Page 130 of Lady of the Drowned Empire

I exhaled sharply. My chest felt like it had been stabbed the moment they’d started talking. If the rumor was that we were in Elyria, then the women at the brothel hadn’t betrayed us. Yet.

And that meant there was a still a chance that it was unconfirmed we were together.

“His father should have put him down. Murderer.” My hands clenched at the second soturion’s words. “Did you hear the Ready took off?”

I sucked in a breath.

The first grunted. “Some arkturion he is—lost an entire Ka’s bloodline in under a month.”

“What about the new arkasva?” The second soturion kicked a stone.

“The old arkasva’s sister? Probably cursed, too. Like all Ka Batavia. Mark my word, it’s just a matter of time. They’ll all be on their knees for Ka Kormac, in more ways than one. Just like Elyria bowed to Ka Elys. Picked by Kormac. Same thing.”

My heart beat faster. Ka Elys had been picked by the Imperator to replace Ka Azria?

“Heard they engaged her to the Kormac wolf.”

“Wasn’t the Heir Apparent fucking him? Lady Naria?”

The first soturion let out a gruff laugh. “Now she’s marrying the heir of Ka Grey. Same one carrying on with Lady Lyriana. They all just swapped partners.”

The second clicked his tongue. “Bamaria’s a big prize. If the old bitch won’t marry the Imperator, the youngest can marry his son. Sick shit in the south. Soon it’s just going to be Korteria all across the border.”

“Can’t be that strong if they lost her. Ka Kormac had the lady safe in their lodging. The forsworn went right in and took her.”

“Kormac’s offering a pretty prize to anyone who can bring back his son’s bride.” There was a long pause as a soft hiss sliced through their chatter. The soturion asked another question, but I was no longer listening to him.

A sudden blast of heat burst through the cold of the night. And another hiss crossed the park, the eerie sound carried on the wind.

Nahashim.

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

I turned, watching the edge of the woods. A shadow moved through the trees, gliding across the ground. Two glinting orbs appeared and vanished.

I tried to remember what I knew of Cretanya’s lands. I’d read mostly about the city. Like Elyria, they favored ashvan for travel. Few seraphim could be found here—no gryphons lived this far south. Nahashim were bred on the island of Lethea, but that didn’t mean they didn’t exist elsewhere.

Were they native to Cretanya? Or had these been sent by Rhyan’s father?

My chest heated—not with the flames of the Valalumir, which had been dormant for days, but with the warmth of the vadati stone.

“Lyr,” Rhyan said, voice low and muffled beneath my clothes. “Got the room. Coming for you.”

I couldn’t let Rhyan come where the nahashim could see him.

I fished the stone from my tunic and wrapped my cloak around me to avoid anyone seeing it. “Rhyan, I’m coming to the front of the building,” I said. “Meet me there—not in the park.”

“Why?” he asked, immediately on alert. “What’s wrong?”

“Nahashim,” I said quickly. “I think your father sent them.”

“Where are you now?”

“I’m not alone. Just…meet me there. I can get there. Okay?”

The stone went white. Two sets of eyes stared at me from the woods.

A large rock lay by my feet. Without thinking, I picked it up and threw it straight at the pairs of eyes.