1 Consulted
I jerked awake and glanced around.
Sweat beaded across my forehead and dampened my back. Tears filled my eyes once more, and I felt a sob catch in my chest as I remembered where I was.
I’d almost forgotten.
Prince Knox’s fortress in the desert wilds.
A thriving, bustling city surrounded by nothing but vast stretches of open desert. Sweat trickled down my forehead, along my neck, and over my shoulders as I shoved the thin silk sheets away from my body.
The heat was unbearable, boiling against my skin.
I longed for the cold of Vendera.
And I yearned for Emris in a way I never would have thought possible.
Across the room, Hali and Cienna were tucked into the bed, both sound asleep.
Knox had gifted Cienna to me as a possible marriage gift. Only, he had never intended for her to be part of my wedding to Emris.
Knox wanted me for himself.
As his bride.
When I told him I was already married to Emris, he hadn’t been pleased. Instead, he peppered me with increasingly personal questions about my relationship with my husband. I knew exactly what he was asking, and I had no intention of answering him.
Emris and I hadn’t yet been intimate with one another.
Not really.
When I stopped answering his questions, Knox eventually stopped asking. Instead, rather than answering any of my questions, he insisted that I learn about my subjects and the workings of my court.
I needed to know who was where, when they traveled, and why.
Many of the Lords and Ladies rarely traveled. They remained on their lands, overseeing their estates and their people, while others divided their time between their territories and the royal court, like Lady Drodic.
She resided in Negera Woods but spent much of her time at Court.
There was still so much I didn’t know.
And apparently, there was a great deal I was expected to learn.
“My Queen?”
I turned to look at Cienna.
The raven-haired beauty had eyes so dark they appeared almost black, and there was something about her that seemed to glow from within.
She had magic. I was certain of it.
I just couldn’t determine what kind, and I was almost certain she didn’t know she possessed it. Whatever power lay dormant inside her, there was no telling how much of it was waiting to surface. Knox had locked her away in here with me, apparently unaware of what might be brewing beneath the surface.
Then again, I understood the struggle.
I was still learning to control my own magic, and the constant buildup of energy inside me left me exhausted more often than not. I still had no idea how to release it—or what would happen if I couldn’t.
I’d tighten the dialogue and let Nalia’s frustration and growing fear carry the exposition rather than explaining too much directly.
I rolled my neck and cleared my throat, trying to gather my thoughts.
“I’m fine, Cienna. Go back to sleep.”
Instead, Cienna pushed the sheets aside and crossed the room to join me at the window.
“You’re still trying to reach His Majesty?”
I sighed and nodded.
“If I train myself enough, I’ll be able to reach him.”
I’d said those words so many times they had almost lost their meaning.
Five days.
It had been five days, and Emris should have been here by now.
I couldn’t understand what was taking him so long. Perhaps he didn’t know where his brother was hiding me. This desert wasteland was the perfect place to disappear. No one would think to look for me here.
And that thought frightened me more than I wanted to admit. “I told you, it doesn’t work like that,” she reminded me.
I turned back toward the window.
“It’s been too long.”
Fear began to churn in my stomach again.
“Emris should have been here by now.”
Cienna nodded. “If I could help you, I would.”
I shook my head.
“Knox planned this with Graven Melbourne,” I reminded her. “He told me so himself. And now he’s locked you down here because you disagreed with him?”
I shook my head slowly.
“Sorry if I have a hard time believing you.”
The words came out harsher than I intended.
I didn’t trust her.
I wanted to.
Gods, I wanted to.
But something in my gut kept telling me to hold her at arm’s length. She had been helpful, especially when it came to teaching me what she knew about magic, but I still found myself questioning everything she told me.
Every night, I went over our conversations again and again, searching for hidden messages, double meanings, or some subtle warning I might have missed.
So far, I’d found nothing.
But that didn’t mean there wasn’t something to find.
I couldn’t read Knox the way I could read Emris. I didn’t know his thoughts, his moods, or the subtle shifts in his expression the way I knew my husband.
My heart clenched at the thought of him.
A strange ache rippled through my chest—painful, yet almost pleasurable in its intensity.
I missed him.
I missed him so badly that being separated from him felt physical, as though some part of me had been torn away and left behind.
“Cienna...”
She looked at me.
“When you fell for Knox, what was it like?”
Her expression changed.
She frowned, her gaze drifting toward the window.
“I haven’t felt that way about His Majesty in a very long time...”
I immediately regretted asking.
I shook my head. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said anything.”
Cienna gave me a faint smile.
“It’s fine, Nalia. It is only a memory now. Something I once conjured in my mind.”
