“The moon is rising, and I haven’t even slept.” I sigh. “I’ll get the tea.” I retreat inside the wagon, wondering why even the king won’t enter it, and pour him a cup. Then I return to his side, handing him the steaming hot mug. He turns his face toward the first silver light until his eyes gleam and the stone around his neck winks. And that’s when I feel it,magiccoming off him in ripples that dance across my skin. Jaqual has real power, a power I don’t fully understand. Power that feels different from the witches of Dimhollow’s or the dark elves’s. This is something I haven’t encountered before.
“What are you?” I ask in a whisper. I can’t help myself. The cool morning air on my cheeks makes me feel alert, vibrant, reflective. Jaqual is a mystery I need to solve.
“The king of the Rivertoads,” he answers evasively. “I thought we settled that earlier tonight.”
“Something more, though. That amulet around your neck winks occasionally. I don’t think it’s a trick of the light, as you’ve said. I think it’s enchanted. What is its purpose?”
He narrows his eyes on me, like he’s trying to see into my soul. “It helps me see through lies,” he admits forcefully. “Now, I have revealed who I am,Velis.Will you reveal your true identity—or make me use my abilities on you?”
Oh. He knows about my illusion. But how much? Only that I am not who I say I am? Or can he see right through my spell? I swallow hard, not knowing where to begin. “I’d prefer if my brother and cousin were here. This conversation won’t be an easy one.”
He snorts. “The two men traveling with you are no more your brother and cousin than they are from Covellton.”
“Why are you here, Jaqual, when you promised to speak with them tonight about the price of your mercenaries?”
“I sent them a mercenary to inform them about our mercenaries. They don’t need me for that conversation. Why did you think I’d want to discuss anything with them? I don’t know them. I don’t know you, to be sure, but at least you’ve attempted a relationship.”
“I’m sorry about that. I?—”
“Stop apologizing for your compatriots and tell me who you are and what you want from us.”
I look down at myself and then at his amulet, which winks again. “You can see through my illusion, can’t you?”
His violet eyes twinkle. “Beautiful red hair. I’d love to see it without the haze of your magic getting in the way.”
I see no benefit in prolonging the game and draw back my magical representation of Velis, although I keep Damien’s and Warbill’s up. I lift my chin and straighten my spine. “I am Eloise Hymir, rightful queen of Stygarde. It is my great pleasure to make your acquaintance, King Jaqual.” I offer him a slight curtsy.
A smile spreads slowly across his lips. “Holy goddess in the Darklands. Hymir? You have already wed the resurrected prince?”
“We are wed and mated. Damien is alive and well, the rightful heir to the throne.”
“All this time, New Stygarde has been needling me for any information about your whereabouts, and you’ve been here, right under my nose.”
“We need your help to take back this kingdom. Join us, Jaqual. Ally with us and help us end this nightmare that’s befallen Tenebris.”
Silence fills the space between us, our warm mugs clasped between our hands, as if we were just friends talking over morning drinks rather than leaders discussing the ways of our world. He sips from his mug and then stares at me, waiting.
“Well?” I ask.
“I’m waiting for the punch line.”
“The punch line?”
“I’m sorry, I assumed you were joking. You want the Rivertoads to ally to help you put Damien Hymir back on the throne? Goddess, the rumors said Damien’s mate was from another world, but I assumed your husband would have brought you up to speed on the history between the Hymirs and the Rivertoads, Eloise. Allow me to edify you. There is no way in the Darklands that we will be helping you put another Hymir on the throne.”
I shake my head, my hackles rising. “Damien isn’t part of that history. He isn’t his father, and he definitely isn’t his brother.”
His violet eyes flare, and shadows bleed off the edges of his form. “I don’t care if he’s the secret baby of the witch queen of Dimhollow, I will never purposely put another Hymir on the throne.”
I sip my tea to slow my thoughts because I’m veryclose to losing my shit. “You know that Brahm and Nevina are a sock-puppet government for the dark elf king, one that threatens your people’s freedom, threatens the future of every shade in Tenebris, and yet you would allow their tyranny to continue rather than help Damien take back what is his? You cut off your nose to spite your face, Jaqual.”
“Damien is not the only option. You’re blinded by your relationship with him. If you were neutral, you’d see that a leader elected by the people would be a far better replacement than another Hymir king.”
“You want the next ruler of Stygarde to be voted on to the throne?” Coming from Earth, I’m not opposed to this idea, although it feels like a betrayal of Damien to admit it.
He stares between the trees at the rising moon. “You asked about my amulet. I suspect you can sense its magic. Most shades can. I will tell you something that few know about me, Eloise. When I was abandoned as a baby, I was left in a basket of the sort constructed by the witches of Dimhollow, and I had this eye around my infant neck.”
A tingle travels the length of my spine. “Are you part witch, Jaqual?”
