A Queen of Gilded Horns (A River of Royal Blood #2) - Amanda Joy Page 0,77
to hurt her sister so much, and all it took was some gentle prodding from the Queen. Why wait for her to become stronger and steal your rightful seat on the throne?
How Isa had swelled, hearing those words. Now they made her feel sick. A stolen throne was a vile birthright.
If Eva found out Isa was fey, there would be no forgiveness.
Isa crossed the room and sat down on the edge of her bed. She folded her arms across her chest. “Is this why you came here? To argue as we usually do?”
Eva slowed her pacing and leaned against the wall. “No. I came for two reasons. First to ask you about the day in the healing chamber. I wondered what might’ve woken me up since you were the only one in the room. Did you notice anything?”
Isa’s awareness shifted; she was still staring back at her sister, but now she could feel the magickal connection between them, as firm as a rope around her waist.
Eva’s hand flew to her stomach, confusion plain on her face.
“I only noticed it when you were incapacitated. Some sort of effect of the Entwining, I think.” Isa thought if she could see the connection, it would’ve glowed like the ribbons of magick the Sorceryn had woven around them during the spell.
“I bet it would feel terrible”—Eva’s eyes narrowed and Isa felt that strange tugging around her midsection—“severing this. It’s almost as if they want this to be as painful as possible.”
“It will be terrible either way,” Isa muttered. “You said there was a second reason?”
“Oh, right. Lirra and Tavan have started packing their food stores since we are to leave soon. Would you like to help?”
Isa held up her wrists, still bound in the magick-dampening shackles. “In these?”
“I’d hoped you’d agree to the truce, so I brought this.” Eva held up a key that Isa recognized from when she was freed from her chains to bathe.
“And if I haven’t yet decided?” Isa asked when her sister approached.
“Then, I suppose,” Eva said, sliding the key into a slot on one side of the shackles, “this is temporary.”
Chapter 17
Aketo
Having only taken a few bites of breakfast earlier and after an hour of running back to Nbaltir, Aketo’s stomach ground against his spine, begging him to fill it.
But he shoved the hunger to the back of his mind, practically vibrating with impatience as Osir fiddled with the lock on the outer door hidden in the wall. At true speed, Osir, with his hooved feet, was just a bit faster than Aketo and had beaten him to the village.
His mind was a tangle, trying to decide how long it would take the Jackal and his soldiers to reach Orai and how soon they could depart. There was no way to know if the First General and the rest of the battalion were with them, which was a terrible prospect. In either event, they needed to get far from here.
As far as possible and quickly.
He didn’t realize he was muttering to himself until Osir’s gaze slid from the lock in his plate-size hand to stare in his direction. “All right there, Prince?”
He fought to maintain his usual calm. “Yes. Just thinking.”
A second later the lock clicked. With a murmured apology, Aketo shouldered past Osir and ran until he found Anali and Falun sharpening their weapons. His distress must have been apparent, because both followed.
“What did you see?”
Aketo shook his head; there was no time to explain. “Soldiers on the Plain.”
Not easily troubled, Anali sheathed the curved dagger in her hand. “Gather the guard,” she instructed Falun, and turned to Aketo, her salt-white eyes alight with fire. “Who?”
“Almar Mateen’s forces.”
Anali’s stunned silence meant she knew exactly who the Second General was.
They found Eva, Lirra, Tavan, and, most surprisingly, Isadore in the kitchens. Eva and Isa both sat at the gnarled wooden table in the center of the kitchen, while Lirra stood over them, overseeing them wrap up salted goat and fresh fruits in rough-spun cloth. Behind them, Tavan’s beak clicked happily as she stoked the fire of the massive clay stove at the back of the kitchen.
Eva’s smile slipped from her face as she took in his expression. “What happened?”
Aketo loosed a breath. “We saw soldiers on the Plain wearing masks.”
Eva cursed. Her right hand flexed, and twitched toward where she usually wore her sword, dread and panic flickering through her. Her eyes scanned the kitchen and Aketo would’ve sworn she was searching for a weapon.