Page 29 of Dance of Kings and Thieves

“Again, it leads me to wonder why they haven’t?”

A valid question, and one we did not have answers for, only guesses. “I hold out hope that it is because the ring does nothing for them. Malin woke the mesmer within the ring, and I like to think she is the one who will always wake the power. She is the one born of both bloodlines.”

“Sounds like Timoran and Etta, the two sides of our war.”

“In a way, but in this case we do not need to even kill Niall to be the victors. Folk here are superstitious and if Malin proves she controls the ring, the people of the East will toss the Gryms from the Black Palace themselves.”

Halvar leaned his head back in his chair, and closed his eyes. “I look forward to seeing the day. If we ever find the damn thing. I wonder, though, if your people are waiting for the heir, what do you make of the alliances with the Southern Kingdom?”

“It is a concern,” I admitted. “One we still need to find out more about.”

We’d yet to hear from the Southern fae prince, and Ari worried more than he let on.

Wild fae like troll folk, forest folk, water nyks that could use their strange glamour mesmer to lull others into a trance, were of concern if they should choose to stand with the Black Palace.

Eryka was a peaceful fae, a star seer who was whimsical, but I’d listened to Ari’s tales of some of the more vicious folk in the Southern Kingdom. Southern fae lived for games and tricks. If there was an alliance with the South and the Black Palace, we would be facing new magic that we did not have.

We had earth magic and our mesmer, but if we were glamoured out of our own will, there was no telling what could become of us. Niklas had already been working up elixirs to defend our minds under Eryka’s direction.

I stared back at the paintings. I needed something, anything, to conjure up some semblance of a move. I’d assured Malin this was the move to make, to fight for her birthright. Yet, here we were, locked in a cage during the frosts.

The moment I considered using my karambit knife to slash the painting, from somewhere in the Falkyn Nest, a loud shout echoed against the walls.

“We found it!”

Halvar and I looked at each other, then simultaneously scrambled from our chairs and bolted into the corridor.

In the main gathering room, Malin stood between Valen and Elise as they met Frey, Axel, and Ari. The brothers were sweaty and peeled off tunics and caps from their heads. Ari took a great swig straight from a large ewer of brän.

Malin gripped my arm and whispered, “They say they found the ring.”

“What?” My head whipped back to the men. “Thering?”

Frey nodded and held out a leather pouch. “A bleeding trader in the upper townships was selling it. Matched the exact description you told us. My King—” he faced Valen, “you should know, we spent a great deal of shim to get it.”

Valen waved the notion away and followed the pouch as it passed between me and Frey.

Breath stilled in my chest as I opened the small drawstring skin. I hated how my fingers trembled. A tick of my pulse screamed in my head when a smooth, glass ring, etched in black runes, gleamed in the center of my palm.

The ring. It . . . itwasthe queen’s ring.

“Why isn’t it lighting up?” Malin’s voice spurred me from my stun.

The runes were dead. She’d said the ring at the masque had burned in fiery gold when she stood only steps from it. Now, she stroked her finger over the edge and the runes were lifeless and dull.

“Try it on.” I handed the ring to her and held my breath as she slipped it on her finger.

Malin shook her head. “Nothing. I feel nothing.”

Niklas let out a grunt of frustration and stormed across the room. “Let me see it.” He studied the ring for a breath before closing his fist around it. “Give me a moment. I have elixirs that reveal mesmer in objects.”

He said nothing more before running out of the room toward his elixir rooms.

“He thinks it is a duplicate?” Elise posed the question we were all thinking.

Of course. I kicked the leg of a wooden table near the wall and turned away, hands on my hips. It made sense for Ivar to plant dubious rings throughout the kingdom to draw us out.

“I should’ve seen this,” I muttered.