Page 288 of The Queen’s Shadow

“Yep.” Rycon agreed, smiling down at her and dropping a kiss on her nose.

Jeremy looked extremely uncomfortable with the current line of conversation, and once again, Conrad jumped in to try to keep us on track.

“Wit all dat bein’ said, Meredith and Dossidian say dey stay in Wrath to continue tuh look fah ways to defend Di Courts against di slavery bonds, in case Kieran gets any ideas.” He informed me, and I nodded. That sounded good to me. I frowned, suddenly remembering my shadowstone blades. When I had woken up in that cell they had been missing, I wondered what had happened to them, and if we still needed to be worried about Kieran using them for something nefarious.

“Hey, did anyone see my blades when we were escaping by any chance? I don’t love that they’re missing. I feel like Kieran will do something fucked up with them.” I murmured, and everyone shook their heads. I pursed my lips.

“We don’t have your blades, but we do have The Flute.” Nytara said, and my heart rate sped up.

The fucking FLUTE!

That thing was the bane of my existence. I had half a mind to destroy the stupid thing, just to make sure no one ever had a chance to use it against us again. Then again…

I glanced up at Amon, raising my eyebrows. “Do you think we should…”

“Wake The Origin?” Kasha quipped excitedly.

Amon looked down at me, his expression tight.

“He will be angry.” He said quietly. “I do not think Elvira will survive, and Aleites will want to punish the one responsible.”

This was true, and a problem, considering the person responsible was my mate.

“You had to do it to save me though. I’m technically his daughter. I’m sure he’ll understand.”

“No. It is an unnecessary risk.” For the first time, it looked like Jeremy agreed with something Amon had said.

I pursed my lips. “Well, I can’t just leave him if I have the power to unfreeze him. Plus, if Kieran really is planning something, it would be useful to have Aleites on our side.” I pointed out, but both Jeremy and Amon looked like they thoroughly hated the idea.

“I agree with Raven.” Rycon said, throwing his arms back over the lip of the pit. “My gut tells me this shit is far from over. The look on that asshole’s face when he magicked away that stone just screamed ‘world domination.’ You better believe his crafty ass is up to something. If he really does have the hell bitch trapped in that crystal thing I think it’s pretty safe to say this is just the calm before the storm.”

“If Kieran workin with dark magick like dat, der will be big trouble.” Conrad said, his tone somber. “Dis is what make mi kind so dangerous. We have di power to manipulate and change di natural way of tings. Kieran is a problem. He may even prove to be more conniving dan Ash Nevra.”

“Okay. So, here’s what I think we should do.” I said, and everyone perked up to listen. “I think Rycon and Kasha should go back to Olkuyrbe to finish what they started with the other shifters. Let them know what we suspect with Kieran and see who’s willing to fight if we need them to.” Kasha and Rycon both nodded.

“Good, Rhyalla’s probably hella pissed we’re not back yet.” Rycon muttered to Kasha and she gave him a ‘ya think?’ look.

“Nytara, I want you to go back to Envy. Since Prince Caspian has not returned and it sounds like Niahmara is dead, The Court will need someone to manage it until we can get everything worked out. See if you can recruit a naval force of some kind while you’re there, so we’re prepared.”

She looked surprised by my order, but her features softened. “You want… me? To lead The Court of Envy?” She asked. I nodded.

“Yes. You know Envy better than any of us. Without you we would have been lost. Do you think you can get a fleet of ships together for us?”

She nodded, a wicked smile curling on her lips. “I will reunite my fleet and we will sail under the sigil of the raven.” She promised, her eyes shining with excitement.

I grinned at her. Who needed Niahmara’s stupid navy anyway? Pirates were way more badass.

Conrad looked ecstatic. “Yuh mind if mi go with Nytara?” He asked, unable to contain his excitement, and I shrugged. “Sure, I don’t see why not.”

He pumped his fist in the air and I laughed.

“What about you, Kitten? Are you going to wake The Origin?” Rycon asked and I nodded.

“Yeah. We’re going to wake The Origin,” I said, gesturing to Amon and Jeremy. “Then we’re going to ask him to tell us everything he knows about soulforge and shadowstone. He’s the creator of all things, so I’m pretty confident he’ll know how we can get an edge on Kieran.” I glanced up at Amon. “It will also be nice for him to take over ruling The Dominion, so you and I can stay here and focus more on us. I think we’ve earned a break.”

Amon looked down at me, his eyes widening slightly in surprise. “I didn’t realize that was something you wanted.” He said softly, and I smiled at him, touching his cheek gently.

“Of course I do. After we wake him up we can meet everyone back here and have a mating ceremony, or do whatever it is daemons do to celebrate mated pairs.

He was looking at me as if I were the only thing that existed, his green eyes turning glassy with emotion. He touched a thumb tenderly to my chin and cleared his throat.

“Of course, my love. Anything you want.”