Chapter 39

39

T ake me to the queen. I’ll distract her while you get Harp and the satchel. Then you open the portal and get them out no matter what it takes. All of them.

Tenebris spirited us inside the enormous room with its marble floors, arching stained glass windows, and ornately carved dais. We came in behind the two thrones, huddled behind the larger with its straight back of smooth obsidian stretching fifteen feet high, at least. Voices clamored loudly from the other side, their undertones simmering with anger and resentment.

“We should burn them!”

“A hanging!”

“Dismember them piece by piece.”

“Tar and feathers, just like the old days!”

Hoo boy. Not loving the torturous atmosphere. Especially seeing as how I was most likely part of the “them” they were all shouting about. Tenebris gripped my arm, his expression silently begging me to reconsider. But as much as I very much wanted to do just that, if we didn’t get that bean, it’d be more than just me facing the giants’ wrath. And I would gladly die a thousand deaths before I let them touch my Mariana.

“Silence.”

Calm and commanding, the voice bellowed from the throne in front of us as Queen Alba quieted them all with a single word. It hung in the air like a shroud before she continued. “You cry out for justice, but justice cannot be fulfilled while the dark one flits unrestrained about our kingdom.”

Tenebris tugged on my shoulder, mouthing the dark one with wide eyes when I glanced down at him. He pointed at his face. S he means me .

This was who I was entrusting Mariana’s safety with? Fucking hell.

“He and his werewolf lover have defiled our potions room with their fornication, destroying precious magics while doing so,” she continued.

Another tug. Oh my god, they were watching us? Tenebris mouthed. He wrinkled his nose before tilting his head to the side. That’s actually kind of hot.

And on that note…

I sucked in a fortifying breath, then dashed out from between the two thrones. My sudden appearance incited an uproar of deep voices all clamoring at once, but I blocked it all out while I sprinted headfirst through the startled crowd. A glance over my shoulder ensured the queen’s narrowed gaze was on me and not the hand sneaking around the side of her throne to grab the satchel there.

He’s got the bean. Now, all he needs to do is grab Harp, and they’ll all be safe.

And I was going to buy them time to do it.

Sliding between a pair of column-like legs, I made a beeline for the huge double doors as meaty paws reached for me from every angle. Luckily, while giants are impossibly strong, they were also relatively slow to react, allowing me to slam through the doors and out into the foyer. Sunlight shone through the colored-glass ceiling, painting the monstrosity of a room in streaks of pink, yellow, and green. Beyond the staircase’s balustrade loomed a vast expanse of empty air before the stairwell curved around to the other side, plunging farther and farther down to the floor below, where the front doors stood… open?

Hope flared deep in my chest.

Maybe I can make it.

I leaped onto the railing and began to slide.

The beanstalk’s gone—where would you even go?

Hulking figures filled the stairwell behind me, their shouts garnering the attention of the guards below. They slammed the butts of their spears against the marble as they filed up the stairwell to reach me.

Better to take my chances getting lost in the clouds than becoming the centerpiece of their celebratory feast.

A shriek split the air above me, and I almost fell from my perch on the railing.

“She’s gone,” a young voice wailed. “The bad people stole her.”

I leaped over a spear when it came swinging toward me, nimbly regaining my footing as I landed. Halfway down, you can do this. Vampires trump giants, always. Just stay focused.

Lightning flashed in a streak from the domed ceiling, a mass of gathering storm clouds blocking the sunlight, and a massive woman draped in a silky, white robe and wearing a jagged, gold crown snatched me mid-stride as she flew past, her sandaled-feet hitting the the foyer floor with earthshaking force. She held me up by my neck, her long fingers easily wrapping around it.

“You,” she boomed. “How dare you help the dark one steal the prince’s most treasured possession? After everything he’s been through. Filthy, bloodsucking thief.”

I clawed desperately at her thick fingers, rasping, “To be fair, the prince stole her first.”

“Lies,” the queen bellowed, her breath hitting my face with the strength of a building hurricane. “The girl was sold to us. Her father’s compensation was more than fair.”

“Human beings aren’t objects that can be bartered or sold,” I argued, struggling in vain to loosen her hold. “Both you and her father are in the wrong, not us.”

The queen’s eyes flashed dangerously, her hand squeezing just tight enough to make me see spots. “You would deny your thieving ways when that was the very reason you came to be here among us? I heard you and your friend chattering in anticipation of stealing our treasure.”

She kind of had me there.

Her remonstrations faded to a low buzz as reality folded in on itself, blanketing the room in darkness, but in my head, my feeble defense rang loud and clear.

I’d only wanted to find the perfect gift—the perfect gift for the perfect woman who wasn’t really perfect at all, but she was fucking perfect for me. She was the spark that fueled my laughter, the voice inside my dreams. She was the hero of every adventure I wanted to live. And she chose me. Loved me .

And I was so fucking grateful I’d gotten to see her one last time before I died.