The queen’s lips curl upward, and malice shines in her eyes. “You’re in no position to request anything. You’re my prisoner, caught trespassing in my territory. I can do with you as I please.”
“You will never know what King Ruel plans to do, then, and when you finally find out, it’ll be too late.”
“Karl, please, don’t say anything,” Manu begs.
Queen Maewe narrows her eyes and studies me. Sweat dots my forehead, and my stomach twists so tight, it makes me sick. This is a gamble. Iamat her mercy. If she hurts Manu in front of me, I’ll cave in a heartbeat.
“Very well. What do you want?”
What I want more than anything in the world is for her to lift the curse, but she can’t find out that I know about it. She would be furious, and I’m already walking a tightrope. “I want yourword that you will release us—all of us, including Adrian and Selor.”
The queen’s former favorite widens his eyes. He wasn’t expecting help from me, that much is clear. I barely know the male, but I can’t in good conscience leave him in the clutches of his psychotic queen.
“That’s a big ask.”
“It’s a big secret,” I counter.
“Very well. You have a deal.”
Selor opens his mouth to warn me about something, but the queen yanks his chain and chokes him.
My heart is hammering in my chest while I rack my brain for a detail I could be missing. Nightingales can’t lie, but they can manipulate and trick. The buzzing in my head returns, making it hard to focus on anything. Hell. I bet Queen Maewe is doing it so I can’t think straight.
“Karl… please don’t tell her,” Manu cries out.
I glance at her, and my eyes fill with tears. My heart is breaking all over again. Telling the queen what her husband plans to do could mean he’ll fail. If that happens, the curse won’t be broken, and Manu and I will never be able to be together. But the alternative is to watch Queen Maewe torture Manu to an inch of her life before she kills us both.
Despite the buzzing in my ears, I remember how vows in Ellnesari work.
“You must say it out loud,” I grit out.
Her nostrils flare, and her lips become nothing but a slash on her pale face. “You’ve learned our ways quickly, wolf.”
I remain silent, not wanting to incense the mercurial queen even more.
Eventually, she relaxes against her throne and waves her hand dismissively. “Tell me what Ruel is planning, and I will release your mate and your travel companions.”
I sense the magic wrap around me as the binding takes place. Satisfied this is the best I can do, I say, “King Ruel plans to use the Magna Vis to strip the crown from you.”
The queen doesn’t move for a few beats, and her face remains an expressionless mask. Then she throws her head back and laughs like villains do in movies. The cackles echo in the room, as grating as nails scratching a blackboard.
“That’s your big secret? My dear wolf, I knewthatthe moment I found you outside the Valley of Lost Souls. Why else would Ruel send you there?”
My stomach falls through the earth as the realization hits me. Queen Maewe has been toying with us this whole time.
“Unfortunately, the Magna Vis is nothing but a fable. You didn’t find it, or I’d be able to sense it. Ruel will never rule Aquila.”
Little does she know that wedidfind it, but then lost it somehow, which doesn’t help us.
“He can still kill you with his shadowbeasts,” Manu retorts. “And you will never see that coming, since you don’t possess the gift to foresee the future.”
The queen grasps the arms of her throne so hard that her knuckles turn white. “Silence!”
The chains around Manu’s body tighten, and she cries out.
“Stop it! You vowed to release us.”
“True, but I never said when.”
