Declan's recent training with Ryan seem to have worked, because the wall started to disintegrate into air before our eyes, turning the castle into a life-sized dollhouse.

  Courtiers screamed and came streaming out of the front of the palace like ants. A woman in an orange dress went mindless with panic when the wall disappeared. She toppled from the third floor and became a screaming blur before she turned into a puddle of silk and blood on the ground.

  Someone rang the alarm bell that signaled attack. Archers appeared on the trip of the castle and arrows whizzed through the air below us. I could see their purple streaks, laced with poisonous magic. We were out of range.

  I ordered our gargoyles to dive bomb. Resistant to the arrows, they could take out the archers while we searched the open-faced rooms for Isla.

  “Another wall,” I ordered.

  Ryan’s face was strained and sweaty, but he only nodded.

  Connor hovered beside him, feeding him tiny bits of pink healing magic as he strained himself to take out another side of the palace.

  This time, we spotted Isla, and her daughter Corinna, trying to escape into an inner stairwell. I shot peace at both of them. It glinted off some of Isla’s armor, off the quiver of purple arrows at her back, but Corinna was dressed as a princess. My magic soaked through her long blue dress until she stood like a dumb rag doll.

  Pony and I flew lower, even as my men protested.

  Bloss, dont! Just wish that she walk herself to the edge of the palace! It’s a tiny wish! I can do that! Quinn yelled in my head. Declan can get her to jump this time!

  But bloodlust rose inside me. It was a beast with glowing red eyes. A beast who growled with the desire to avenge Kylie and all the others. That beast wanted to rip Isla apart.

  I landed as Isla struggled to yank her comatose daughter into the stairwell.

  “Corinna! Come on!” she grunted, her disguise-spelled voice that of a weak man. It was thin and stringy.

  Her daughter was too stunned to move.

  Pony walked forward, guarding me. Two more gargoyles landed with thuds beside us and stomped forward. This close, I could aim my peace magic better and I hit Isla in the throat, so she couldn’t run.

  Using my power so much left me light-headed. Unlike in the air, the gargoyles had no blood to lend me. The price was all my own. My thighs were soaked in sticky, wet blood as I strode toward the queen of Rasle.

  I let my gargoyles surround them.

  Isla stared at me with dull defiance.

  I waited, letting my power wash away. I didn’t want her to die peacefully. The vengeful part of me wanted her to scream as my gargoyle ripped her apart.

  I watched Isla and Corinna until their eyes started to clear.

  I ignored Quinn and Blue shouting for me to let the gargoyles kill the pair out so we could leave.

  I ignored my knights until Blue mentally shouted, Watch out! The princess is mad!

  That’s when Corinna grabbed an arrow from Isla’s quiver and shoved it right into her mother's jugular.

  Chapter Seventeen

  I had Pony knock out Princess Corinna by smacking her across the face with a closed paw.

  I considered that merciful.

  Shiter thought differently. The little lavender rabbit launched himself at me from underneath a chair. I hadn’t noticed him hiding there, but I did notice when Pony’s wings suddenly unfurled and I heard a thunk. Shiter had smacked to the ground but he bared his naughty little bunny teeth at me before leaving a pile of pellets on the floor.

  “Hello to you, too,” I told the enchanted bunny as he hopped forward to check on his mistress. I noted he didn’t shite on her. That rump-faced hopper!

  I grabbed Shiter by the ears and had one of the gargoyles take Corinna carefully in his claws.

  Then we flew the princess and her loyal, shitey little bunny back to Evaness.

  Connor helped me dismount and immediately encompassed me in pink light as I sagged against him. I hadn’t realized how much I’d been running on a combination of Donaloo’s tablets and adrenaline. But my head lolled against his chest and my knees nearly buckled once it was all over.

  I dropped Shiter, who scrambled to get away from us. I assume the overdose of healing magic made him feel sick. Blue snatched up his enchanted brother by the ears. “Harsh,” he greeted him.

  I didn’t even have the energy to laugh when Shiter shited in response.

