Page 67 of The Serpent Prince

She had been waiting for this moment for hours. She hoped her stone face revealed nothing.

Zadie crossed her arms and started pacing, shifting her gaze to Imani once in a while. Kiran looked relaxed and leaned casually against the wall, a small smile tugging at his mouth.

“To what do I owe the pleasure of your company at such an early hour?” Imani announced, not bothering to hide the irritation in her voice.

Kiran’s small smile widened into a serpentine grin. “Someone had a very busy, interesting morning yesterday,” he crooned.

“And what’s that supposed to mean?” Imani snapped.

“Both of you shut up,” Zadie said. “Ayla is missing. Her engagement ring was found in the woods near the labor camp, and people reported hearing screaming. She’s presumed dead.”

Dammit. Imani thought she had gotten the ring but must have left it. Still, Imani shrugged.

“So? That could’ve been done by anyone—anything. An animal attack of some kind.”

Zadie stared directly at Imani, ceasing her pacing. “Did you have a hand in this? Were you so jealous that you concocted a plan to murder her?”

Imani feigned innocence, placing a hand over her chest. “Please. Give me some credit, Zadie. I would never kill someone over something so petty.”

“So it was more serious. What did she threaten you with?” Zadie leaned over her in the bed.

Pulling back, Imani put some distance between them and glared. She debated lying, but she decided against it.

A snarl curled Imani’s lip. “She knew about my red brands. Threatened to tell the king. Told me he’d put me in a collection with the others for his ‘experiments.’”

Kiran strolled forward and brushed some of Imani’s tangled hair off her face, a wild look in his eyes. “I would never let that happen.”

“I don’t think you’d have a choice,” Imani muttered.

Silence fell.

Kiran took her face in his hands. He sounded hungry when he spoke next, almost in awe. “How did you do it, my darling? Did you draw it out? I should be more irritated with you—after all, I wasn’t done using the female—but you did me a favor by doing my dirty work for me. Admit you did it.”

A pause filled the room until Imani finally relented. Her nostrils flared as she narrowed her eyes up at both the witches. Then she threw up her arms in defeat. “Fine. I did it. Smashed her head into a tree, choked her out, and obliterated her body with my shadows.” Imani didn’t mention she had devoured her soul, as well. That was one secret she was keeping to herself for now.

Kiran’s hand stilled with his fingers threaded through her hair, and he closed his eyes. “You’re getting better at controlling the darkness. I would like to witness this magic at work like that someday.” He opened his eyes. They were wide with the promise of violence and something akin to obsession. “We need to find another person for you to kill.”

Zadie made a sound of disgust, snapping him out of it. “She’s ruining plans that have been in motion for years,” the nymph hissed.

Years? Imani desperately wanted to know what those plans were, but she couldn’t risk giving away her own.

Kiran widened his hands, along with his grin. “We’ll make new plans.”

“Well, we have an immediate problem with the dwarves. The royal family hasn’t been invited in decades. We can’t waste this opportunity,” she rasped in a harsh whisper.

Letting go of Imani, Kiran began pacing, like Zadie. “Hmm. This will be a tough one to spin with my father. He’ll be furious if this meeting doesn’t happen, and he was quite fond of Ayla, and her ability to gain him access to the Draswood.”

“Indeed. And Imani is the clear choice for a replacement, but the dwarves will be suspicious of you choosing another mate so quickly after the death of your first. It might seem inauthentic and too advantageous.”

This wasn’t going according to her plan. She needed to get into the dwarves’ library, and for that, she needed to replace Ayla as Kiran’s date.

Rubbing the stubble on his chin, Kiran furrowed his brow, clearly thinking hard about this predicament. Then his eyes snapped up to Zadie’s, shining, and bright, and smug. “We don’t bring her as my chosen mate. We bring her as my heartmate.”

Relief rippled through Imani, and she fought a sigh.

Fated mates trumped chosen mates any day. With her real father missing for years, Imani would know. If Kiran found his heartmate, any chosen mate would be moot.

Already, Zadie was shaking her head. “That will be far too difficult to fake. There’s no spell strong enough to withstand their disillusionment and the defense spells they will put you through to enter the city.”