Followed by his cheeky, “How scandalous.”
And then Kiva succumbed to sleep with a smile on her lips.
The next time Kiva woke, still tired and achy, it was dark outside her window. She thought she was alone, until a figure approached her bed, the faint luminium lights revealing a snake tattoo and a face speckled with partially healed cuts and bruises.
For a long moment, Kiva and Cresta just looked at each other.
And then Kiva said, “If you want me to bow, you’re going to have to help me up.”
Cresta’s relief was visible, with her slumping down into the chair beside the bed, a weighty breath leaving her as she said, “I think that terrifying healer woman will march in here and drag me out if you move so much as an inch.”
Kiva’s lips twitched at the thought of Cresta — fierce ex-quarrier, now-queen Cresta — being afraid of Healer Maddis.
“I think you can handle her,” she replied, shifting slightly, then wincing at the pain.
Another long pause fell between them, before Cresta sighed and said, “I wanted to tell you.” She pressed her lips together. “No, that’s a lie. I didn’t want anyone to know, because I never intended to do anything about it.” She pulled her tangled red locks away from her face and admitted, “I knew I wanted to save Serafine, to protect her — that was always my intention. But I didn’t have to challenge Navok to do that.”
“Then why did you?”
“It’s your fault,” Cresta said, suddenly scowling. “You and the stupid angeldust.”
Kiva’s eyebrows rose. “Excuse me?”
“In Ersa.” Cresta pitched her voice higher to mimic Kiva. “You’re a good friend, Cresta. I’m sorry you lost your family, but I’m glad you’re a part of ours now. I hated you for saying that, because you made me realize it was true. I’d tried to keep you all at a distance, but I’d failed.” Her scowl deepened. “Before that, I didn’t give a damn about the Vallentis family. Or Evalon, for that matter. But getting to know you all — you made it impossible for me not to care. And when I realized that my own brother was hellbent on using you and killing them, I knew I couldn’t just sit by and let that happen.” Her scowl faded into a guilty look as she confessed, “I didn’t know for sure until I saw him on the bridge, though. That was when I realized that even if I had no idea what I was doing, Mirraven would still be better off ruled by anyone but him.”
“For what it’s worth,” Kiva said quietly, “I think you’ll make a great queen.”
Cresta scrubbed a hand over her face. “I guess we’ll see.”
“Serafine will help you,” Kiva said, certain the compassionate princess wouldn’t leave her sister to the wolves.
“I’m counting on it, especially since one of the first things I’ll have to do is reach out to Caramor and fix the mess Nav created with them,” Cresta said, looking frustrated at the very thought.
Kiva’s eyes rounded. “You’re not going to make Sera marry —”
“Gods, of course not,” Cresta said quickly. “But she and Vosh have been friends since they were babes. If anyone can soothe Caramor’s ruffled feathers, it’s Sera. And Mirryn is going to help, too — she’s had a lifetime of scheming and politics, which will undoubtedly come in handy where we’re going, even if I’ll always have to watch my back around her.” In a mutter, she added, “Everworld knows what my sister sees in her.”
“Wait,” Kiva said. “Mirryn’s going with you?”
Cresta frowned. “Didn’t Jaren tell you?”
Kiva indicated her room, grimacing when the move tugged at her stomach again. “I haven’t seen him.”
Cresta looked hesitant, but shared, “The Royal Council charged Mirryn with treason.”
Kiva stilled. “But she —”
“They’re aware that she had a change of heart and tried to make amends, but they said they needed to set an example,” Cresta explained. “Serafine begged me to do something, so I suggested exile as the punishment.” She shrugged like it was nothing to her, and finished, “So yes, Mirryn is coming with us to Mirraven. And staying there.”
Relief hit Kiva — for Mirryn, but also for her family. The Royal Council could have sentenced the princess to death; exile wasn’t ideal, but at least she would still be breathing.
“Does that mean you’ll be open to frequent Vallentis guests?” Kiva asked, knowing Jaren and the others would still want to see Mirryn, regardless of her betrayal. But as soon as the words left her mouth, Kiva’s thoughts jumped away from the princess, and she couldn’t help cocking her head and adding, “Perhaps a certain handsome prince?”
Cresta brushed invisible lint off her shoulder. “I’ll maybe allow Jaren to visit, especially if you can be bothered to get off your lazy ass to come and see me.”
Kiva’s heart warmed as she read into Cresta’s comment, knowing it was her not-so-subtle way of saying that nothing about their friendship would change, even if they weren’t with each other every day. But she stayed on task to say, “I’m talking about a different handsome prince.”
Cresta wrinkled her nose. “Oriel is a bit young, don’t you think?”
Kiva huffed out a laugh, which she immediately regretted, pain flaring along her torso. She gritted her teeth through it, and said, “You know who I’m talking about.”
There was a pause, before Cresta answered, “I suppose Caldon can visit. Assuming his head will fit through the castle gates.”
Another laugh left Kiva against her will, and she had to bite back a whimper this time, before managing to say, “You two have such a strange relationship.”
“‘Relationship’ is a very strong word for what we have.” Cresta smirked wickedly. But then she said, almost in warning, “I don’t know what the future will bring for us. Things are more complicated now than before. But —” She looked down at the bed, before meeting Kiva’s eyes again and saying, her voice softer, “We’ll see.”
That was more than Kiva had expected her to admit, so she smiled and replied, “That’s good enough for me.”
Cresta just shook her head and looked to the ceiling, but then she leaned forward and grabbed something off the table beside Kiva’s bed, handing it over.
It was a vial, identical to the one Maddis had given Kiva earlier that day.
“Go on,” Cresta said, nudging her knee. “I saw you wince — you’re in pain. You need to sleep.”
“I’ve been sleeping for days,” Kiva grumbled, but she also knew she would heal faster if she rested, so she downed the bitter tonic. Once again, her pain dulled nearly instantly, but so too did her eyes begin to close. “You better not leave for Mirraven without saying goodbye,” she mumbled, sliding down in her bed.
“I won’t,” Cresta said, her voice fading out. “And besides, you and I still have unfinished business to attend to first.”
But Kiva didn’t get to ask what she was talking about before she drifted off again.
The early morning sunshine woke Kiva, and just like the last two times she’d regained consciousness, she wasn’t alone in her room. But this time there were two people with her, one on the chair — Tipp, who was snoring loudly — and one on the bed beside her, holding her close.