I’d known she had once loved Knox. She’d confessed it to me herself.
Once, they had shared something real.
But after she gave birth to their son, everything changed.
Knox hadn’t touched her since.
Hadn’t shared her bed.
Hadn’t even given her more than a few words when they were alone.
He spent his nights elsewhere, leaving her alone in her chambers.
She had never found evidence of an affair with another Dark Fey. Knox had never given her any real reason to believe he was unfaithful.
But the fear had always been there.
And perhaps that was almost worse. I’d make Knox’s entrance feel more controlled and threatening, while letting Cienna’s revelation land before he interrupts them. I’d also sharpen the exchange so Nalia’s confidence in Emris contrasts with Knox’s confidence in his own power.
“I wish I could say it didn’t hurt...” Cienna’s voice softened. “Knox, believe it or not, can be a loving husband when he wishes to be.”
I studied her for a moment before asking quietly, “How old is your son?”
Cienna’s eyes narrowed.
“He is seven.”
She crossed her arms over her chest, her expression hardening.
“Knox has gotten what he wanted from me. He simply doesn’t want the repercussions of murdering his Mutt wife. Bad for politics.”
I wrinkled my nose.
“Politics are messy.”
“Be grateful you won’t have to concern yourself with much of that once Emris comes into power.”
I frowned.
“What are you talking about?”
Cienna looked at me carefully.
“Emris is King, and you are his Queen...” She paused. “But in name only.”
I shook my head. “What does that mean?”
It couldn’t mean what I thought it did.
Could it?
Cienna shifted uneasily beside me.
“It means exactly what it sounds like, Your Majesty.”
Before I could demand an explanation, the door to my left swung open.
Knox strode into the room.
“Good. You are awake.”
He sounded almost pleased.
With a casual wave of his hand, he summoned several maids into the room. They immediately went to work, stripping the bed and gathering my things. One crossed to the dresser and retrieved a long-sleeved summer gown, then laid it carefully across the bed.
My gaze fell on the lavender fabric.
Knox’s eyes followed mine.
“I implore you once more, Princess. You should reconsider.”
“Stop it!” I snapped. “And it’s Queen Nalia now.”
I turned to face him fully.
“You knew Emris was coming for me. He’s on his way.”
Knox laughed.
“Do you really think that will stop me from taking a few drops of your blood?”
He reached beneath his belt and drew a dagger.
The blade gleamed in the morning light.
I forced a smile.
“No. But I can assure you that whatever harm comes to me, Emris will repay tenfold.”
“Oh, I’m sure he will.”
Knox chuckled as he crossed his arms, the dagger still loose in his hand.
For several long moments, we simply stared at one another.
Then his expression shifted into something almost cordial.
“Very well.”
He gestured toward the door.
“Attend one last meeting with me, then. As my sister-in-law and the new Queen.”
His gaze flicked toward Cienna.
“And my Lady Cienna needs all the training she can get.”
I raised an eyebrow. “I already told you, Lady Cienna is welcome to remain at Court.”
Knox scowled at me. “She is my wife,” he reminded me. “Why should she attend Court when she already has a husband?”
I sighed and shook my head. Knox had made it very clear that he didn’t want Cienna at Court, but he had remained tight-lipped about why. The fact that she was already wed seemed to matter very little to him.
“It is a matter of education, Lord Knox, and I think she would benefit greatly from it.”
He glowered at me.
“Perhaps the desert heat is getting to you, Your Majesty, but I remain firm in my decision. Lady Cienna will remain here.”
I clasped my hands before me.
It wasn’t as though I could force him. I knew Knox would never submit to my authority simply because I was Queen. The authority of a woman meant very little to him.
“Very well,” I said.
I turned to Cienna and gave her a small nod.
“Know that you are welcome at Court at any time. Both of you.”
Knox turned toward the door.
“Do not fool yourself into thinking my brother will be anything but angry when he arrives,” he said over his shoulder. “He may even try to kill me.”
My heart sank. That couldn’t happen. Knox had told me that a priest in his temple back in Star Hill had discovered a way to determine whether I was immortal. All they needed was a few drops of my blood.
But I wasn’t a fool.
I knew blood magic was powerful. Dangerous. Even deadly when wielded by someone who didn’t understand it.
There was no room for error with magic like that.
It was a delicate balance between life and death—or so I had read.
Extreme necromancy.
The subject had been mentioned in the deepest libraries of the Halls of the Vendera Citadel, in books so old and obscure that even I had struggled to understand them. I had read them during the long hours when Emris was away, roaming the woods, hunting, and patrolling the borders.
Blood magic was not something easily explained.
