Page 33

Now I’d given her what she wanted. It was time she did the same before the guards caught us.

“Wake up. Now.” I grasped the woman’s shoulders and gave her a shake.

The seer blinked, her foggy gaze slowly clearing. After a moment, she frowned, looking at her hands on my chest. “Oh, when did that happen? Did I miss something?”

Stepping back, I knocked her hands from my tunic. “You were about to tell me how to open a portal.”

“I was?” She smoothed her hair back from her face, her expression dreamy. “Boy, that venom of yours really packs a punch.”

I curled my fingers into my palms. “Theportal,” I snapped.

“Keep your pants on,” she slurred, wobbling like a drunkard, then smiled. “Or don’t.”

“You have three seconds until I tear your throat out. One.”

“Fine. Fine. Sheesh. Not like we’re going anywhere,” she snorted. “First, opening a portal takes some big-time power, the kind of power you can only acquire through an eternal sacrifice. That sacrifice must be offered freely.”

“You’re talking about blood magic?”

“Yes. And only a sorceress with portal magic can perform the spell.”

So, I’d have to murder an innocent. That part was easy enough. “Where do I find this sorceress?”

“Well, right next to the king, silly.”

“Explain,” I insisted.

The twit had the audacity to roll her eyes. “That’s right. You’re not from these parts. See, when King Idris first claimed the throne, our sacred arbor denied his dominion, refusing to grant him access to her power. For the sake of the realm, this could not stand. Problem was, King Idris was the only one in the kingdom with divine blood. That’s why I did a reading for him and discovered the only way to remedy the situation was through a sorceress from a unique bloodline.”

I narrowed my eyes, dread tightening my gut. “You’re the reason he made Raelynn his queen?”

The seer planted a hand on her bony hip. “Don’t look at me like I’m some common criminal. It was for the good of the whole kingdom that our king had access to its power. The Starborn females were the only line of sorceresses still living with portal magic. Once they were mated, the queen was able to open a gateway between the king and the sacred arbor.”

Ah.Perhaps this was why Runa claimed her sister had betrayed the kingdom. Though why the little thief would feel responsible was beyond me and not my concern.

“Are you saying the king’s sorceress can open portals?”

“Well, yes, same as her mother before her. Stupid cow, she died years ago, trying to hide her daughters from the new king. Had she merely cooperated, they all could have lived a life of luxury. But no. She was from one of a handful of villages that rebelled once King Idris came to power. Because of her defiance, the king slaughtered her husband and razed her village. If you think about it, it’s rather sad, really.”

“Sad. Yes,” I agreed, not that I had much sympathy for peasants and commoners.

“You mentioned the Starborn women. Do you mean to say the portal magic is connected to their bloodline?”

“In theory.” She hitched a shoulder. “Both the mother and eldest daughter had it. From what I understand, the youngest daughter hadn’t come into her powers yet when the king and Raelynn were married.”

That child being Runa.

By the gods. Runa was the key to everything.

Runa.

The back of my neck prickled, anxious teeth nipping at my flesh. Something was wrong.

I needed to hurry back.

Now!

Chapter Eleven