“Such as a beast worthy of a queen.”
She dropped the words with such certainty that the room was stunned to silence. And she didn’t dare break it. Instead, she waited, letting the gravity of her offer sink in. Finally, she touched a finger to her bestiary. “With your permission?”
Eyes tight, the queen gave a single, definitive nod.
Rosewood light blossomed from the back of Leena’s hand, surrounding us in a soft, warm glow. But out of that wondrous, peaceful beauty came a deep, bloodcurdling growl that would’ve sent the hairs on my arms skyward if I’d not grown accustomed to Onyx’s call. He emerged from the beast realm just as the light receded. My mind raced as I tried to keep my expression indifferent. Summoning Onyx made little sense. Leena wouldneveroffer him to Jayla. And when she stood to greet her beast, she only further solidified that belief by pressing her forehead to his and running a gentle hand down his neck. He pulled away then and shook out his feathers so they stood on end. And…realization struck my gut with unexpected force.
Onyx wasregal. He stood beside his queen, black coat glossy and feathers shimmering in the morning light. Fierce eyes full of power and wonder. He even outstretched his wings, nearly knocking over the closest bookshelves in the process. He was a force and Leena knew it. She knew what it would look like to see something like him standing on the battlefield. The wonder and fear. Jayla’s enemies wouldn’t know how to act. And that was the very feeling, the very truth, Leena demonstrated with Onyx by her side.
Elianna’s mouth had fallen open, and she white-knuckled the edge of the table. After a minute passed, she collected herself. Swallowing hard, she asked, “You’re offering this beast to my daughter?”
“No.” Leena clasped her hands together. “Onyx is already bonded to me. But Princess Jayla already has a beast in mind. And I have the ability to charm it.”
The queen’s brows shot to the ceiling. She targeted her daughter. “Since when do you know anything about beasts?”
“I don’t.” Jayla’s voice was cool, but her eyes were alight with mischief. “You always chastise me for spending so much time away from the castle. But did you know there’s a strange, unexplained phenomenon that’s been happening in Goldwind?”
“My attention has been focused on replenishing grain stores, as should yours,” she responded.
“Iwaschecking on the grain silos of our nearby towns to see how much we could reallocate if need be.” She let out a belabored sigh. “Anyway, the people there told me of a strange sight they’d noticed over the past few weeks—what they thought was a shooting star. But it was far too regular for that. I’d been looking into it when the presence of Leena’s beast last night got me thinking… What if it’s a beast?”
“I’ll need to see for myself, but if Jayla’s descriptions are correct, we’re likely dealing with a Vyprale.” Extending her hand, Leena once again channeled power to her symbol and opened the beast realm door. Onyx disappeared from view, along with the rosewood glow, and Leena retook her seat by my side. “It’s a winged, snakelike beast with extraordinary powers. All Jayla would have to do is show up to one of these border skirmishes atop its back, and your enemies would flee.”
“Rumors of her power would travel fast,” Kost mused. “Since the First War on Lendria, no one has dared to cross a Charmer because of their beasts. I imagine the same would hold true here.”
I nodded my agreement. “If Leena is willing to tame the Vyprale and gift it to Jayla, do we have your support in our war against King Varek and Yazmin?”
A heavy silence fell over the table as all eyes turned to the queen. She reclined into her chair and formed a steeple with her fingers, bringing them to her lips. For a long time, she didn’t move. Hardly seemed to breathe. Her stoic expression was unreadable. I was used to these games, to hiding my intentions while letting my enemies sweat. It was always a fantastic way to gauge their weaknesses and learn how quickly they’d crack under pressure. I wouldn’t give Elianna that satisfaction, and the rest of my family held fast. Not even Calem twitched. Together, we presented a united, unrelenting front. Both a strong ally and potentially a strong adversary if things went south.
Fortunately, they didn’t. Dropping her hands to her lap, Elianna let out a tight breath. “We will form an alliance with Lendria under the rule of King Noc and Queen Leena, assuming my daughter is presented with a suitable beast and the aforementioned trade routes are established once this mess with Varek and Yazmin is cleaned up.
“But,” she continued, cutting me a hard glance, “I will not send my entire army to your aid. Not now. I still need to station forces across the towns spanning our borders. Jayla can’t be everywhere at once, even with this beast. I can spare three of our ships, the crew needed to sail them, and as many soldiers as can fit. In addition, I’ll send Isla with them. As a show of good faith.”
Not as many bodies as we’d wanted, but it was a great deal more than we’d had before venturing to Rhyne’s shore. Isla was an interesting development. A mage wasn’t someone I’d ever turn down, especially not in battle, but no doubt Elianna was sending her closest guard to keep an eye on us and Rhyne’s interests. Still, we had no room to argue. “That’s reasonable. We accept these terms.”
Queen Elianna stood, and the rest of us followed suit. She strode around the table until she came to an abrupt stop right between the exit and me. “I don’t trust you. I don’t know if I ever will. But…” Her shoulders slackened, and she looked at Jayla. The ice in her voice ebbed. “Holding onto grudges won’t help my daughter rule over Rhyne. You might. Your pair bond certainly will.” She extended her hand to Leena. “Do right by my daughter, and you will always have my favor.”
Leena grasped her hand in return. “I will.”
Elianna tipped her chin in a subtle bow and then left, taking the two manned guards with her. Jayla practically skipped to Leena’s side and gripped both of her forearms in excitement. “So, when do we go searching for this beast?”
Leena grinned. “We can leave today if you’d like.”
“I’d like nothing more.” Jayla spun on her heels and threw her arms around Maddox, who’d been largely silent for the duration of our negotiation. He seemed as unsurprised by the turn of events as his bride-to-be, but there was an unmistakable air of caution to his movements. Not as trusting as Jayla, but not as standoffish as Elianna.
“Goldwind is about a half day’s ride from here.” He looped an arm around her waist and glanced at Leena. “What supplies will you need?”
“Not much. Some gold paint and bright feathers will do. The art of taming a Vyprale has more to do with the bait than the dressing, so to speak.” Leena gave a nonchalant shrug—one that fooled the royal family, but not me. I’d never heard her speak of such a beast before, which meant she was relying on knowledge passed to her from one of her fellow Charmers. Unease simmered in my gut. She’d had no experience with the Revmandra until she’d tamed it. It was safe to assume she was being light on the details to minimize any fear on Maddox or Jayla’s part.
Plus, I didn’t like the way she saidbait.
Slipping my hands into the pockets of my trousers, I pressed my lips into a fine line, then tipped my chin ever so slightly her direction. She gave her head a subtle shake. Suspicions confirmed. Biting back my words, I turned my focus back to Jayla and Maddox.
“We’ll get them together while you gather your things,” Jayla said. Threading her fingers through Maddox’s, she dragged him out the exit.
Once the door closed behind them, I let out a forceful sigh. “Bait?”
“Oh, not me.” Leena smirked. “For once.”