  I looked around for Ryan and Declan, but they were still mounted, discussing things. Quinn took Princess Corinna from the gargoyle that had carried her. He shouldered her and dragged her inside. She moaned dully and put her hand to the goose egg that had formed on her forehead.

  I tapped on Connor. “Follow,” I ordered, because I didn’t have the strength yet to walk on my own. He half-carried me to the green parlor, the pink light of his magic offsetting my blood loss. By the time Connor helped me into a chair, I was feeling a bit better. Less light-headed. He brought me water, and a soldier tossed over an apple he’d been about to eat on his watch. After I ate, I felt much better.

  Connor spent a few minutes healing Corinna while I ate. That’s when I noticed a frozen courtier in the corner of the room. I pointed and asked Quinn to take the frozen woman over to the ballroom with the others.

  He gave a sigh of discontent but complied. We’re really going to need to figure out how to unfreeze these people.

  Add it to the endless list of things to do, I replied.

  I turned back to Rasle’s princess. “What the hell were you thinking?” I asked the freckle-faced, raven-haired Corinna. She was nearly six years older than me, in her mid-twenties—and already married to some schmucks her mother had chosen. Corinna, out of all the crown princesses in the kingdom of Kenmare, was the one I’d least expect to commit matricide. It threw everything I thought I knew about her into question. Sickly, shy, a pawn and simply a mouthpiece for her four husbands—that was the reputation that followed her like a shadow.

  “I thought it would be more merciful to kill her myself than let you torture her first,” Corinna’s voice was calm and collected. She held eye contact with me.

  “And you were willing to do that?”

  "If anyone else had done it, it would be treason. It would’ve been unfair to ask them."

  I leaned back in my chair and studied Corinna. She was thin and her eyes were over-sized for her face. But she didn’t look as weak as the rumors made her out to be. "I think the reports of your illness may have been overstated," I told her.

  "I think the reports of your death may have been overstated," she replied.

  Behind me, Connor chuckled. "It's so hard to get good information these days."

  Admiration lit inside me. A mercy killing for her own mother. I couldn’t begin to imagine how hard such a thing might be. Of course, my mother hadn’t been Isla. Still, I didn’t think I could do something like that. She was right though. Her mother’s end had been much kinder than I’d planned.

  I smiled thinly at her. “You guessed correctly.”

  “I suppose I have a trip to the dungeons in order?” Corinna asked, folding her hands on her lap. She was quite calm about it.

  I leaned back in my chair and evaluated her. Then I glanced at Blue.

  What’s she thinking? I mentally asked him.

  He furrowed his brow. She’s pissed at us for taking her, pissed at her mother for this whole stupid war, pissed at her husbands for backing her mother, pissed that she was left behind again—

  So, pissed.

  Pretty much.

  Not scared?

  Resigned. She’s hoping there aren’t too many rats in your dungeon. She’s hoping that since she didn’t start the war, you’ll kill her quickly.

  Not hoping for a rescue?

  Nope.

  Any sense of calculation? Any plans?

  She wants to see if she can get Harsh—her bunny … she calls him Ed—back.

  That was interesting. So little for a princess to wish for, so little calculation involved. I was surprised she wasn’t thinking about her own freedom.

  Prisoners become resigned to locks, Bloss, Blue told me. Before I was sent to the army, I didn’t think to run. A prison isn’t just physical. A true prison is a mental cage as well.

  I turned that over in my head for a moment. Would someone who’d been a prisoner make a good ruler? A good ally?

  Does she know the bunny is a man? I asked.

  She suspects he’s more than just a rabbit. He’s too smart, she thinks. But she thinks of him as a pet … and it’s a bit sad, but her only friend.

  Well, if she suspected the rabbit already, then Corinna wasn’t a complete dunderhead. There was potential there.

  I asked Corinna, “Your mother pretended to visit here to ask about some additional water sources, when really her intent was to capture my knights and set off explosives.”

  Tell me what she thinks about that, I commanded Blue.

