Chapter 22 The Imposter
The Imposter
Iwas staring at myself, yet there was not a mirror in sight.
“What sorcery is this?”
The imposter tossed a cruel smile in my direction. “Pretty neat, eh?”
I threw the Serpent King a sharp glare, not amused by whatever was unfolding. He clapped his hands together again, and the woman began to morph into something else . . . no, someone else.
Her green eyes faded to a rich hazel color, and the imitation of my sharp nose went crooked.
Her black waves flowing past her curvy hips disappeared into a shaggy mess of blonde waves.
The red lipstick painted on her lips floated away on a phantom breeze to reveal thinner pink ones, and the imposter's jaw lost its heart shape, becoming chiseled and lined in a thin layer of stubble.
“Did you miss me?” The man flashed a dazzling smile in my direction.
“Evander?” My voice was a mere whisper as I gaped at my old friend, glancing between him and the Serpent King. “Someone better start explaining what is going on right this instant.”
The king gestured at the roguishly handsome male.“My second-in-command is a shapeshifter. He will sit on your throne while we are away, meaning your people won’t realize you were ever gone in the first place. He is one of the most talented, if not the best, shapeshifter of his kind.”
I stared at Evander in awe, all the while he puffed his chest from the king’s compliment and tossed me a prideful grin.
His smile was so innocent, making the void in my chest warm a little.
The man standing a mere few feet away was the only person I remotely came close to calling a friend in all my years.
I bit the inside of my cheek, starting to feel a torrent of emotions swirling inside me from simply gazing at Evander.
Curse these blasted feelings.
What was I thinking—that I could walk out of here and deal with all of this on my own?
I swallowed the ball of emotions gathering at the back of my throat, then met the king’s second-in-command’s captivating eyes.
“I see you never healed your crooked nose from when I broke it decades ago.”
He tipped his head back, an enchanting laugh overtaking him.
The sound wrapped around me like a warm blanket on a stormy night, making it easy to remember why I grew so fond of this man.
He had one of those laughs that was contagious, so much so I had to gnaw on my lip to stop myself from smiling as well.
“I kept it crooked so I’d never forget the day you brought me to my knees, even if it was because of agony and not for pleasure.” He tossed a wink at me, and this time I couldn’t stop my lips from twitching into a small smile.
Someone obnoxiously cleared their throat, stealing my attention away from the shapeshifter. My gaze snapped to the king, whose jaw was clenched as he glared at us.
I was about to sniff the air to see what emotion was spiraling off him, but a warm hand gently touched my arm, breaking me from my thoughts.
“Seera, I promise to guard your throne with my life. It is the least I can do after—after everything.” Evander rubbed the back of his neck, his eyes searching mine, almost like he was silently pleading for my forgiveness.
This time, I smelt the air to detect what Evander was feeling, and smoke quickly suffocated my lungs.
There was so much regret permeating around me since stepping back into Morotis . . .
“You better.” They were the only words I could choke out with Evander’s regret still lingering in my mouth.
My simple statement had his eyes softening as he nodded.
Emotion threatened to crawl up my throat as I stared back at Evander.
He was the only person that easily welcomed me into these lands nearly eighty years ago.
With him standing before me, I was more reminded once more of all I lost the night of the bargain—of the friendship I dreamed of, only to have it stolen away from me.
Another wave of emotions swarmed my chest like a hive of bees.
This was insufferable.
This was my own personal form of torture.
Monsters don’t deserve to feel.
I knew what I had to do, because there was only one choice if I wanted to never feel again.
Turning to the Serpent King, his intense eyes were already pinned on me.
Typical.
I looked down my nose at him. “I agree to work with you, but I must bring two people along on our journey.”
Subtle movement at the king’s side caught my attention, my gaze dipping to find his hand flexing against his leg. When I brought my eyes back to his face, the wicked smile he usually cast my way seemed a tad forced.
“Let me guess, you want to bring that boy you call your bodyguard?”
“His name is Landon, and I can assure you he is not a boy.” I shot a pointed glance at the Serpent King’s groin while smirking. The gesture awarded me the pleasure of seeing his cocky smile falter.
I made the menace flustered, which made me merely smile brighter. For a man that prided himself on always being put together, it was intoxicating to watch the Serpent King unravel before me.
A tense silence stirred through the air, the only sound was the king sucking his tongue between his teeth while he closed his eyes. When he opened them again, they were clear of all previous traces of irritation.
“And pray tell, who is this other person you’d like to bring on our deadly mission?”
“My lady-in-waiting,” I said, gesturing to my gown. “Unless you want to be the one to undress me every evening?” My smile took on a life of its own, reveling at the sight of the Serpent King’s eyes darkening.
He inhaled sharply, dropping his gaze to my gown, but then swiftly forcing his eyes away from my chest to fiddle with his diamond cufflinks.
It was in that moment I realized getting under the Serpent King’s skin was my new favorite form of torture.
“Well, I really must get back to my queendom, but I refuse to walk back down that beast of a mountain.” I tilted my head at the king in challenge. “Do you have enough magic left to port me back to Phantamos?”
He scoffed. “Easily.”
“Then do it.”
He tugged on the collar of his shirt, shaking his head. “Barking commands already, are we?”
A muffled cough interrupted our showdown, causing both of us to glare at the shifter, who had a hand against his mouth, like he was trying to smother a laugh.
“Do you have something to say, Evander?” the king said through gritted teeth.
Evander’s eyes darted between us with his lips pursed. He blew out a long breath, the hints of a smile still dancing upon his lips.
“You two will be lucky if you don’t destroy one another before even getting the chance to defeat the Ice Goddess.”
“I’ll play nice if you do,” the Serpent King shot back.
He prowled toward me, offering me his hand to shake on it.
He couldn’t be serious, could he?
As his hand dangled in the air, he looked me straight in the eyes.
Well, I guess we were doing this.
I took a deep breath. I could easily pretend—I’ve done it every day ruling as the Serpent Queen.
Two could play this game.
I arched a brow, smiling all the while as I shook his hand. He gave me a chilling smirk, squeezing my hand harder. I didn’t balk. Instead, I squeezed right back, giving the king my most cruel smile I reserved solely for executions.
We might both be pretending to play nice, but I had no intentions of upholding this fraudulent agreement. And based on the way the king was grinning at me, I doubted his words held any truth either.
As I stared into his cold eyes, I was already scheming how to make his life a living hell for the entirety of our journey.
Maybe this trip would be fun after all.