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“Ellasara struck her down and nearly claimed her life,” Kingsnake said. “I had no other choice.”
Larisa dropped her gaze to the floor.
If she had died, her soul would have traveled all the way here…sucked into our Mountain of Souls to fuel our immortality. “I’m sorry that happened to you. But you made the right choice.”
Larisa lifted her gaze and looked at me again.
“Toman, you’re dismissed.”
He remained by the door. “I won’t leave you with these fiends—”
“I can handle myself. Now, go.”
He lingered a moment longer then looked at Cobra.
Cobra stared back.
Both men seemed to know exactly who the other was without asking questions.
Toman finally dismissed himself and shut the doors behind him.
I left the throne and moved to the grand table covered with my father’s old scrolls and notes. “Sit.” I sat at the head of the table, arms on the armrests, the candles dripping wax into the silver candlesticks.
They gathered around, Kingsnake and Cobra taking the chairs closest to me.
It was strange to sit exactly where my father had sat during our conversations, to take his place as the ruler of Evanguard.
Now that Cobra was closer to me, I felt the pulse in my neck, the steady beat of blood. I was as aware of his presence as I’d been in the bedroom, his naked body next to mine in the middle of the night. The passage of time had been so brief that it was unlikely he’d already bedded someone else, but his appetite seemed ravenous.
I tried to keep my eyes on Kingsnake because that was easier than looking at his brother. “You received my warning.”
“We did,” Kingsnake said. “And it won us the war—so, thank you.”
A ball of dread dropped into my stomach.
“I’m sorry about your father.” It wasn’t Kingsnake who spoke, but Cobra, his voice gentle.
I still didn’t look at him.
“As am I,” Kingsnake said. “It wasn’t our intention—”
I couldn’t listen to this. “My father was my blood, my kin. To hear of his death is deeply painful. But it’s also complicated…because he wasn’t a good man. His hatred toward your kind has been fueled by incessant greed.”
Kingsnake stared, both elbows on the table, his hands together. “Speak further.”
Now I looked at the table, unable to meet the eyes of anyone. “I want to forge an eternal truce with your people. A binding peace that will hold forevermore. No more death. No more despair.”
“Tell us of this incessant greed you speak of,” Cobra said.
My eyes lifted, and I looked at Larisa and Viper. “The truce first.”
I could feel the change of energy as it moved across the table, the way each one of them tensed in discomfort.
“I told you.” Viper looked at his brother beside him. “Whatever secret she’s hiding is enough to make us kill her on the spot.”
Cobra shifted his gaze to me.
I held the stare.