  She’s mentally rolling her eyes. Her mother was always obsessed with taking more instead of managing what she had. Corinna is picturing some guys—maybe her husbands? —and thinking they’re the same. She’s thinking about some asshole named Firden, and how stripping him of his title would solve the resource allocation problem—

  I eyed Corinna. “How’d you like to make an alliance?”

  Her court face didn’t hold up. Her jaw dropped. She stared at me a long moment, trying to decide if I was serious.

  I stood and put my hands on the table, asserting dominance even as I kept my tone even. “My war was with your mother, and to be honest, I didn’t initiate it. I have no interest in slaughtering both our populations. Both our countries have far less magic than Cheryn or Sedara, and I think that we should end the fighting so we can do what we were meant to do—take care of our countries.”

  Corinna tried to stay still but I noticed that she chewed the inside of her lip.

  What’s she thinking?

  That there has to be a catch. She doesn’t trust that there isn’t a catch.

  There is no catch. I really want her to get her giants and soldiers off my land.

  Quinn chimed in as he sent an image of him setting down the frozen woman with her skirts bunched up on a settee so that her frozen neighbors got a gander at her bloomers, Can I just say how much I hate not being able to hear her? I feel useless. This is shite.

  First off, put that woman’s skirts down! And you’re not like anyone else, dear. You’re as unique as Donaloo.

  Hey! I know that was an insult. I’m hurt. And trapped. And I can’t hear anyone but you few idiots. You should feel bad for me, not insult me! Quinn sent me an image of a caged baby deer, batting its eyes plaintively.

  Blue interjected, I hate to interrupt your attempt at getting pity sex, but Corinna’s suspicious, Bloss. She won’t believe you or trust you if she doesn’t know the catch. She’ll always be waiting for the other shoe to drop. She’s more like my family that way. Blue added.

  She wants me to be a bitch?

  Blue gave a single nod of his head.

  Finally, something I can excel at, I thought.

  I gave Corinna a nasty smile. She wanted our deal to have a catch? Fine. I’d give her one. I slowly traced a nail over the woodgrain of the table. “Of course, in order to agree to a ceasefire—I will need you to cede a hundred miles along your northern border, from my land all the way to the sea. Since I’m fighting Cheryn and a sea witch, I want unfettered access to the ocean.”

  My demand was met with silence.

  Shite. Did I ask for too much? I was improvising.

  Dammit all. So much for being good at something, I chastised myself.

  No, she’s mentally reviewing pictures of the territory up there. She’s trying to remember numbers. She’s listing out the family names of those up north, who might give you a hard time, who might move south. Seems like she’s taking things seriously.

  I thought she was supposed to be a pushover. Quinn?

  She used to talk nearly as much as I ever have. My people never had direct conversations with her because she hardly spoke. Quinn responded. And she was very sick the past two years.

  I struggled to stay patient and keep my face neutral as I waited for Corinna’s response.

  Corinna cleared her throat and asked, “Can I have my rabbit, please? Edward doesn’t like to be away from me.”

  I swallowed a laugh. “We called him Shiter here before Donaloo gifted him to you.”

  I gestured for Blue to hand over his rabbit-shifted brother, who immediately cuddled up to Corinna. She stroked his fur and kissed the top. “That’s a horrid name for a sweet little man.”

  I bit down on a smile and exchanged a look with Blue.

  Do I want to know what she’s thinking now?

  She’s wondering if she can ask for anything in return.

  Oh, good. After Donaloo and the flower thing, I think Quinn’s kind of twisted my mind. I was expecting … other sorts of thoughts.

  Quinn jumped into the conversation at that point. He couldn’t resist after I mentioned him. What were you thinking she was thinking, Dove? He moved close to me and his grey eyes studied mine. Was it something dirty? he asked, giving me a naughty grin.

  Hush. I’m busy negotiating a peace treaty. I turned away before I could blush. I couldn’t help if the fact that Dini and Donaloo had somehow managed the deed. Or that it made me wonder about this princess.

  Dove—

  Quick, tell Connor to ensure when he draws up a map, that it has that hedgewitch lodge on it. I don’t want anyone else getting access to that place.

  Quinn left me alone to relay that message as Corinna glanced back up at me.

