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“Fallon was raised on the streets,” I snapped. “Veravine left her behind.”

His lips curled into something like a smile. “It’s always more complicated.” He turned, cane tapping lightly against the frost-slick stone. “Come. Dinner should be ready.”

I wanted to say more, but I didn’t. And dinner with the king? What could possibly go wrong?

Dinner was sweetened roast chicken and beets imported from some western realm. The table was dressed in dull pink and gray petals. They were gloomy things that wilted like they didn’t want to be here either. Hellebores, of course.

The king sat at the head. Across from him was his wife, Evangeline, she was a silvery blonde woman with citrine eyes sharp enough to cut glass.

If this wasn’t the strangest family dinner I’d ever been dragged into, then I honestly didn’t know what was.

Charles stabbed his rose-gold fork into the meat, juices spraying across his plate as he chewed like he hadn’t had a proper meal in weeks. Then he nodded toward Evangeline. “I heard your brother signed an oil trade with Wrathi. Congratulations.”

She took a slow sip of red wine and set the glass down with care. “Yes,” she said, her voice smooth. “The deal has been long overdue. With the latest industrial advances, reliance on dragon travel may soon be behind us.”

Charles nodded again, and the swirl of polite smiles and political bullshit made my head spin.

Evangeline turned back to him, lips curling at the edges. “Although,” she added lightly, “since we’re family now, I’d hoped we might strike a deal with your father. I’ve always wanted to open a jewelry shop of my own, and with all those diamonds he’s sitting on…”

I nearly choked on my next sip. Even the guards in the corner dared to shift at that uncomfortable comment about us being a family.

Charles said to Evangeline, “My father does not bargain anymore, even if it would save his kingdom.”

“Pity,” said Evangeline.

Then Charles nudged his wine glass in my direction. “You’ll enjoy Malvoria this time of year, Severyn. It’s cold, but not too cold.”

“What?” I gasped, caught off guard. “I’m not going to Malvoria.”

It was dead silent for a moment at the table. Then Charles gave me a strange grin. “You can’t return to the Serpent Academy, and I can’t keep my eye on you while you’re in Demetria. If the person accused of a forbidden quell fails to be stripped, they’re property of the Malvoria guards.”

“I’m a Serpent. You can’t send me to that institution.”

Evangeline spoke up, her voice flat. “Archer is young. He won’t pass anytime soon. You should be honored.”

The king chimed in after his wife, his tone matter-of-fact, “And joining the guards will look good to the civilians.”

I dropped my fork with a loud clang. “I won’t go.”

“Myla is there. Don’t you miss her?” asked Charles. “I’m trying to make this easy, but you are making this difficult. ”

My throat tightened. “Yes, but you can’t be serious.”

The king cleared his throat. “Charles is right. Nothing proves loyalty to the land like fighting for it. Guards keep our borders safe. Perhaps Archer or your father will name you a protector of their realm before your third year is up.”

Holy realms . Three years? I felt like I knew that, but it never really sunk in.

The king gestured to one of the guards standing near the golden door. “Felixin, my personal guard, is known for his wit. Go on, boy—tell them a joke.”

The guard shifted. His face was nearly completely obscured by scaled armor, but the tension in his stance was clear. “Your Majesty, I don’t—”

“Come now,” the king interrupted, grinning as he stabbed his fork into a slab of meat. “Make your king proud and tell us a joke.”

A long pause. Then, flatly, Felixin muttered, “How many griffins does it take to cross the barren lands?”

Charles raised an eyebrow. “How many?”

Felixin didn’t even blink. “None. Griffins fly.”

The king burst into laughter, the sound bouncing off the marble walls like it had been waiting for an excuse to escape. “Delightfully absurd! Isn’t that just perfect?”

Evangeline nearly choked on her wine, coughing through her laughter. The candlelight carved wicked angles into her face, making her smile look sharper than kind. “Gods, that’s my favorite one. It never gets old.”

Charles and I exchanged a stiff glance before he set his fork down. “This isn’t a negotiation,” he said. “You’re going to Malvoria. No one will know you’re an heir. As far as the realms are concerned, you’ve been expelled. It’s that or prison.”

I bristled, planting both hands on the table’s edge. “Then you’ll have to drag me there. ”

Charles leaned in, his smile cold and precise. “I figured you’d say that. Which is why I’ve already made arrangements for your delivery.”

He snapped his fingers.

For a moment, nothing. Just the clink of silverware. The low hum of conversation dying around us.

Then came the scrape of pincers against stone. Like something wild and armored was clawing its way down the hall.

I shoved my chair back just as a monstrous black scorpion skittered into the room, its obsidian tail curled high and twitching like it was eager to strike. Behind it trailed a silver-haired woman in a long leather coat that swept the floor like a shadow.

A Briber.

Recognition hit like a blow. I’d seen her before. She was the same Briber who hunted me in Ravensla.

Panic climbed my spine. I turned to Charles, searching his face for any hint of reason. “You sent a damn scorpion to escort me?” My voice cracked with fury. “What the hell is wrong with you?”

The woman grinned, all sharp teeth and audacity. “Remember me? I’m Sabitha,” she purred, tossing me a wink like we were old friends at a ball.

I didn’t return it. “I’m not agreeing to go,” I said to Charles, jaw tight. “There has to be another way to get me there.”

Sabitha clicked her tongue. The scorpion hissed like it was laughing. “I’m not your escort, girl. Frankly, I don’t care if you make it there alive.”

I opened my mouth to fire back, but Charles cut in before I could. “Severyn will make it there alive. Or I’ll have you rotting in a cell.” His gaze sharpened. “Do I make myself clear?”

