I could feel Navan’s hackles rise at the dismissal of me. But what could he do? He was on Vysanthean soil, and as long as he was here, his parents would continue to try to bend him to their will. I could see it on Jareth’s face, how he longed to have his son beside him, advising the queen—a true family business.
“She’s not going anywhere, Father,” Navan said. “She is my servant, and I’ve grown used to having her around. She’s useful.”
Before Jareth could respond, another figure approached. My eyes went wide at the sight of her. I had never seen a woman more beautiful. She was tall and slender, with raven-black hair that curled around her striking face in long, elegant tendrils. She had the same ashen gray skin as the other coldbloods, but it suited her far better than any female coldblood I had yet seen. Her eyes were the color of burnished copper, bordering on red, her black lashes full and fluttery. Bitten-red lips turned upward in a polite smile, lighting up her stunning face. I was speechless.
This was Seraphina. I was sure of it.
“Excellent timing, Seraphina!” Jareth remarked, confirming my thoughts. I had a feeling he’d planned the whole thing. “We were just about to discuss possible dates for your unity ceremony, now that we’ve coaxed him back into the fold.” He chuckled, putting an arm around Navan’s shoulder. Navan stiffened immediately.
“Lucky I arrived when I did, then,” Seraphina replied, her voice sweet and kind. Although she smiled at Jareth’s words, the good humor didn’t reach her unusual eyes. So, Navan was right—Seraphina wasn’t into this marriage, either. I could see it all over her face, and it brought me a much-needed dose of relief. “It’s wonderful to see you again, Navan. How were your travels?” she asked, directing her attention to Navan. It was a friendly, platonic exchange. She was keeping her distance.
“Interesting, but I’m back in one piece,” Navan replied.
“I’m sorry about your friend,” she said softly, looking toward the body on the floor, which had yet to be taken away.
Navan nodded. “Me too.”
“And who is this beautiful creature?” she asked, looking warmly at me.
A small smile crept onto Navan’s lips, but he quickly suppressed it. “This is Riley,” he said simply.
She flashed him a knowing glance, before moving to take my hands in hers. Clasping them tightly, she gave me a huge smile, her copper eyes gleaming in admiration. “You are the most exquisite thing in this room,” she gushed, “though don’t tell Queen Gianne I said so.”
“I won’t,” I murmured awkwardly, finding my tongue.
“That voice! What an exotic accent,” she marveled. None of her words felt insincere. Every single one sounded warm and genuine, and her hands squeezed mine in delight. “I hope you’ve been taking good care of her, Navan.”
He grimaced. “I’ve been trying.”
“Well, she looks to be in one magnificent piece.” Seraphina grinned, though her smile suddenly fell as her eyes came to rest on the side of my neck. “Except for these… How did you end up with these wounds?” she asked quietly, her tone so low that Jareth couldn’t overhear, and I realized with alarm that she had spotted the faint marks caused by the chip in my neck.
“An accident,” Navan interjected, before I could speak. “Nothing that won’t heal.”
Seraphina paused for a moment, continuing to eye them with a furrowed brow, but then she pulled away, resuming her straight posture. “Well, it’s a pleasure to meet you, Riley,” she said, the smile returning to her lips. “Perhaps we will see each other again. In the meantime, keep him out of trouble. He attracts it like nobody’s business.” She smirked, though I could see she was only half joking.
Despite my initial feelings about this woman, I was shocked to find that I actually liked her. There was a vibrant warmth to her that made it almost impossible to dislike her. Plus, she had treated me with grace and respect, which was more than could be said for the rest of the coldbloods I’d met. Jareth still wouldn’t look me in the eye, or even acknowledge me personally. I might as well have been an inanimate object to him.
“So, when shall we set the date?” Jareth chimed in, pressing the subject.
Seraphina turned, placing her hand on his arm. “There’s no rush. Navan has only just returned—how about we let him get his bearings again, before we discuss such heavy matters? I know I’m in no hurry. We can wait awhile, until everyone is feeling up to it,” she suggested, passing me a discreet glance of sympathy.
I raised my eyebrows. How did she know? Was it that obvious what Navan and I meant to each other, even when we were just standing together? I hoped not, or else we were in big trouble. On second thought, maybe it was only obvious to those who viewed me as an actual equal.
Whatever the case, from the detached way Seraphina was talking, I was thoroughly convinced that she didn’t have any romantic feelings for Navan whatsoever. Her approach made it feel like a business transaction—a necessary evil that they could keep putting off. There was reluctance in her voice, and I was more than glad to hear it.
“There’s no time like the present,” Jareth insisted.
Seraphina sighed. “I would love to stay and discuss it, I really would, but my parents will be waiting for me outside. My mother was quite troubled by the events of this evening, and I think she would prefer to have me close by. Another time, though. No doubt my father will be in touch with you shortly.” Her eyes flickered with faint sadness as she leaned over to air-kiss Jareth on both cheeks, then gave Navan’s arm a friendly pat.