  “You have someone take out those husbands my mother forced on me and you have a deal.”

  I leaned forward with a smile to shake her hand. “Done. It might take a bit. War and all.”

  Corinna nodded. “I’ve survived their attention this long.”

  We shook. “I’m going to leave you with Connor to draw up the paperwork. I’ll have some food sent in. After you sign, you can be on your way.”

  Corinna’s eyes narrowed. “That’s really it?”

  I nodded. “Unless you don’t withdraw your troops. Then I’ll pelt your kingdom with gargoyles until it’s as pitted as teenager’s face.”

  Corinna gave a smile. “I look forward to our alliance.”

  So did I. One enemy down. But I had two to go.

  I marched out of the green parlor, Blue trailing behind me. Quinn met us in the hall. And instead of being naughty, as I expected after his stunt with the frozen courtier, he looked sad.

  “What is it?” I reached for his hands.

  He didn’t respond immediately. He swallowed hard first. There are two things. One worse than the other.

  What’s the first? I asked.

  I sent a spy to see if the sea-sprite’s magic cost her breath. I thought, perhaps like Sedara’s princes who blow the air, she might blow the waters and lose her breath. But my man reported back that she held up in battle for over an hour. So, we still don’t know her price.

  I nodded, disappointed. It wasn’t good news. But it wasn’t the worst. It didn’t warrant Quinn’s downtrodden face.

  What’s the other news? I asked.

  It’s Ryan, he thought.

  I didn’t even ask what had happened. I just started to run as I screamed in my head, Where is he?

  We ran the entire way to the castle healer’s work chamber. The man had been frozen during the attack on the castle. His stiff form had been shoved in the corner; arms raised as if he were about to enchant a bandage he held. Apparently, Declan had called up a magical healer from Marscha. The new man had laid out his black bag and tools on the worktable that lined the side of the stone room. Ryan was laid out on a large surgical table in the middle of the room, shirt off, pants cut open. His ankles and wrists were tied down by leather straps. That was the first time I could see exactly what Isla’s bears had done to my love.

  If I had seen it sooner, I never would have made the treaty with Corinna.

  Horror, pity, and fury filled me as I walked toward Ryan, who cringed and moaned as the healer worked on the massive scar that laced his side and the top half of his leg. The scar was at least three inches thick and a dark, gruesome shade of pink. It didn’t look healthy. Or fully healed. The healer was spreading a grey paste over it.

  Fear trumpeted in my ear like a herald. I didn’t want to know what came next. But I needed to know. I had to be able to help my Ryan any way I could. I latched onto his huge hand; my palm hardly covered three of his huge fingers. “What is it?”

  Ryan cringed again, so it was Declan who answered. “The bear got him good. Connor healed him enough to save him. But the scar tissue,” he shook his head. “It’s too thick.”

  “That means?”

  “Right now, it means he can’t walk, Bloss.”

  Oh gods.

  I felt like I’d been shot through with an arrow, like my insides were pierced. My breath grew shallow. And I met Ryan’s eyes. I saw fear in them that matched my own. My warrior. What would he do if he couldn’t walk?

  How can he lead his men? How can he … my thoughts trailed off as disbelief clouded me. This couldn’t be happening.

  My eyes flew to the healer. “You can fix it, right?”

  The man glanced up at me as he continued to apply a paste as thick as porridge. “I’m doing my best.”

  That wasn’t good enough.

  I looked at Declan. “Get three more healers, get a dozen in here—”

  Declan held up a hand, “I’m trying. I’ve sent out—”

  “Bloss,” Ryan’s hand squeezed mine.

  I squeezed his back and turned to Quinn. I fingered the black ring on my thumb. “We could use a wish.”

  “No!” Ryan’s voice boomed and echoed in the small room. “No wishes.”

  I turned to him. “But—”

  Ryan glared at me. “We don’t have enough wishes to heal everyone, Bloss.”

  “You’re not everyone!”

  “I won’t get treated better than my men.”

  “I won’t let you—”

  Ryan cut me off, and his tone was full of fury. “It isn’t your choice!”

 

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