Chapter 37

Thorne

The Snake Queen’s palace was a labyrinth. I was reminded of Hanna’s stories about her sister’s time here. They had been full of humor, despite the dangers Honor and her men had experienced, and Hanna’s eyes had shone with admiration and warmth when she talked about them.

I wasn’t finding any part of my current experience funny.

I had been hunting for Ekardo, but he wasn’t in the dungeons. I hadn’t been able to catch a whisper about his whereabouts. I began to think he really had escaped the Snake Queen and was currently making his way to the most desolate parts of the continent.

And then I stumbled across the old hatchery.

This was where the Snake Queen had raised her monsters. Broken bits of eggs still crunched underfoot, and the scent—like a menagerie—still lingered in the air. But the enormous room was empty.

So it was true. Seraphine had stolen the Snake Queen’s army for herself.

I almost would’ve admired her, if she wasn’t trying to destroy Kaelan and by extension, Hanna.

Then I heard a soft hiss in the distance.

Curious, my hand went to the hilt of a sword I no longer carried, and grasped only air. I moved steadily toward it, my muscles tense and ready for a fight.

I turned the corner to find another wing of the hatchery. But here, in a few of the enormous metal nests, were a few eggs.

New monsters.

Aura was trying to rebuild her army.

And leaning over one of the nests was Ekardo. He pulled away with a disgusted expression across his face as a hiss came from the egg again; it was beginning to fracture, a long crack working its way down the egg.

“So how long is she going to leave you alive, now that you’ve done the work she needs?” I asked.

He jumped. When he saw me and registered who I was, he didn’t look any calmer.

“She’s going to keep me alive forever,” he muttered. “As a thrall.”

“It doesn’t have to be like that, Ekardo.” I stepped into the room, shells crunching underfoot. “We could be friends.”

He scoffed. “You’re no use to me. You can’t even do magic.”

There was no thin golden thread around his wrist. The Snake Queen had removed the chain long enough for me to contact Kaelan… and try to disrupt Seraphine’s plans for him… but she had bound me again.

“No, but you can. Right? Because otherwise, you’d be no use to the Snake Queen.” He needed magic in order to work the hatchery. I glanced around at the pulsating, enormous eggs. “Is this what you used to do for her? Until you ran away?”

“I can’t help you, Thorne.”

“I don’t need your help.” I scoffed.

Given my current captive status, he looked distinctly disbelieving.

But I didn’t matter right now. “I need you to help Kaelan.”

“How would I do that?”

I held up the crystal in my pocket. “I can send you to Alys.”

”Thorne.” The Snake Queen’s voice was always lovely, despite her tendency to hiss some of her words. I wasn’t sure if it was an affectation or a speech impediment, but I didn’t find it terrifying as I was sure I was meant to.

I turned to face the intruder.

The Snake Queen stood in the door, flanked by a pair of guards. Her gaze was fixed on me, a predator eyeing its cornered prey. It was strange to be on the receiving end of a look like that.

Ekardo made a strangled, terrified noise.

”Your Majesty,” I said, folding my hands behind my back. ”To what do I owe this unexpected pleasure?”

Her lips curved into a cold smile as she stepped forward, the hem of her gown whispering over the marble floor.

The guards remained silent statues, watching my every move with reptilian eyes.

”I enjoy your plotting, Thorne, when it’s directed toward my rebellious daughter. I don’t enjoy it so much when you’re plotting against me.”

“Ekardo and I are old friends,” I said. “I see you’ll soon have your own monsters to fight Seraphine’s.”

Her eyes blazed. “They are mine. And I will reclaim them soon.”

“And I will help,” I reminded her.

She was willing to work with me. To a point.

She smiled faintly. “Trying to manipulate me. I’d expect no less. But tell me, Thorne, when will you realize that your loyalty is a chain tighter than the one you’ve been trying to get off your wrist?”

The chain around my wrist always felt too tight, cutting into my circulation. I crossed my arms over my chest.

”Chains can be broken, Your Majesty,” I replied, ”and spells undone.”

“Perhaps,” she said. “And yet, I was the one to remove that chain from your wrist, wasn’t I? So you could try to help Kaelan fight my daughter?”

“You were indeed.”

“You’re too blinded by love to be able to see your way to outsmart me,” Seraphine told me, “or my daughter.”

She seemed proud of her daughter’s wily ways… even if she didn’t appreciate the attempt to topple her from the throne.

“Are you going to help me save Kaelan?” Unease scratched at my chest. I knew I couldn’t trust her, but I was sure a double cross was coming. “To keep Seraphine from taking the throne?”

“I said I would,” she said, which in no way improved my mood. “Do you think yourself a hero in her eyes, Thorne? Do you fancy yourself her savior?”

“I’m not a child. I don’t believe in heroes.”

She tilted her head, studying me with a dangerous glint in her gaze.

“Kill Ekardo,” she said abruptly. “I don’t need him.”

The guards moved toward Ekardo.

I turned and in one smooth move, threw the crystal toward him. “Think of Alys. You’ll be pulled to her.”

He didn’t catch it. Of course he didn’t. He fumbled to catch it in midair, and then it slammed into the marble floor. My breath caught in my throat, watching to see if my only salvation was about to burst into a thousand fragments.

But he was able to scoop it off the ground with trembling hands as the guards raced for him.

His wide, terrified gaze met mine as he gripped the crystal.

Just before the guards could seize him… he was gone.

And I was left behind with the Snake Queen.