Nor was it easily learned.
And if Knox truly intended to use my blood to uncover whether I was immortal, I had no idea what he might unleash in the process. I didn’t trust Knox, and I wasn’t anywhere near where I needed to be to even consider attempting that kind of magic.
“I understand your eagerness, Prince Knox, but I don’t trust it. Or you, for that matter.”
His expression hardened.
“Yet you haven’t made a single attempt to flee. You haven’t even tried to overpower me. If you truly are a Moonblood, then you may be even more powerful than Emris himself.”
His gaze sharpened.
“He will not take kindly to that.”
I smirked, remembering how Emris had once told me he saw me as a headstrong and powerful Queen.
Knox had no idea what he was talking about.
“You are mistaken,” I assured him. “You had me kidnapped from my home and brought out here to Gods only know where!”
Knox smirked.
“I’ll admit I went about it the wrong way. Not that you would have come willingly—”
I scoffed.
“Willingly sail off to who knows where for a blood test to determine something that may not even be possible?” I demanded, outrage sharpening my voice. “I would have said no! And the King would have said no—”
Knox scoffed and waved a dismissive hand.
“My brother is wise beyond his years and would make a fine ruler for a generation that wasn’t on the verge of war.”
I shook my head.
“What are you talking about?” I demanded.
Knox’s gaze shifted toward Niko. “When you return to Vendera, you should insist on sitting in on a council meeting.” His eyes returned to mine. “See what your subjects are truly concerned with.”
I narrowed my eyes.
“Why should I believe anything you say?” I demanded. “You did kidnap me, after all.”
Knox pursed his lips.
“My Queen.”
He lowered his gaze and bowed before me. After a moment, he straightened.
“You are free to go. I apologize for any inconvenience I may have caused you.”
He paused.
“I humbly offer you my services.”
I raised an eyebrow.
“Your services?” I echoed. “You insult me upon our first meeting, assault me, have me kidnapped, and throw me onto a slaver ship—which, by the way, you should be ashamed of, Lord Knox—”
He cleared his throat, cutting me off mid-rant. I stopped.
It was probably for the best. What had I just been rambling about?
I pressed my lips together, suddenly aware that I was standing there arguing with the very man who had kidnapped me as though I could actually force him to do anything I wanted.
And, Gods help me, I had absolutely no idea whether I could. “I do apologize, My Queen. I was simply eager to offer you this information. I may have been... overwhelmed by my ambition.”
I sighed. “I want to go home,” I said instead; I hoped for the last time. “Can you manage that?” Knox straightened and offered me a small smile.
“Consider it done, My Queen.”
He pressed his lips together, then glanced toward the others. I didn’t understand him. I could not understand what he was doing or why he had really brought me here. Was my blood all he really wanted? Or was it just to piss Emris off?
I followed his gaze. Niko and Hali were both glaring at him.
“I will be along for the council meeting in a moment,” Knox said.
His smile widened before he turned and closed the bedroom doors behind him.
I immediately faced my companions. “Niko, you can not act wothout my say, do you understand?” I asked him in a hushed whisper. Hali and Cienanna got to work on getting my dress ready. “Emris will be here by the end of the night… I hope.”
Know had said he would be here, but how could I be sure? How could I be sure he would actully let me go? Knowx seemed Powerful too. I could feet it. I squeezed my eyes shut. I just needed to wait for Emris.
Now Niko walked beside me, looking almost bare as we headed toward the courtyard, where most of Knox’s Court was waiting for us.
I was used to seeing him in his full gear—black and silver leathers, his body decked out with weapons and his bow and quiver strapped across his back. Without them, he looked strangely vulnerable.
Almost impossibly small.
When we reached the end of the hall, I stopped in the doorway leading into the courtyard.
And then I saw him.
Graven Melbourne stood beside Knox, his hands folded neatly inside his long green cloak.
My stomach dropped.
When Graven saw me, he smirked.
“What is he doing here?” I demanded.
My voice rose.
“How is he here right now?”
Knox turned toward me, his conversation with Graven coming to an abrupt halt.
“Your Grace,” he said smoothly. “Welcome to Yerza, City of the Sun.”
I barely heard him.
I didn’t realize I was moving until I was already crossing the courtyard.
I didn’t realize my hand was lifting until it was too late to stop it.
My breath tore from my lungs in a wild gasp as I swung with all the strength I had and slapped Graven across the face.
The crack of my palm against his cheek echoed through the courtyard.
Everything went eerily still.
I stared at him, my chest heaving.
Graven slowly turned his head back toward me.
Then he smirked.
He lifted a hand and wiped at the blood beginning to bead along his cheek.
