Page 6 of The Serpent Prince

“Word is spreading that the queen just died, along with the First Witch. With the Fabric event that rocked Stralas this afternoon, this is all but assured, but rumors are also saying Dialora’s son has been crowned king. Chaos is reigning, and the borders are now unprotected at many checkpoints.”

Imani’s stomach dropped. She’d anticipated this would happen—fuck, she had passed the intel to the Illithiana brothers herself—but clearly, it had happened. Yet, with the ordeal she’d just endured, and the magic pulsing in her body, something was horrifically wrong if people thought Tanyl was king.

He was up to something, and so was Meira, and it terrified her.

A beat of silence passed before Saevel growled, “That can’t be right.”

“It’s true! It’s true!” the man cried. “But unlike last time, this succession will likely be a bloody one. There’s dissent amongst the nobles and the military over Tanyl’s claim. Half the Northern Kingdom’s high sentinels are hunting for the lost Essenheim heir, while the other half are shoring up defenses with the new king. Everyone is saying it could be a civil war.”

Her mind reeled. How could so many oppose Tanyl’s succession? He had been the heir apparent since birth. What proof did they have? He must have pulled off the matricide days after they’d left, and the crown’s power alone would be enough to quell any civil war rumors.

Right?

Unless he wasn’t the true monarch. But then, how was he fooling so many people right now?

Sweat mixed with blood dripped down her brow at the thought that this had something to do with what had just happened to her in the woods. But without a conversation with Meira, whatever had happened remained a mystery.

More and more unanswered questions tumbled around in her mind. Head aching, she tried to shake off the remnants of the dull, throbbing pain, and her worries about something terrible happening to Meira.

The death of the Essenheim king or queen was traditionally a celebration. It exalted their return to nature of their own accord—passing their crown on to the next because it was time for the cycle to renew. But to have two monarchs successively murdered to force a power exchange was bordering on tyrannical, and Imani wondered if Tanyl could truly handle it. The situation would take more than a charming smile and diplomacy to keep everyone from the high-bred noblemen to the hobs in line.

A long, tense moment passed, then a loud clanging made Imani jump. A man grunted, and Imani leaned closer to listen to the scuffle.

In a rush, Kiran’s intense shield barreled out in a wave, pummeling Imani just outside. The spell sucked the air from her lungs, tightening an invisible noose around her, threatening to snap harder and break her neck. It would, too, because he was so much stronger than her, and when his magic pressed harder, her vision swayed. Already weakened from her episode with Meira, she braced herself against the canvas to stay upright.

Her darkness encircled her, hissing at the invasion, protecting her.

The fight didn’t last long. Eventually, Kiran’s immense shield relented.

Imani rubbed her throat, grateful to the wisps of shadow tickling her limbs.

Both princes’ voices grew clearer and louder the closer they came to the tent’s opening, and Imani’s heart pounded as she hid herself with more darkness.

The flap opened, and a man’s body tumbled outside and onto the ground with a thud.

Imani had had enough. The chances of being seen racked up every second she stayed, so she slipped from the shadows as fast as she dared.

A sizzling sound at her back made Imani wince, and her nose wrinkled when the distinct smell of burning flesh hit her. Kiran had incinerated another victim.

Back inside Imani’s tent, Esa snored softly and mumbled incoherently in a deep sleep.

Imani’s breath escaped her in a relieved sigh. Taking out her wand, she cast an alteration spell to clean herself up. When the dress and her face showed no signs of the disgusting blood and mud, she wasted no time calling her shadows.

She asked them to hide the new magic that was likely pulsing from her signature. Please, shroud this new magic in darkness, making it just a caress of power to those around me.

Then she cast an intense glamour. The darkness shimmered over her, and Imani knew it was powerful, but she’d had to cast a flesh magic glamour in Niflheim to feel safe, truly, and that just wasn’t possible here.

Nerves bit at the edges of her mind. There was no going back now; she’d just have to hide until she could deal with this new revelation and control the immense magic.

She’d wondered if her shadows, cast alongside an illusion spell, would work the way she needed them. Her hands shook at the possibility of someone discovering this secret, and she tried to shake them out and calm down. She’d never used them mixed with illusion magic to hide something.

Sighing, she put her wand down and collapsed in bed. She’d done all she could. Soon, she would learn the truth.

Deep danger would follow her everywhere—thanks to Meira—and the only path forward was to see how this would eventually play out between her and her sister. So, she’d have to hide and wait for their reunion.

Imani had a feeling it would be a bloody one. Why was everything with her family so complicated?

“Imani, it’s time to get up.” The pixie jerked the blanket from Imani’s body.