Her gaze fixed on the shoreline, and she found Azarian waiting. He wore a gold chest plate for armor, one hand casually grasping the hilt of his spear. His face was stone hewn and vigilant as it typically was.
Shit.She hadn’t thought of the best way to handle him and Syrena once they realized she disobeyed their orders and left.
He gave a curt nod when she reached the dock.
“Welcome back to Maerinys, Kaelypso,” Azarian greeted. “Forgive us for not expecting you to leave so soon after your injuries.”
Esmyra’s initial reaction was to correct him. While Syrena claimed she wanted to be addressed as Naerysa by Maerinys’s citizens, Esmyra didn’t feel the same way. It was something she’d feared since findingout the truth of what they were. She didn’t want to be known as someone she wasn’t. She didn’t want to lose herself, but with every passing moment, she felt the fear was coming to life.
So, instead, she shifted back to her mortal form.
“Aye, well, I had unfinished business,” she replied coolly, motioning with a slight tilt of her chin. Elowynne lay bound behind her, knocked unconscious, all while her magic remained sealed due to the velsinyte ring.
Azarian didn’t smile. Truthfully, Esmyra wasn’t even sure if he knew how to. There was still much to the man she didn’t understand. Especially after discovering he held witch-like magic that stemmed from some dead, dark goddess.
“I’ve always disliked this ugly brute,” Kaelypso admitted.
Esmyra’s brows furrowed. “Didn’t he serve both youandNaerysa?”
“Hardly. I barely had anything to do with him. He’s always been Naerysa’s pet.” The goddess let out a huff. “As you said before, he turned his back on Irah and then Malya. Who’s to say we would be different? But Rysa is hard to deter once her mind is made up.”
Esmyra’s eyes narrowed on the witch to find he was already watching her intently. “I don’t trust him.”
“Nor do I.”
Two guards stepped forward from the mist with chains. Silently, they hoisted the captive from the deck and strolled past Esmyra, back down the gangplank.
The walk up the carved path from the harbor to the palace was borderline unbearable. The silence from Azarian and the guards just left Esmyra alone with her thoughts once again, spiraling just as they had on the ship.
By the time they reached the front gates of the palace, a lump had formed in her throat. They pushed open the grand doors, and at the top of the great staircase, waiting beneath a stained glass window, was Syrena.
Crowned in woven coral and pearls, draped in blossom-colored silks, the queen stood with her hands resting gently on the banister,her lips lifted slightly in welcome. But her eyes—those calm, doe eyes—were locked solely on Esmyra.
“I see you made it back,” Syrena said, each word clipped.
She’s definitely mad.
“Aye.” Esmyra stood straighter under her stare. “And I’ve brought with me the new Queen of Lephyrin.”
Syrena’s gaze flicked to Elowynne. “Interesting. And how did you manage that?” she asked as she began to glide down the staircase.
Esmyra’s lip twitched up in a smirk. “Let’s just say her hands will need to be spread apart and bound to the wall so she doesn’t take that shiny velsinyte ring off.”
Syrena raised a brow as she met Esmyra in the center of the foyer. “Bring the queen to the dungeon, Azarian.”
The sound of shifting armor echoed as the guards dragged Elowynne’s body between them.
Syrena turned from her then, heading toward the castle’s east corridor.
Esmyra stared at her sister’s back, unease swirling through her at the sudden dismissal. “Is everything okay?”
Syrena’s steps halted, and she half peered over her shoulder as she said, “Everything will be soon.”
What could that possibly mean? Had something happened when she was away?
“Are you upset with me for leaving?” Esmyra couldn’t help the sass in her tone as her hip jutted to the side.
Syrena turned back to face her. “I assume you found what you were looking for by taking the queen?”