“You should be dead!” I seethed. “Because of you, I’m here!”
Knox cleared his throat. Graven rubbed his jaw, seemingly more amused than offended.
“With all due respect, Your Grace,” Knox said calmly, “but since you arrived, has any harm actually come to you?” I blinked, suddenly confused.
“Have you been neglected in any way, shape, or form? By me personally, or by anyone here?”
I sighed.
“The fact remains that you did kidnap me,” I reminded him.
Knox pursed his lips.
“You are already here, Nalia. Why not attend the meeting? I shall escort you back to Vendera myself as soon as the meeting is concluded.”
I shook my head.
“Emris will kill you if you return to Vendera,” I reminded him coldly.
Of course, I wasn’t entirely sure Emris would actually kill his brother.
But it was possible.
Emris hadn’t hesitated when it came to Hiram.
The memory surfaced without warning.
Emris’s arm had moved, twisting and morphing into something impossible before slicing cleanly through Hiram’s throat.
I shuddered.
The hot, humid air suddenly felt colder against my skin as goosebumps rippled along my arms.
“Is that something you hope for?” Knox asked.
I smirked.
“No. Of course not,” I assured him.
The doors to the council chamber opened behind us.
“I would much rather do it myself.”
I walked past Knox and into the chamber, closely followed by Niko, Cienna, and Hali.
I wore a smirk that suggested far more confidence than I actually possessed.
I was talking bigger than I had the courage to act.
But Knox didn’t need to know that.
He didn’t need to know that I had no idea whether I could actually summon enough power to kill him. I hadn’t had the time—or the opportunity—to find out.
The thought made my stomach twist.
Because the truth was...
I wasn’t entirely horrified by the idea.
I had been glad when Hiram died.
And worse, some part of me wanted Knox dead, too.
I could feel it sitting inside me, cold and ugly.
I had no doubt that, if given the chance, I could take pleasure in being the one to end his life.
The memory of Hiram’s death flashed through my mind again.
His pale, lifeless corpse hitting the floor.
Blood pooling beneath him, slick against the white tiles of the Vendarien Hall, staining them crimson.
I swallowed hard.
What did that say about me?
I didn’t know anymore. I wished I could take it back.
I wrinkled my nose.
No.
If I were given the chance, I would kill Hiram again.
Without a doubt. And I wasn’t sure I was okay with that.
It wasn’t who I was.
Or perhaps it was?
Emris had told me from the beginning that I would change. That I would become stronger. More powerful.
Perhaps he had been right.
I needed to use this opportunity to learn as much as I could before I returned to Vendera and was left to navigate everything with Lady Cienna on my own.
Speaking of Cienna, there was one last thing I needed to remind Knox of.
He stopped beside me as everyone mingled and began taking their seats.
“Lady Cienna is no longer your concern,” he said before I could speak.
I watched his gaze follow her across the room as she helped herself to some food.
He folded his hands behind his back.
“She is free to return to Vendera with you in search of a suitable match. I’m sure you will see to it that she finds one.”
I shook my head.
“Why would you do that?” I asked. “I have nothing to offer you in return. No way to repay you.”
Knox smiled.
“You will be indebted to me until I have something I want from you.”
I felt the blood drain from my face.
“What do you mean?”
A sudden wave of nausea rolled through me.
Brokering a deal with a powerful Demon Prince had certainly not been on my list of things to accomplish today.
I shouldn’t have been making arrangements like this without consulting Emris—or, at the very least, Hali or Niko. They understood court life far better than I did.
And I doubted trading a life for a favor was exactly how things were supposed to work.
I wondered, not for the first time, what Emris would think when he arrived and discovered that Cienna was returning to Vendera with me.
“Just make sure she finds someone who will treat her well,” Knox said with a sigh. “I didn’t always treat her well.”
I wrinkled my nose, my face settling into a deep frown.
“You seem to have a history of treating people poorly.”
Knox scoffed but didn’t answer.
The council session had begun.
He walked toward the podium and gestured for me to take a seat against the wall.
I wasn’t here to interfere.
I was here to observe.
“As always, Niko.”
Knox nodded in his direction, a smart-ass smirk tugging at his lips.
“Always so loyal.”
I narrowed my eyes.
“Leave him be,” I insisted.
Knox laughed aloud this time and gave me a slight bow.
“Your Majesty.”
He turned away and brought the meeting to order.
The meeting was nearly concluded when I rose from my chair.
Then I heard it.
A loud horn sounded from somewhere outside.
The room erupted into confusion.
People shouted and pointed toward the sky.
I turned toward the windows.
