Chapter 50 Serena
SERENA
The Pirate King’s heeled boot collides with the door, forcing it open with a loud crash. We spill into the foyer, herded by pirates holding cutlasses to our throats.
It’s all an act, of course. We know each of them by name. Have gotten drunk with them for the last week on our trip north. And now we’re performing with them.
“What a dump.” The Pirate King scans the hall, dusting off her hands and the remnants of blue powder she used to knock out the behemoth soldiers standing guard. “Knock, knock, anybody home?”
“ALIX!” Eaton’s shout echoes down the spacious torchlit hall.
The princess peels around the corner, her face shifting from confusion to ire. The two guards at her back draw their swords as she pops a dagger from her belt.
“How did you get past the guards?”
The Pirate King shrugs, drifting toward a concrete sculpture and trailing a finger along the surface. “They looked a bit tired, so we offered them a nap.”
“Get. Your hands. Off of that.” Alix glowers at her.
The Pirate King stops, cocking one hip and resting her elbows on the hilt of her sword. “I’ll be brief. Your little brother and his side squad ran into some trouble on the road. I ensured his safe passage back here.”
“Great. You want a medal?”
“I want compensation.”
Alix barks a laugh. “You’ve got some balls, barging in here, ransoming a prince of Hyrax and making demands in my home.”
“It’s only fair. Hand over the gold, and we can all walk away happy.”
“Alix, just do it,” Eaton says. “I promised her.”
“You promised to pay your kidnapper? Where is your backbone, Eaton?”
“I had to, Alix. Just do it, we had a deal.”
“Look at that. Your brother is a man of honor after all.”
If looks could kill, Eaton would be a pile of ash.
“Well. How much?” Alix bites.
Bronyn reaches into his pocket and hands her the wrinkled wanted flyer.
The Pirate King inspects her nails with indifference. “Triple that sum should do it.”
“Triple? We agreed on double!” Eaton bursts.
She shrugs a lean shoulder. “I’m running a business here.”
“Wait here,” Alix growls, before disappearing around the corner.
The Pirate King scuffs her heels as she meanders through the foyer. “This place is hideous,” she says appreciatively.
Alix returns with another guard holding two large sacks. He dumps them at the pirates’ feet, a few coins spilling out onto the cold stone floor.
“There’s your ransom. Take it and get out before I change my mind.”
“Gladly.” The Pirate King removes her hat, crosses it over her chest, and bends to her outstretched leg in a low, graceful bow. “Pleasure working with you. Let’s do it again sometime.”
With a snap of her fingers, we’re released. She’s almost to the door when Kai slides in front of her.
“Princeling. You’re in my way.”
“I’ll see you again.”
“Not if I can help it.”
Kai breaks into an elusive smile, lifting her hand to his lips. She takes a step closer.
“Move.”
“Oh, yes.” He nods, a glint in his ocean eyes. “I’ll most definitely see you again.”
“Steal from me again or show your face in Bleakwater Bay and I won’t be so forgiving.”
“Is that a threat or a promise?”
“A warning.” She closes the gap between them, trailing her finger down his torso to snag on his belt. “And here’s a little something to remember me by.”
Kai doubles over as she thrusts her fist into his groin.
“Hah. And they said you were big. Disappointing.” She sucks in a breath through her teeth, shaking her head. “Let’s go.”
Kai watches her leave, his face a mask of wild surprise.
“Pirates, Eaton? Really? Do you have any idea how much I had to pay her?”
“Oh, relax, it’s not like we can’t afford it.”
“That isn’t the point. I am sick of always having to bail you out of your little shit traps. What is going on?”
“It’s been a long week, Alix, maybe you can save the shrill tones for breakfast and give me a night to rest.”
“That’s it? That’s all you have to say?!” She tosses a beseeching look at Zadyn, but he drops his gaze to the floor. A bitter laugh leaves her as Eaton leads us away.
“Thank you,” I say as I pass, earning her razor-sharp glare. “For bailing us out. We owe you.”
Not deigning to answer, she gives me a harsh once-over and spins on her heel to stomp away.
The grimoire sits in my lap, buzzing with energy as I thumb through pages of age-old charms, enchantments, and potions, wondering who wrote them. Some entries appear in a coded language, but others adapt to my eyes, translating themselves for me to better understand.
“Good read?”
Zadyn strides into our room, unbuckling the belt of weapons at his hip. My eyes track him as he carelessly tosses it onto the daybed and peels off his jacket. He catches me watching, and I quickly look back to the book.
“Best nonfiction I ever had.”
He chuckles, leaning against the bedpost as he rolls up his sleeves. Which shouldn’t be as hot as it is.
