Kiva took in the war zone happening around them and shook her head. “They need you here.”
“But —”
“I can’t help with this fight,” Kiva cut him off, “but I know how to get to the queen’s chambers. Eidran said Mirryn is unguarded — I’ll be fine. I can do this.” Her pulse spiked at the thought of going on alone, but they would only be apart for a few minutes, and what she’d said was true — he was needed here, and she was not.
Jaren glanced at their struggling friends, before turning back to her, his eyes conflicted. But he finally nodded and reached into his pocket, withdrawing the leather pouch containing the first three rings and pressing it into her palm. “Get the Signet, then come find me.” He leaned in and gave her a fierce, desperate kiss, before pulling back again and ordering, “If Zuleeka comes out of hiding, you run. You don’t face her without us there to back you up, understand?” He didn’t wait for her to agree before he touched the amulet at her chest. “And whatever you do, don’t take this off. Mirryn is worse with a blade than you are. As long as you’re wearing this, she won’t be able to hurt you.”
Since the amulet was still imbued with Caldon’s and Ashlyn’s magic, Kiva knew it would keep her safe from anything but water. She wasn’t afraid of facing Mirryn, but as she stared back at Jaren, her courage wavered at the thought of leaving him, however briefly. She didn’t fear for herself, but she did fear for him. And not just him — there was also Naari and Eidran and Veris, who were fighting just beyond the pillar; Torell and Ashlyn and Rhessinda, who were outside battling on the grounds; and Cresta, who had vanished to gods knew where. Kiva’s only relief was that Caldon, Tipp, and Galdric were still making their way to Vallenia, safe from the innumerable enemy that the rest of their friends were facing. But that wasn’t enough to calm her, not when everyone else was in such imminent danger.
“Go, Kiva,” Jaren said softly, seeing the worry growing in her eyes. He kissed her once more, the barest of lip touches. “Go.”
With that, he turned and ran straight back into the fight, where even more Gray Guards had arrived, but so too were there now more silver-armored Royal Guards to help balance the numbers. Regardless, Eidran, Veris, and Naari were being swarmed, and Jaren immediately dove in to aid them.
Kiva allowed herself two seconds to watch his sword fly, seeing how capable he was even without his magic and telling herself that nothing would happen to him, nothing could happen to him, before she spun on her heel and sprinted away.
She barely noticed the white and gold hallways blurring by, the portraits on the walls, the statues standing at attention, focused only on racing as fast as she could along the lengthy palace corridors and up the red-carpeted staircases. Higher she rose, her lungs screaming with every floor she passed, until finally she was bolting along the passage she needed, the gilded doors of the queen’s chamber now in view and coming closer with every step.
Kiva paused only long enough to shove them open, sending them slamming back against the walls as she bounded straight through.
But what she saw on the other side had her staggering to a halt.
“What?” she breathed, the word more a gasp given her heavy panting.
Slower now, Kiva moved further into the room, peripherally aware of the familiar opulence surrounding her, the high ceilings and lush carpets, the lavish fireplace and the crystalline piano, the full windows that looked straight out at the gardens — which were still raging with the battle — and the river, right where the bridge spanned between both sides of the palace. But Kiva barely noticed the room or what was happening beyond it; her attention was solely on the three people draped across the queen’s red velvet couches.
Kiva hadn’t known what to expect upon her arrival — she’d assumed she would find Mirryn alone and had planned to wrestle the ring from her. What she hadn’t imagined was that not just Mirryn, but also Ariana and young Oriel would all be in the room — and she certainly hadn’t anticipated that all of them would be asleep.
Except . . . that wasn’t what this was. Because as Kiva edged closer, she could see the black shadows swirling around them.
Zuleeka’s magic — just like the unnatural coma forced upon Naari.
Kiva shuddered at the reminder of how powerful her sister was, but she pushed her dread aside and hurried toward Mirryn. As she passed Oriel, she leaned down to check his pulse, only to jump back again when Flox leapt out from behind a cushion, the normally placid silverbear hissing and swiping at her.
“Easy, boy,” Kiva said, retreating from his sharp teeth and claws. “I’ll free them in a minute.” First she needed to take advantage of Mirryn being unconscious.
Closing the distance between them, she looked down at the golden-haired princess, belatedly realizing that something must have happened between her and Zuleeka if she’d ended up on the wrong side of Zuleeka’s magic. So much for them being equal partners — equal queens.
Despite her curiosity, Kiva couldn’t spare a thought to that now, and reached for Mirryn’s hands, searching, searching, searching.
But the princess wore no ring.
In desperation, Kiva patted down her clothes and checked the pockets of her blue gown, but there was nothing, making Kiva curse with awareness that she now only had one option — she would have to wake Mirryn and ask where it was. If Zuleeka had taken it . . .
Don’t think about that, Kiva told herself, not needing another reason to panic. Instead, she summoned her magic and sent it into the princess, focusing on banishing the shadows and reversing Zuleeka’s power. She then guided her healing light toward Ariana and Oriel, unwilling to leave them cursed for a moment longer.
It was a mistake, Kiva knew, as the shadows evaporated.
Not because Mirryn was now blinking and sitting up, nor because the queen and her son were doing the same. But because, after days of hard travel with limited rest, Kiva hadn’t realized how low her energy had dropped. And using that much magic at once, even if it had come easily to her —
She swayed on the spot and flung a hand to her forehead.
Kiva couldn’t remember the last time her power had taken so much out of her. Ever since she’d learned to fuel her magic with positive emotions, it had become nearly effortless for her, barely a drain, only making her tired after the longest of training days. But now she was feeling it.
And with Zuleeka still at large, it was the worst possible time for Kiva not to be at full strength.
It was too late to take it back, though, so Kiva spent a moment breathing deeply and assessing how she felt, relieved to find it wasn’t as bad as she’d feared. She couldn’t explain it, but it was as if she could feel her magic replenishing itself, almost like it knew the threat she would soon be facing and wanted to be ready. She might have wept, if she weren’t so aware of the three stunned royals in the room, all of whom were staggering to their feet.
“Mama!” Oriel cried, stumbling toward Queen Ariana with a much happier Flox in his hands. His mother pulled him close as he burst into tears, the tender action enough to steal Kiva’s attention for the barest of seconds.
But then she turned back to Mirryn, who was standing shakily before her, looking nothing like the haughty, imperious young woman from all their previous interactions.