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“Gal is nearby,” he said, pointing northeast. I recognized the name from court when two women had come forward to speak about their sons’ deaths. “Cosvina is straight ahead.” He pointed to a group of smoke trails nestled below in a valley. “And farther east is Cel Cera.”
Ana’s lover, Isla, was from there, and it was where she had been when the village was attacked by the crimson mist. I wondered how the people had fared since. There had been very few survivors.
“Your noblesse are responsible for various territories across Revekka?” I asked.
“They are,” Adrian confirmed.
“What about the territories who have lost theirs?”
“The other noblesse split responsibility…until I can find suitable replacements.”
“And you only choose people who are…useful?”
He chuckled. “Do you have an opinion, Sparrow?”
“Perhaps if you did not seekusebutloyalty, we would not be in the situation we are now.”
“Gesalac and Julian were once loyal,” he said, and there was a bitter note in his voice that made me think Adrian was far more affected by their betrayal than he chose to show. I wondered what had shifted their loyalty and if it had begun before I arrived, because sometimes, I felt like the catalyst.
“Killian would be a great noblesse,” I said.
“I am not in disagreement,” Adrian said. “But would he turn?”
“Why do your noblesse have to be vampires?”
“I’d prefer they not die so quickly.”
“He hasn’t yet,” I said, though the thought of Killian dying terrified me.
Adrian’s arm tightened around me, as if he sensed my sudden fear. I did not know if Killian would consider turning into a vampire or remaining in this land of red sun permanently. I was not even certain his perception of vampires had really changed. He helped the people of Cel Ceredi because I was his queen and because they were mortals.
“I killed Razan,” Adrian said abruptly.
I went rigid against him. I wanted to look at him, to read his face as he admitted to murder, but another part of me was afraid of what I might see.
“Why?” I asked carefully, though I knew tension had been building between them since we had discussed Ravena at the council after her attack.
“He could not be silent,” Adrian said.
We were quiet as we moved beyond the valley where the snow was not as deep. The landscape sloped down into a field that was split at the center by an emerald-green river that fed into a cluster of evergreens.
“It is beautiful,” I said, breathless.
“Shall we race?” he asked, a note of excitement in his voice.
“Yes,” I said and leaned forward, grasping tufts of Shadow’s hair while Adrian took the reins into both hands. We started at a trot, and as we moved into a steady gallop, the ride almost felt like flying. Adrian’s body tightened around mine, and the wind roared in my ears.
I smiled and laughed more than I had in a long time.
When Adrian slowed, I turned to look at him. He was grinning, a wide and beautiful smile I rarely saw, and then he kissed me, deep and long and hard.
He pulled away, leaving me breathless, and dismounted. I followed and he took my hand and led me into the trees, leaving Shadow to graze in the field. The snow here only peppered the ground, and the evergreens were so thick, it was hard to see what lay beyond the tree line, but the farther we walked, the more I noticed light—and not the muted tones of the red sky but true golden light.
I halted for a step, feeling an unexpected thickness gather in my throat, and then took off running, bursting through the thick line of trees into sunlight.
It was bright and brought tears to my eyes, but I closed them and turned my head toward the sky as warmth bathed my skin despite the cold. Then I began to twirl, spinning until I was laughing and dizzy. I was not sure how long I stood there beneath this sky, the one that had belonged to me as a princess and not a queen, but I soon sought Adrian, who waited in the shadows, leaning against the trunk of a tree, arms crossed over his chest, watching.
I had always thought he was beautiful, even when he was my conqueror.