“There’s so much in here. Half of it I don’t even understand, but it makes me feel connected to my ancestors in a weird way.” I close the book, setting it on the bed beside me.
Zadyn’s brow creases. “You said the book and the mirrors spoke to you. What did they say?”
I sigh. “Nothing, it’s dumb.”
“Come on,” he says, sinking down beside me. I shake my head. “Fine. A question for a question.”
“You want to play the question game?”
“Why not? I’ll let you ask me anything.”
“Really? Anything at all?” I give him a wicked look.
“Anything within reason.” He rolls his eyes. “Now spill.”
“They called me—” Zadyn slides closer. “Queen. They called me queen.”
He goes still.
“It’s stupid, I know.”
“No, it’s not.”
“What are you thinking?”
“I’m thinking you need to take this a little more seriously. You’ve got magical objects calling you queen—Arden herself said the same thing. These things have weight.”
“Zadyn, I’m no queen.”
“You really don’t see it, do you?”
“What?”
“The kind of power you hold—the things you represent.” His thumb brushes over my cheek, light as a whisper. “The effect you have on people.”
I laugh even though I don’t find the notion of me being the rightful queen of Solterre funny. At all. I can just file that along with the list of absurdities that have recently been proven true and call it a day.
“My turn,” I announce. “Why did you stop me from killing Mal when I had the chance?”
Zadyn sighs. “Trust me, his days are numbered.”
“Then why stop me? He would have been one less thing to worry about.”
“We didn’t have much time, and I needed to heal you. And honestly, I didn’t want you to have to feel everything that comes with taking a life. I know you. The guilt would have eaten you alive.”
“I’ve killed before, Zadyn.”
“The Stryga don’t count. They’re undead. Taking a person’s life is different.”
“You’ve done it.”
He shifts on the bed, his hand falling from my face. “Do you hear yourself right now? Yes, I have done it. When I was left with no other choice. Which is why I intend to protect you from doing the same.”
“Do you hear yourself? You sound so self-righteous. I don’t need you to protect me from anything. He needs to be dealt with one way or another.”
“And I intend to deal with him,” Zadyn claims. “Thoroughly.”
“No, I want to deal with him. He’s mine. That traitor almost killed Kai.”
He would have killed me if Kylian hadn’t stopped him. I still remember the murderous glint in his eye after I tried to peel Ilspeth’s face from her skull.
There’s a light tease in Zadyn’s voice as he says, “So I should just lie back and let you loose on the world?”
“Maybe then we could get some things accomplished.”
“You’re not a killer.”
“I will be before this is all over.” I run my fingers over the fur throw. “War is coming. I’ll do whatever it takes to protect the people I love.”
“That’s my job. And I don’t care if you want my protection or not, Serena. Because you have it. And I am going to do my best to ensure you don’t ever have to do anything you’ll regret.”
“Worried I won’t make it to heaven?”
“Not really.” He shrugs. “Heaven or hell, wherever you go, I’m going too.”
His words pluck one of my heartstrings. I can feel it vibrating throughout my entire body.
“You can’t stop me, you know,” I whisper.
“You don’t think so?” He gives me an arch look before launching forward, attacking my sides with jabbing pokes. “Huh, Chair Girl?”
“No!” I squeal, attempting to shove his hands away. I finally get a hold of his wrists and force him to look at me. He shakes his head, one dimple popping as he gives me that boyish smirk.
“I’m not afraid of you.”
“You should be.” My words hang in the air like a smoke ring. I drop my voice. “I wanted him dead. I wanted to watch the life leave his eyes as I choked it out of him. Maybe I’m more like Kylian than I originally thought.”
He reaches out to pinch my chin between his thumb and forefinger.
“You are nothing like him. Don’t ever say that.”
I can hear my heart pounding inside my chest as his eyes burn into mine. His hand drifts down my neck. I’m practically panting when he slides his finger beneath my locket.
“Where did you get this?”
“From him.”
“Kylian?”
I nod, my entire body tensing and eager with him this close.
“And you kept it?” A dip appears between his brows. The air cools as he drops the necklace and pushes back from me a bit.
“I thought it might be useful somehow.” I open my mouth to explain, but with no words to justify my actions, I seal it shut again.
He nods, quietly contemplating something, but he doesn’t ask me to extrapolate. Sometimes I find myself dying to know what’s going on in his head beyond the unspoken words he occasionally shares with me.
The wind howls outside the window, breaking the moment’s spell.
“It’s getting late. I’m gonna get ready for bed.” The air is still thick as I slide off the bed and head toward the bathroom to change.