a healer inside. We had no other choice but to bring you in. Tavan, she’s another cousin of yours; she healed you right away, but then you didn’t stir for days . . . How did you wake up?”

I swallowed. I didn’t remember this transformation. I did recall reaching for magick and praying something would save me, while knowing neither blood nor marrow magick could save me from the fall. I must have lost consciousness in those final moments, because I would hope to remember growing great wings. “I have no idea. I just felt a pull and I . . . woke up.”

Isa, from her spot in the corner, shifted her weight and stared fixedly at the jars of salve on a nearby shelf.

I managed an awkward crawl to the edge of the bed and ignored Aketo’s outstretched hand as I slid off the edge. My knees buckled, but I stayed on my feet. The wings—my wings tucked against my back, the tips brushing the floor. It was dizzying, these new sensations of feathers against the wood floor. “Can someone send for the healer? Tavan, was it? I need a mirror.”

I shut my eyes, overwhelmed and slightly nauseated. Could I change back?

“What is this, Anali? Aketo?” I asked, gesturing behind my back.

“You should sit,” Anali chided.

“I am fine and I want to get used to being on my feet. We can’t stay here forever.” My eyes met Aketo’s. I hadn’t forgotten about his home and what we intended to do there.

My chest ached and sweat beaded on my lip. The air in here was warm and damp. “I want to move.”

I needed out of this room. Anali, Aketo, and Falun hesitated, but none stopped