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“I thought you’d already figured out that I’m an asshole, and I was wrong.It’s rare, but it happens.”
Had he been wrong?She wasn’t sure.She’d hidden her goblin form for so long now.Not because of the skin color or the shape or the unbelievable strength, but because it and her gold crown screamed reminders of the mad king.Her father’s lessons had been to lose control, to become the monster, to destroy anyone between her and the future of Kradnovtl.Keeping herself locked in her human form had been her way of resisting.
Perry squeezed her hand, and his powers hummed along her skin.“Show me your other side again.Give me another chance.Not tonight.But before we go.”A streak of magic danced along her arm, but her own abilities smothered the brightness.“I won’t screw up this time.”
“Maybe.”
“Sleep.We can take on the world tomorrow.”
She closed her eyes.“I know you’re only here because of the amethyst and the murders.”
“And the whole magical world being out to get me.”
“Yeah.That too.”The truth hurt.Her heart hurt.Everything hurt.“Let’s pretend you didn’t ghost me two Halloweens ago, that you’ve been here the whole time, and you won’t let go.Just for tonight.”
“I can do that.”The steady thrumming of his magic soothed her into a dreamless sleep.
The next morning, he treated her like spun glass that might crack with any sharp word, but they had work to do and only days to do it.He opened the jewelry box she’d forgotten in her sadness—the reason they’d gone to the bookshop.She’d been too numb to remember it.
He held the sparkling violet next to those in the cuff on her wrist.“It’s a match.”Which meant he and his father were potential candidates for their killer’s hit list.He slipped it into her palm as if it were a love note instead of a death sentence.
The next few days clicked by too fast with no leads to the other amethysts but no other murders.Perry spent hours reading up on Kradnovtl, quizzing her on the realm and helping her catch up with what she’d missed.
“Every single one talks about the original goblin queen.”He gestured toward the stack of books.“How she united the goblin clans.”
“Our realm’s only queen—a berserker warrior.She lost herself in battle over and over again, risking her sanity each time until the wicked crown dripped blood, including her own.”Vori sorted through her lockpicking kits.Goblin glass travel meant they could take only what they could carry.
“Legends say she’s the reason that royal blood sustains the existence of your entire realm.”
“A fable probably spun as a centuries-old publicity stunt to support the monarchy’s divine right theory.Like my mother’s fae queen has done.The people have no choice but to follow if they believe their world will die without you.”
“The description of the queen—tall and thin, amethyst eyes, golden crown.No wonder they believe you’re some version of her return.”He glanced at her.“Any idea how much of her berserker legend was myth and how much was truth?”
“It’s real.I inherited the fury, and my father forced me into combat training, trying to provoke the rage.That’s why I don’t fight.I’m not taking any chances.”
“What about the Senate kill squad after me?The one you stopped?”
“With bright lights and loud bangs.I didn’t actually engage.”
“What would’ve happened if you had?”
Memories tore through her of wanting to fight forever, of taking down anyone her father put against her, of not knowing what she’d done until after she’d come out of the trance.“Bad things.Let’s not find out.Why don’t we concentrate on how we’re going to stop the killer, snatch whatever amethysts she has, and grab the last crown jewel from around my father’s neck without dying?”
He stopped flipping pages.“About your dad—”
“The mad king?You can call him what he is.”
“None of these books go past the night you disappeared.We don’t know if your dad is still king, or if he’s…”
“Dead or alive?Killer clichés can be fun until they’re real, right?”The hollowness inside where she’d carried hope for seeing her mother again cratered deeper.She had to push past it.Blood vows to fulfill.A marriage to fake.A killer to stop.“We need to know who’s on the throne before we go through the goblin glass.”
“What’s your realm’s succession law?”He pushed back in his chair, changing from concerned ally to coldhearted lawyer in an instant.“Who would take his place?”
“Legend says the castle chooses the ruler.If you believe that, then it didn’t do a good job in picking my dad.In reality, next in the bloodline usually takes the throne.”
“But not always?”
“No, there’s the royal challenge option.The opponents fight to the death.”
