Page 98 of The Queen’s Shadow

Perfect. I silently shared this piece of information with Jeremy and Rycon, both of them looking at me with tense expressions.

Zayne led us up a flight of wide, sweeping marble steps, to the roof of the palace. The dry desert wind whipped through my ponytail as I stepped onto the large open rectangular space. There was no ceiling here, though columns lined the perimeter of the space.

Vespara's throne sat at the other end of the marble platform with a small pergola built around it, offering shade. Two slaves curled at the base of her throne, bearing large plates of fruit, and amphora filled with what I could only assume was wine. Another slave stood beside the throne with a large palm leaf. I snorted. The excessiveness of needing a slave to fan you when you were capable of controlling the temperature around you was not lost on me.

The moment my eyes fell on Vespara, I immediately knew what Cerenah had meant when she had said Vespara was never going to agree to work with us.

I had met people whose eyes looked like Vespara’s many times. During my short eighteen years of life, I had taken several trips to the psych ward. I had spent days in the psychiatric wing of hospitals after violent outbursts.

There was no reasoning with people who had that look. There was no good or evil, right or wrong, when dealing with a person whose mind walked on a different plane as Vespara’s did. There were only the voices in their heads and what they told them to do.

My mind was whirling. I had expected her to be difficult, evil, maybe even deranged. I had not expected her to be certifiably insane.

‘Fuck.’ I breathed into my mind, and I felt Amon’s solemn metaphysical nod.

‘Yes.’

The carving Amon had mentioned stretched before us. It was a large double ringed circle in the center of the megaron. In the middle of the circle was a depiction of a celestial storm. The intricate artwork featured swirling clouds, and crackling lightning bolts. The bolts of lightning struck down from the swirling clouds, connecting with tiny, blackened carvings of what looked like daemons.

Nope.

Message received. I would not be stepping in there.

“Zayne!” Vespara cried from her throne. She reached for him without getting up, making a ‘come here’ motion with her hands. It was somehow both childlike and sensual at the same time.

A chill ran up the back of my neck.

Zayne’s demeanor did not change at all. He simply made his way to the throne, being careful to walk around the large carving in the floor.

“Sit!” Vespara demanded, gesturing for him to perch on the arm of her throne. He did as he was told, and she got on her knees in her seat, running her hand up his thigh and kissing him on the side of the throat.

‘Ew. Aren’t they siblings?’ I gagged in my mind. Amon’s disgust was just as palpable as mine.

‘Yes. Though that has never seemed to dissuade Vespara.’

I watched with a sort of horrified fascination as Zayne gently and expertly untangled himself from her, drawing her attention away from himself and directing it at us.

‘It doesn’t seem like the feeling is mutual.’ I observed and Amon chuckled.

‘I would agree, though it does not matter. Vespara and Zayne are twins, but Vespara is three minutes older, making her the reigning monarch. She holds the chains to his bond in Ash Nevra’s absence.’

‘I almost feel bad for him.’ I said, watching her stroke his inner thigh. Zayne’s stiffness implied that the touch was unwanted.

‘Don’t. He would spare no sympathy were the roles reversed. He is under Vespara’s control, yes, but there are many who suffer under his rule in a similar fashion. I am sure Cerenah could tell you stories about him that would make it easier for you to watch his sister have her way with him.’

I frowned at the tone in Amon’s voice. He sounded off… angry, even.

‘Okay, okay, relax. I just mean it’s pretty disgusting to watch.’

“Princess,” Zayne purred into Vespara’s ear, though he ensured his voice carried across the expansive space of the megaron. “We have guests. I present to you, Raven, the False Queen and her entourage.”

I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. Ash Nevra’s defamation campaign had clearly caught on, if I was being publicly introduced as ‘the False Queen.’

Vespara’s head snapped to face us, a look of pure glee lighting up her face. Though they were fraternal twins, they had many similarities. Her long, chocolate brown hair was thick and fell in loose waves over her shoulders. However, unlike Zayne’s scarred face, her tawny skin was flawless, and her hazel eyes sparkled with her insanity. She was wearing a virginal white dress that flowed and billowed around her in the dry desert wind. She would have been beautiful if there was not something so inherently off about her.

Her movements were jerky and unpredictable, and her gaze never seemed to stay trained on one place for very long.

“Come forward, False Queen! Allow me to look at you.” A manic smile spread across her face, and she looked up at Zayne with a sickeningly affectionate expression painted across her delicate features.