Page 12 of Serpent and Shadow

“It only would have helped you to keep the drink down,” the black-haired mage intoned flatly. “And to remain reasonable. And calm.”

“Ask, next time,” I repeated, annoyed.

When he didn’t speak, I felt my jaw harden.

“And I’ve no idea why you think I’d believe you, anyway,” I added. “If it was so harmless, you wouldn’t have tried so hard to hide it. And if you want to subdue the hysterical hybrid, you might trying to asking me a single bloody question first.”

It struck me that I was a little hurt. I guess it surprised me that Forsooth would resort to that, and so quickly.

“I apologize,” Forsooth said.

When I looked at him, he was staring into the fire. He made a few graceful mudras with his hands, and murmured a casting in Sanskrit.

The blue, green, and purple color bled out of the flames.

Immediately, the air inside the room felt less heavy.

I exhaled, in spite of myself, and felt my chest loosen. I hadn’t realized how tightly I’d been holding onto those shields until the pressure around them lifted.

I glanced at Forsooth, my hands still clenched in the chair cushions.

“What is it you want to know?” I asked.

Forsooth cleared his throat.

“Well, it is about your… well, Mr. Bones, actually,” he said, now sounding decidedly awkward. “I refer to Caelum, of course, not his father. There are a few things we should discuss, but I first wished to determine how much you’re aware of yourself. It will be far easier to decide on next steps if we all share the same understanding.”

My chest relaxed a touch.

“Fine,” I said. “Ask away.”

He coughed, and looked even more uncomfortable. “I gather from your conversation with the King that you’re aware of your… err, status change? In regards to Mr. Bones?”

“That we’re married, you mean?” I asked.

I really didn’t see any point in being coy.

The King called me Mrs. Bones. Forsooth told the Praecuri I had partial ownership over the buildings and grounds of Malcroix Bones Academy. Even before that, Malefic said it out in the garden, and the night before, while exceedingly high on painkillers, Bones called me his “wife” several times. That was a few too many coincidences.

Forsooth nodded, looking faintly relieved. “Yes. Exactly that.”

I pulled my hands off the chair arms to clasp them in my lap.

Part of me struggled to suppress my impatience that we were still wasting time, talking about things that could easily be discussed later. Why did any of this matter now? If Bones was imprisoned by his psychotic father, what difference did it make?

My eyes darted to Blackstone, who watched me with a curled lip.

I already knew he didn’t approve of me and Bones.

I wondered what he’d say if he knew what Varya Bones confessed to us about Bones’s part-human lineage. Would he sing a different tune, if he knew Bones was a hybrid, too, even if the amount of human blood he carried was significantly less? More likely, he’d just see it as additional proof I was helping destroy the Bones legacy.

My mind flashed to Bones’s drugged and slurred speech from the night before. I remembered him calling me “wife” and “wifey,” and my face warmed.

“Bones might’ve mentioned something about it,” I muttered.

I avoided Blackstone’s near-physical stare.

Remembering that morning, and trying to be honest, I pursed my lips.