Page 126 of The Serpent Prince

Kiran wasn’t to be deterred, though, and with his wand in his hand, he conjured a set of shackles from thin air. Seconds later, Imani felt the cold metal against her skin and heard the locks click into place.

In shock, Imani gaped at her hands. “What is this?” She could barely choke the words out.

Pacing, he shoved his hands through his hair. “I didn’t want to, but you forced me. I can’t let you leave. I need your magic for our cause—and potentially heirs in the future—so I can’t have you going back to Essenheim.”

The trembling started in her hands and spread through her limbs as she stared at him in horror. “You think these can keep me here? You think you can breed me to give you little Eldritch babies?” Her voice was barely above a whisper. “You didn’t even bother to take my wand.”

“It can do nothing against cerulean steel—the only metal impervious to Draswood.”

“It seems you’ve thought of everything then,” she murmured. “My grandmother once told me you were far worse than she’d ever imagined. I don’t even think she knew the half of it.”

“Your grandmother was a nasty piece of work whose only real contribution to this world was saving and protecting you,” he snarled.

“On that, we agree. But there’s just one snag in your brilliant plan.”

The Niflheim king froze when Imani let the Drasil slip from the sleeve of her dress into her hand. Those green and black eyes narrowed on it for a moment, but he didn’t say a word as she flicked her wrist twice with the Drasil, slicing through the metal like it was nothing.

Imani rubbed the raw skin where the sigil was still healing and sighed. Her shadows began darkening the room as she prepared to fight to leave.

“How the fuck did you do that?” Voice low, Kiran barely unclenched his teeth with those words.

“I suppose you’re not as smart as you think you are, but nice try attempting to lock me up.” Imani pointed the wand at him. “I’ll be leaving now, and I promise you won’t like what happens if you follow me.”

The king didn’t try to stop her.

As she threw him one last look, what she saw made her shiver.

A razor-sharp smile beamed at her, and the promise of violence seeped from the depths of his eyes.

“There’s no way for you to leave this castle without my permission,” he called after her, cackling like his words were the most amusing he’d ever heard, yet he still didn’t make a move to follow her.

He was wrong. Oh, he had wards and shields to keep her inside, but it would be the second time the previously infallible prince had underestimated her.

It was then that she decided Kiran wouldn’t accept the forgiveness and teamwork like she’d thought possible. She knew without a doubt he believed taking control of Essenheim—alone—would solve their magic problems.

He was wrong.

He was not thinking big enough, and she couldn’t have him ruining her plans.

Indeed, tonight, the real game would begin. And this time, Kiran would be on the back foot.

In fact, she was counting on it.

Imani’s boots clicked on the stone floor with her short, rapid steps as she turned into the closest room she could find. She just needed a little bit of time alone before he found her again.

Inside, she was surprised to see it was the throne room. It was deserted. Of course, only the king could give a person permission to enter.

Heartmates were immune to this rule, it seemed. She stomped forward toward the throne and glared at it, but then she felt an unmistakable calm wash over her. The air in the room had shifted from hostile to welcoming in seconds. It buzzed quietly, vibrating in what felt like pleasure.

The magical gifts from the crown and the throne supposedly marked each relic as innate enemies—one gifting the monarch destructive magic, the other with creation magic—and yet, when the two objects were in the same room, it was obvious they both complemented each other. How long had it been since the throne and the crown were together?

The wood of the Drasil pulsed with a faint power in her hand, as if it, too, felt at ease and was waking up for the magic she was about to do.

Despite reading about the spell a thousand times, actually performing it terrified her. But, once again, Kiran had left her no choice.

Zadie had been right; staying here was madness. The new king would continue using her and using her until there was nothing left but a shell, draining her magic, sucking her life force, breeding her. Imani mentally kicked herself for having let her feelings run wild with him. If she hadn’t had the Drasil, there would be no chance for her to escape. Kiran had truly thought of everything, except that Zadie had also seen this coming and had betrayed him to warn her.

Worst of all, Kiran simply didn’t care about the consequences of what this would do to Imani. He obviously didn’t give a shit about her feelings in this situation and considered her a non-threat with zero power.