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The sounds of a gathered crowd rumbled down the stones long before he reached the round chamber.
Pillars had been formed from stalactites and stalagmites that had merged together—he scoured his brain and came up short on what those were called—and unlike the cut, polished glory of the other halls, the walls were raw stone. The domed ceiling was rough-hewn, and it echoed the murmuring and chattering of the crowd, too thick to identify individual words.
People quieted as Jesiba strutted through the natural archway into the room, Ithan a step behind her, that notorious gun in his hands. It was lighter than he’d thought it would be, yet he’d never held anything more electric.
The crowd parted to allow Jesiba through. She looked straight ahead as she strode into the center of the room, her dark blue skirt trailing behind her, heels beating a rolling, take-no-shit beat. If anyone was shocked by her new hairdo and lack of makeup, no one dared say anything. Or keep their stare on her for too long.
But Ithan glanced ahead to what—who—stood in the center of the chamber, and his heart stumbled.
The Astronomer lifted a knobbly finger and pointed at Ithan.
“You’re dead, thief,” the old man snarled.
* * *
Tharion knew he’d dodged a bullet. Knew Bryce’s arrival had spared him from the Ocean Queen sending him right back to Lunathion.
A bounty on his head. Fuck.
But to be confined to this ship … was it any better than being held by the River Queen or the Viper Queen? Confined as a guest, the Ocean Queen had claimed. But he knew what she’d meant.
“Avallen has always given me the creeps,” Flynn was saying as they all squeezed around a table in their deck’s mess hall, discussing the next day’s arrival on the misty isle. At this hour of the evening, every table was crammed with people for dinner, their conversations and laughter so loud it made it nearly impossible for Tharion to hear his companions. “But Morven’s terrible. I’ve known him since I was a kid, and he’s a fucking snake. Him, and the Murder Twins.”
“Murder Twins?” Athalar asked with a mix of alarm and amusement from where he sat beside Bryce, an arm looped around her waist, his fingers idly toying with the ends of her hair. Tharion knew that even if they hadn’t been short on space around the table, the mates would have kept close together.
“A nickname we gave my distant cousins,” Ruhn said around a mouthful of bread. “After they joined Cormac in trying to kill us multiple times in the Cave of Princes.” The prince’s eyes flickered with regret as he spoke Cormac’s name.
Tharion blocked out the image that flashed—of Cormac’s final moments, of running while the Fae male immolated himself. His grip clenched around his fork, so tight his knuckles turned white.
But Ruhn went on, “They can read minds … whether you want them to or not.” He pointed with his half-eaten chunk of bread to Bryce. “They’re not going to ask for permission like that Night Court dude.”
Bryce grimaced. “Can anyone defend against their skills?”
“Yeah,” Ruhn said, “but you have to be vigilant at all times, even when you can’t see them near you. And they obey Morven unconditionally.”
Bryce examined her nails. “I love me some good old-fashioned goons.”
Tharion smiled, grip loosening on his fork.
But Ruhn shook his head. “They’re not your usual goons, and Morven’s not your usual sort of asshole. During my Ordeal—”
“I know,” Bryce said, scooping up some rice, grown in one of the ship’s many hydroponic gardens. “Big, bad uncle. You pissed him off, he sent you into the Cave of Princes to punish you, you showed him up …”
“He’s Cormac’s father,” Declan said carefully. “Don’t forget that he’s just lost a son and heir.”
Tharion stared down at his platter of rice and fish, though his appetite had vanished like seafoam on the sand.
“He was quick to disown him,” Lidia Cervos said from the far end of the table.
Tharion had nearly keeled over in shock when she’d sat down with them. But … where else would she sit in the packed hall?
He didn’t fail to note that Ruhn sat at the opposite end of the table.
Lidia added, “But I will echo the warning: King Morven only agrees to things that are advantageous to him. If you’re going to convince him not to immediately sell you out to the Asteri, you need to spin it the right way.”
“I’d planned to go right to the archives,” Bryce said. “No royal visit required.”
“The mists,” Ruhn said, “tell him everything. He’ll know we’ve arrived. It’ll infuriate him if you don’t … pay tribute.”
