Page 129 of The Shrouded Queen
I was right, then. My blood had proven I was not the queen.
But I wasn’t scared. “You won’t kill me,” I said. Perhaps foolishly, but I couldn’t help thinking this was the second time he’d threatened to kill me in as many days, and if he’d really wanted to, I would already be dead.
His eyes bored into mine, trying to make me burst into flames with just a look. I held my ground, not even blinking.
Then his lips quirked up in a menacing grin. “You’re right. I’ll let Phadar do it instead.” Just as quickly as he’d seized me, he dropped his hands. I drew in a shuddering breath.
“I’m going to say something to you that no one has ever said to you before, Majesty.” He leaned in, getting right in my face. “You’re on your own.” He waited a beat, letting that sink in, before he turned and kept walking.
I stared at his back, heart thundering. I’d always been on my own. But that was going to change when I died. Whether I ended up in the Paradise Fields or the Trench, I wouldn’t be alone. But if I died out here and my qareen managed to get free, there was no way I’d make it to the Paradise Fields. Shaya wouldn’t hear a word of my pleading. I’d be responsible for whatever horrors my qareen carried out, and there would be no chance for my redemption. Not to mention if Rade died out here because of me—
My spiraling thoughts froze as my mind caught on one word Keir had said. One very important, very specific word.
Majesty.
He still thought I was Amunet.
“You don’t know,” I yelled. Keir was already several feet away. He didn’t stop. I called louder, “Whatever you tasted in my blood, you don’t know all of it. There’s more!”
He froze without facing me.
I licked my dry lips and dared to approach. “I’ll tell you.”
Keir turned, body wound tight. His yellow eyes narrowed, tracking my every step.
I stopped a foot away from him. “I want to find Rade, too. But who knows how long he’s been out there on his own? He’ll need water, food—if we just charge out there, we won’t do him any good. We need a plan. So I will tell you the truth.” I fixed him with a stare. “If you continue to uphold the order you were given.”
“And what order was that?”
“To protect me.”
His brows lowered.
“Rade ordered you to guard me that first day. Swear that you will until we kill my qareen.”
“Let me get this straight. Your bargain is to tell me what I’ve already figured out in exchange for helping you continue to deceive my king.”
“You haven’t figured anything out.”
“I know you don’t have any magic.” Keir’s eyes glittered triumphantly. “You’re mortal, Majesty. Chosen by no god. You’ve put all of my people in danger—”
“Like I said”—I crossed my arms over my chest—“you haven’t figured anything out.”
He scanned me from head to toe, and I could see the calculations in his eyes. Trying to figure out what other lies I had told, what else he needed to know to keep his king safe. “New deal,” he countered. “Tell me now, and if I believe you, then I’ll help you.”
“No.”
“Have it your way.” He turned to leave again.
“Kill me,” I blurted, and he stopped. “When it’s all over, execute me in whatever way you like. Gut me with your dagger, behead me, hang me. I won’t fight you or even speak a word in my defense.”Because I’ll already be bleeding out of my wrists by then. “But help me now. For Rade.”
Keir studied me a moment longer, a muscle in his jaw flexing furiously under his runes. But I saw the decision in his eyes before he snapped, “Fine.” He brushed past me as he returned to the temple.
I gazed after him, breathing hard with relief and anger, eyes drifting to the horizon again.
There was nothing within those heat waves. No indication that it was the right way to go. But that strange feeling stirred in my chest, drawing my attention beyond the crumbling temple.
Stuck in a deserted wasteland with Keir was about as bad as it could get. I’d spent the last month doing everything for the Gods-Chosen, but if these were my last moments, hours, days in this world, I would use them to do what I could for Kaldfold, for Rade.
