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He wished he’d tapped into an electricity source to refill his magic.This guard could rip him in half.“Why?What’s happening in the throne room?”
Silence.That was all he got.
It wasn’t enough.His princess had made them promise not to hurt him.Time to test the theory.“Hey, are you going to answer?Because I’m not coming unless you do.Or were you planning to use force?”
“It’s forbidden by the blood vows to the crown princess.”
Well, that sounded official.“What exactly is forbidden?”He’d spent the last few hours reading how important specificity was in Kradnovtl.
“You can’t be harmed unless you breach the arrangement.”
“Which I haven’t.So what’s happening in the throne room?Why would Artanya summon me?”
“She’s the queen.”
“But is she?What if someone else has a stronger claim?Like Princess Vori?Or even your captain of the guard?Couldn’t they challenge her, and—” He snapped his fingers.“Artanya wouldn’t be queen anymore.Or did I get that wrong?”
The woman looked unsure.“Sheisqueen.”As if repeating the lie might make it true.
“Why would any queen need to see me?”When the guard glanced along the hall as if searching for anyone who might overhear them, he changed tactics.He could use the fidgety would-anyone-notice, can’t-wait-to-tell looks she was throwing to his advantage.“Come on.I won’t say anything.Who would believe me?”
She checked the empty hallway again and lowered her voice.“For the execution.Everyone will be there.It’s required.”
Perry’s heart thudded in his chest as though hammering on a rib cage door, demanding to be let out.His powers flared weak and pathetic under his skin that felt two sizes too small.Vori.No.Artanya wouldn’t.She couldn’t.
“Everyone?”The stupid repeat was all he could stammer.The word execution had cut his snarky brilliance into tiny slivers.
“By queen’s orders.All the court, the kitchens, the castle staff, the local miners.”
“No.”Even Artanya with her ego couldn’t be stupid enough to go after a golden-born crown princess in public.It would spark protests, riots, repercussions.
The goblin scrunched her nose, an oddly quirky look on such a cragged face.“It’s harsh, that’s for sure.But she can’t allow a traitor.Not one that would kill the king.”
“Vori.”His voice almost broke on her name, but he couldn’t lose control.Not when she needed him.
“No, not our princess.”The woman sounded shocked.“Your princess.The princess.”She finally settled on the last and stopped babbling.
Relief had a sudden lightness easing the heaviness that had consumed him.But it was followed by more questions, more dread.“Then who are they executing?”
“The faerie maid who lied about another royal.”
“Jura.”The sole living link to Vori’s mother.His princess would be devastated.“I’m coming.”He stepped past the guard.
“Wait.”The guard shut the door to the suite with a snap.She mumbled something that sounded like “respect for the royals.”As if she was quietly acknowledging Vori’s right to the throne.
His princess had supporters, whether she knew it or not.Goblins who believed in her divine right.He hoped her supporters might help Jura, but he wasn’t counting on it.Vori had made Mykata swear by the blood not to hurt the fae, but Artanya had evaded.She’d implied an agreement, but she hadn’t sworn.Had she found a loophole?
Following the guard, he ran through the rules and protocols he’d studied through the night.He hadn’t been expecting to practice law in the goblin realm.
The throne room stank of fear.With only a few pushes and shoves from his guard, the crowd parted, staring at the lone witch in their midst.At least he could pass.
Crimson-uniformed guards surrounded Jura.The maid knelt, forced to her knees would be his guess given the heavy hands on her shoulders.The tatters of her bloodstained dress hid the sins of whatever they’d done to her.She kept her chin high, revealing the dull iron collar around her neck.It wasn’t enough for Artanya to kill the woman slowly.No, she wanted to make a public spectacle of her death for a made-up crime.
The self-proclaimed queen sat on what had been the king’s throne last night.The portrait of Vori and her mother had been hauled away along with the banquet tables and the chairs.It was standing room only for Artanya’s first public appearance as queen, one she’d chosen to commemorate with death.
She had come to this spectacle in human form.Why?To better showcase her scars?Or for another reason?
Her red gown dipped low, a glitzy version of the goblin style.She wore the massive silver crown studded with rubies, but she would’ve had a natural crown in her other skin.So why the preference for this form?