I eyed the massive scorpion, its eyes gleaming like thick oil. “I’m not riding that thing. I’m not going,” I said .

Sabitha flicked her wrist, and the creature stilled, as if responding to a silent command. “Nevia won’t harm you,” she said with a sweet, mocking lilt. “She only likes a taste.”

A taste? Of me? A taste of what?

“I feel like a prisoner,” I muttered under my breath. And technically, I was. “Can we portal instead? Anything but this—this venomous beast. Or you could just trust me and let me go.”

Charles let out a sharp sigh. “Portaling is advanced. The risk is too high.”

“I’m sure scorpion travel poses some risk as well.” I bit back a groan and turned toward Nevia. The scorpion loomed above me, its legs twitching, wiry hairs vibrating with every step I took back.

“Don’t just stand there,” Sabitha said, her voice smooth as silk. “Climb up. Nevia only bites on my command.”

Evangeline reached out, trailing her fingers across the black shell. “What a magnificent beast,” she murmured. “She is divine.”

Before I could bolt, Charles snapped his fingers, and ice shackles clamped around my wrists. In a breath, he hauled me into the saddle with infuriating ease.

“They’ll melt in an hour,” he said, grunting. “Unless you want to run chained, I suggest you cooperate.”

The saddle shifted beneath me. Every instinct I had screamed to run, but it was too late. I gripped the leather reins, heart pounding against my ribs.

Nevia let out a low hum, and I felt it in my teeth. “What is it doing?” I asked, voice tight.

Sabitha mounted in front of me with practiced ease. “Tasting you,” she said.

Tasting me?

Suddenly, a cold ripple slid down my spine. Then I felt a pull. It came slowly, like a whisper under my skin. Nevia was drawing something out of me. It wasn’t blood, but flame. It unraveled in silken threads, peeled from my soul like heat from bone.

She wasn’t biting. She was savoring.

Before I could stop myself, the words surfaced in my mind without my control. Severyn Blanche. My quell is flame.

Sabitha tucked a hand beneath her jaw. “Nevia says you have an interesting soul.”

“Tell it to stop,” I said, biting back a shiver. This wasn’t just a creature. It was studying me and tasting my secrets.

Sabitha gave me an all-knowing grin. “What else lies in your chest? Nevia has never been curious before while tasting.”

The words nearly spilled out. The ones I had sworn never to say aloud. I am forbidden. I swallowed hard, forcing them back, locking them behind my teeth.

“Charles,” I said hoarsely, “stop it. Stop this beast.”

But Charles’s voice was already rising. “Enough! Enjoy your little tasting, Sabitha. But if she’s harmed, you’ll find your face across every kingdom within a day.”

Sabitha snapped the reins without another word. “Away we go,” she said, almost gleefully. “I would hate to be forbade from this land.”

Nevia surged forward. I gripped the saddle tighter, trying to force the burning thoughts from my head. But it was impossible to think with a monstrous scorpion crawling beneath me.

What had the Briber seen? What had Nevia felt ? Maybe Sabitha already knew what my forbidden power was. Maybe she’d known since Ravensla.

We rode in silence, the scorpion’s heavy strides rocking us with every step. Cold air knifed across my face as we passed through the Capital gates. I didn’t look back. Not even when I felt Charles watching .

“Do you enjoy being a Briber?” I asked. “Surely, you get some thrill out of this.”

She turned slightly, her silver hair lifting in the wind, barely held in place by jeweled clips that shimmered like frost. “It pays well,” she said.

“And how much am I worth?”

“A thousand gold coins,” she replied with a mocking hiss, “and the freedom to live wherever I please. Your brother had prior obligations, so he hired me.”

My jaw tightened. “I thought Bribers weren’t welcome in Verdonia. That Serpents only used you for failed Bids or hunting criminals.”

She scoffed. “We were exiled, yes. Deemed too dangerous by the same blood boiling in your veins. But once the guards saw how useful we were… let’s just say they stopped caring where we came from. Now I deal with criminals.”

Criminals. That’s what I was to them.

My stomach turned. Nevia had sensed something in me definitely the king’s blood. Maybe something worse.

I tried to distract myself. Tried to learn more about her, since she’d be delivering me like a package for the next day.

“If you could live anywhere,” I asked, voice quieter now, “where would it be?”

She sighed. “Maybe I’ll keep the Shadow Serpent company. I hear he’s lonely. And I do love the stars.”

“He’s not lonely,” I said.

“Well, he’s the finest unmarried Serpent on the Continent… or so I’ve heard.”

She was baiting me, trying to piss me off. “Go ahead,” I said. “The Night lands are beautiful. Especially under the Serpent you speak so fondly of. I hardly got any sleep.”

“You are his heir. Of course you’re beneath him.” She hummed, silk-smooth and venom-laced. “ Oh … was that a secret? My Gods, your shield is weak. One whiff from my beast, and it told me everything.”

Her words hit like thorns. “So, you know everything about me just because of that scorpion?” I asked. “What kind of magic does it use to peel people open?”

“Yes. I know everything about you, Severyn. And scorpions are truth seekers, it is in their blood to see into the souls of others.”

“And how much gold is that information worth?” I asked, voice tight. “What Nevia… saw in me.”

“Not much. You aren’t as important as you think. Honestly, you’re quite annoying.”

I gripped the saddle tighter, and slowly, the ice chains began to melt as we entered a forested path. All too soon, the scorpion’s steady pace carried me farther from everything I knew and closer to everything I feared.