Page 7 of Serpent and Shadow

All had the same two entwined circles on their arms, the symbol of the Praecuri.

I recognized a handful of their faces, partly from the fight with Dark Cathedral. The only one I knew for certain was Esalia, my cousin’s wife. She stood in front with arms folded, her blond hair back in a severe bun, her eyes hard.

Her expression didn’t soften when she met my gaze.

Most of the Praecuri standing there appeared bloodied and bruised, with magical burns on their uniforms that went down to their skin. Clothing and hair wet, hands bruised and bloodied from magic, faces drawn, they didn’t look very friendly, particularly not towards me.

Bile rose to my throat as I took in their glares and hostility. That sickness in my gut worsened, but not because they were angry.

I didn’t give a fuck how angry they were.

I wanted to know why they were here. Every soldier I’d seen in the garden that morning appeared to be here, in the Palace of the Lions.

Which meant no one was going after Bones.

I stood there, breathing hard, now half bent-over from the pain that rose in my chest. Gods, they hadn’t gone after him. They hadn’t chased Malefic through those mirrors. They weren’t conducting rituals, looking for him in the Aether. Did they blame me for Caelum being caught? For not stopping Sirena? Maybe I was at fault for not managing to kill Malefic, too?

“You are Leda La Fey-Bones?” a voice boomed.

I turned towards the crescent-shaped table.

I knew, despite not seeing it, the man in white and gold had spoken.

After a pause where I glanced at Forsooth, who nodded encouragingly, if barely perceptibly, I looked back at the mage who had to be King Roland III, current ruler of Magical England and all its territories.

I cleared my throat.

“Yes,” I said. “…Err, Your Magesty.”

My voice sounded like sandpaper and gravel, and my throat felt the same.

Even so, I projected much better than expected.

“You admit you are the legal wife of Caelum Bones?” the King pressed. “Current patriarch of the Bones Estate?”

“Yes,” I said, a touch less friendly.

He didn’t seem to notice.

“Did you have a hand in what happened today?” he asked. Both his and his lion primal’s eyes bored into mine. “Did you conspire with your husband to attack the Crown by kidnapping its royal offspring? Conducting illegal magicks by which they were murdered?”

I stared at him and his lion, my hands tightening into fists.

“No,” I said coldly. “Why would I be attacking them, if I had?”

“Then you admit your husband is an accomplice?”

“No,” I said, even colder. “He was attacked, knocked unconscious, and kidnapped by Dark Cathedral.” Ignoring the gasps my words produced in the crowd behind me, I glanced at the rows of Praecuri, stopping on the man with the purple cloak. “…as anyone who was there should have been able to tell you, Your Majesty.”

“I am not asking them,” Roland warned. “I am asking you, Mrs. Bones.”

When I didn’t respond, his full lips pressed together.

“I am told you were conducting unsanctioned, unregistered spells during this fight?”

I didn’t say anything to that, either.

I honestly didn’t know if it was true, nor did I care.