Naska roamed the hot, blistering sky above us, their cries echoing through the courtyard and across the city.
My heart began to beat erratically.
Something was wrong. “What’s the news from the mainland?”
Knox’s voice pulled my attention back toward the council.
He had insisted that I needed to participate in official meetings—to understand what was happening within my own kingdom. The fact that he was so eager to educate me about the war made me suspicious.
Knox seemed convinced that Emris would simply brush me aside and that the only way to make him see reason was to put me directly into the council meetings.
“Do we have the counts from the Iron Lands?” he asked.
No one answered.
Knox raised an eyebrow.
“Well?”
Graven cleared his throat. I already knew what was coming.
It would be the same as last time. Graven would bombard me with questions disguised as accusations, little remarks designed to turn everyone in the room against me.
I needed to keep my mouth shut.
Listen.
Observe.
I would give Graven one thing.
He was giving me one hell of a lesson.
As he had so politely put it, I was not minding my pretty little head about matters of state.
Gods, did he have another thing coming.
I sighed.
“What troubles you, My Queen?” Cienna asked softly.
“How did Graven get away from Emris?” I whispered.
Cienna looked at me.
“There is no way he could have fled Port right under Emris’s nose. Not without help.”
I chewed on my lip.
A memory surfaced.
Niko had once told me that Yesmina possessed the power of illusion.
I didn’t like where my thoughts were leading.
Accusing a Lord of treachery without proof was dangerous—even for a Queen.
It would be my word against his.
And I had no evidence.
I shook my head.
“I’m not sure, My Queen,” Cienna whispered.
She sat beside me, and we leaned closer together, keeping our voices low as the council continued around us.
“No matter how I look at it, I don’t see a way to turn Graven in. He has too much on me.”
Cienna frowned.
“What do you mean?”
I didn’t answer immediately.
Of course, I was referring to what Knox knew.
Hiram.
My uncle.
My mother’s brother.
The man who had abused me.
Who had raped me.
That knowledge was already out there, floating around somewhere beyond these walls. And if Graven knew what Knox knew...
I swallowed.
“Graven knows too much,” I whispered.
“Emris won’t let him live.”
Cienna’s expression softened.
“Emris loves you,” she insisted.
Heat rushed into my cheeks.
I didn’t know that.
Not for certain.
I knew he cared for me. I knew what I felt when he was near me, what happened to my body when he touched me, how deeply I missed him when we were apart.
But love?
I wasn’t sure I was brave enough to believe it.
“What do you mean, a rebel?”
Knox’s voice cut through my tangled thoughts.
I looked up.
The entire room seemed to shift.
Emris had arrived.
My heart stopped.
Yara stood beside him, her eyes sweeping across the chamber. When she spotted me, she leaned toward her father and whispered something into his ear.
Emris turned his gaze toward me.
His eyes were cold.
Distant.
They traveled slowly over me, taking in the elegant white dress I wore before settling on my face.
Then his gaze dropped.
He looked at Knox.
And for the first time since I’d been taken, I wasn’t sure what I saw in my husband’s expression.
But it wasn’t relief.
“You forget, I just spent the last two months riding all over Azga with my wife, and there were no sightings of these rebels you speak of, brother.”
Knox nodded. “Knights dressed in white armor, displaying acts of defiance and brutality wherever they go—”
Emris shook his head. “They have not yet reached our borders. I would—”
He stopped.
His gaze shifted toward me, and suddenly every person in the room seemed to follow it.
My mouth went dry.
My heart sank.
“We saw them two weeks ago,” I said quietly.
My voice sounded unnaturally loud in the deafening silence that followed.
“The knight at the Star Hill marketplace…”
I watched realization dawn across Emris’s face as he followed my train of thought.
“The one who threatened you,” he said, his voice tightening.
I nodded.
He turned sharply toward his brother.
“You think they are massing?”
Knox nodded and leaned over the table in the center of the room.
“So far, they are rarely seen as far south as Vendera.”
Emris shook his head.
“Then what is the problem?” he mused. “They are not spread far enough to be considered a threat. Their numbers are too small.”
Knox shook his head and gestured toward Melbourne.
“They have begun to mass along the Eastern Seafront. At least a few hundred.”
Emris pursed his lips and glanced around the room.
“I would like to be consulted more on this matter.” His gaze settled on Knox. “Would you like to take over the matter, brother?”
I raised an eyebrow.
What?
Emris looked up at me.
His eyes flashed grey.
And then it hit me.
His anger.
His impatience.
It rushed through me so suddenly that I nearly lost my breath.
Oh.
Oh no.
Was he mad at me?
What the fuck had I done?
