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“Of course it’s not. Only humans create novice metalwork that weighs down their guardsmen.” Gallon inspected his handwork so closely he didn’t see Nava’s yellow aura spike around her, nor the insects flying in waves, diving toward him. He swatted at a bee and hissed when he got stung.
“It seems you’ve forgotten I’m human, too,” Nava said in an icy tone that cooled even the stifling humidity of this room.
The armorer hunched down to avoid another bee, and Arkimedes’s lips curved into a smile. “I’d advise you not to upset my mate, Gallon.”
Whether the fae understood that the warning was for his own protection against Nava’s anger—not Arkimedes’s—didn’t matter in the end. Gallon voiced an apology that sounded sincere, and the bees ceased.
Eris entered the room not five minutes later, just as Gallon tightened the straps of the last gardebras. The guard’s steps were every bit as loud as the screeching of his armor. He’d been waiting outside, keeping a watchful eye on the corridor. “Sir, madam, the king calls for you. He is out in the courtyard with the guards. It’s time.”
Nava tensed, then visibly willed herself to relax. She climbed off the pedestal she’d been standing on. “I guess I’m as ready as I will ever be.”
They had gone over the plan multiple times. Even if Leir were to spot the guards heading into the forest, the ring should distract him enough to give them the upper hand.
By the time they made it out of the front entrance, the sun burned like fire as it set behind the castle and dipped past the horizon of tree tops.
The king walked ahead of the line of his guards, his armor made of a silver so light it appeared white in the distance. Only the chest plate was decorated with edges of copper and gold. “You’re to remain out of sight until we can get close enough to the emissary to dispose of him.”
Arkimedes tightened his hand around his mother’s ring. He’d kept it hidden inside his pocket ever since they’d left her chambers last night. The metal was unnaturally cold, a clear sign that this jewelry wasn’t of this world.
Nava strapped her long daggers to either side of her belt. “I don’t think it’s a good sign that it’s stopped raining.”
Arkimedes grunted in agreement and placed his crown-shaped helmet over his head. It was identical to the king’s and a straightforward way for the guards to distinguish who was who.
Even with most of their features obscured, Arkimedes doubted anyone would confuse them, for the king stood taller than most, towering by a couple of inches over even his largest guard.
Nava reached for his crown. The pads of her fingers traced the edges of its pointed, thorny shapes. “The crown suits you.”
“It was my father’s before he became the king.” Dammit, there he was, calling the monster his father again. He would destroy this piece of tin and never pass it down his family line if they were lucky enough to have children.
If they survived first.
“I will see you two in the forest. Good luck.” Eris bowed to them, his features hidden by his helmet right before he, too, took off to the sky, following dozens of fae who were headed for the trees. Their wings and shadowy auras blended with the darkening sky.
The king remained, his braided hair billowing on the breeze. “Orion, if the time comes, you must take my power to defeat him. We can’t let him destroy the kingdom. No matter if you hate me now, this is our duty.” He nodded in their direction, his face strained before he took flight, not waiting for an answer.
There was no need to discuss where they would meet. Thinking about the tree his mother had died on clogged Arkimedes’s throat and made him want to kill King Oberon all over again.
But tonight wasn’t the night.
“Are you ready?” he asked.
“As ready as I will ever get.” Nava held on to his shoulders as he wrapped one arm under her legs and the other around her back. He lifted her with ease, and her magic soared through him, warm and gentle. It dulled the ache flaring from the arrow wounds in his wings.
“Hold on tight, Bee,” he said and rose into the rainy sky.
They flew in silence to a part of the forest he knew well. While he usually avoided it, he seemed to end up at the tree more often than not, as if destiny itself pulled him there.
Tonight, they would use the power of grief as a weapon to save thousands of innocent lives. To defeat an evil that festered in this kingdom, brought about by lies and jealousy.
The burnt tree stood in the clearing, commanding the same familiar dread. Charred and lacking life, its naked trunks twisted up onto spindly branches that allowed the stormy sky to peek through. A sense of unease sank underneath his skin and twisted his gut as he inspected the area.
“The trees are angry, but I don’t sense the emissary is close.” Nava drew a shaky breath. The silence was almost absolute. No creatures or insects dashed about in the undergrowth. Nothing lurked in the shadows of this cursed place.
“I’ve avoided returning here ever since my mother’s spirit showed me the truth,” he whispered, studying the blackened, gnarly branches. “I doubt Leir would come to the place where the king murdered my mother either.”
“It’s why this is a brilliant plan, Ark. We will get under his skin. You’ve outsmarted him.”
“We did.” Arkimedes gripped her chin and dropped a kiss on her forehead. He lingered for a moment, closing his eyes and enjoying her warm scent and the spice of her skin. She wrapped her arms around his neck, pulled him down to her face, and kissed him with a desperation that he matched.