“Soon,” Jareth repeated.
As she passed me, I noticed her glance briefly at my neck again, before smiling once more and heading off.
“I should probably get going too, Father,” Navan said. “There are many things I need to get in order.”
“Promise you’ll visit your mother,” Jareth replied. “She worries about you.”
“I’ll swing by the house as soon as I can,” he muttered. I wasn’t sure if he was lying.
With that, Navan turned on his heel and headed for the exit, with me following close behind. Outside, the sky had darkened, and a bitter wind whipped up around us as we made our way toward the spot where Navan had left the Snapper. With no coat to protect me from the icy blast, I began to shiver uncontrollably. A moment later, in the shadow of the vessel, Navan wrapped his arms around me and pulled me tight, before ushering me onto the ship. A stolen embrace.
As soon as we stepped into the Snapper, I knew something was wrong. It was a sensation I’d felt before, back on the ship we’d abandoned outside the rebel compound on Earth. An unsettled vibration hung in the air, as though someone was watching.
Something leapt from the wall of the ship. A split second later, I felt cold, fleshy hands on my neck. It was the shifters. Out of their coldblood guise, they were back to their original forms, and I felt my stomach turn at the sight of them. The female shifter had me by the throat, but the male shifter hadn’t dared lay his hands on Navan, who was eyeing the pair furiously.
“We’ve got a message for you,” the male shifter hissed.
“Oh?” Navan remarked sardonically, lunging for me. Instantly, the female shifter let me go, backing away toward the exit, allowing Navan to grab me and take me in his arms.
She nodded. “We’ve spoken with Orion,” she said coldly. “He says that if one more of his rebels dies because of you, then your lives will be forfeit.”
Navan and I exchanged a glance. In all the chaos, I’d practically forgotten to consider what the repercussions of Kalvin’s death would be in regard to Orion. A shiver ran down my spine as the shifters scurried out of the vessel, disappearing into the darkness.
“I suppose tonight could have been worse,” Navan said, tightening his hold on me. His eyes passed over the chip in my neck, and I nodded. Kalvin’s death was a tragic one, but at least there hadn’t been any further retribution for his loss. We’d already suffered enough for one night.
We just had to be more careful
in the future.
I pressed a gentle kiss to Navan’s cheek. “You were right about Seraphina,” I said softly. “She really doesn’t seem into you.”
Navan smiled. “Told you so. Now, we just need to figure out a way to keep delaying the marriage until—”
I never got to hear what he was going to say, as a tap at the door of the Snapper diverted our attention.
The female shifter had reappeared in the low light of the entrance. “Oh, and one more thing,” she said, her tone unsettlingly sweet. “Orion sends his regards. This is for Kalvin.”
As the shifter darted away, pain hit me in a savage wave, agony rippling through every vein, exploding every cell in a bolt of white-hot torture. It centered in my left leg, the pain there growing so unbearable I thought I might be about to die. Instead, my knee buckled, bringing me down with a hard crash. I collapsed, crying out in agony, tears streaming from my eyes. Blinking furiously, I realized I couldn’t clear away the fog of the tears. I couldn’t see anything at all.
Every part of my body felt as though it belonged to someone else. Pain shot through each limb and muscle, causing spasms that reached down to the very bone. I had lost control of myself, and I couldn’t grasp that control back. My mind was hazy, my eyes were blind, and my body was not my own.
As I collapsed, I felt Navan’s strong arms around me. “Breathe, Riley, you have to breathe,” he whispered, his voice panicked as he bundled me against his chest. “You’re safe, you’re all right! I’m here. You have to breathe. Breathe for me, Riley. Please. You’re okay, I promise.”
With his arms to brace myself against, the trembling in my body ebbed. Navan’s body was stabilizing my own, preventing me from doing myself any real damage. With every whimper of pain, I felt his lips kiss my face, trying to bring me back from the edge of delirium. Slowly but surely, the pain and shivering began to die down. At last, they subsided completely, leaving me limp in Navan’s arms, and although I was the one trembling, from the look in Navan’s eyes we were both equally shaken.
He swallowed hard, and his voice was hoarse as he spoke the words we both knew to be true. “We can’t piss off Orion again.”
Chapter Twenty-Six
I slept late the following morning, my body aching, my eyelids heavy. I felt like I’d gone twelve rounds with a heavyweight, and now I was feeling the effects. My left leg was the worst, a dull throb there pulsing constantly.
“How are you feeling?” Navan asked for the millionth time. I appreciated his concern, but I was in an irritable mood thanks to the pain, and it was starting to get annoying.
“Better,” I lied, wanting him to stop asking.
“Do you feel up to an outing?” he asked, packing a few things into the bag he’d brought from the cabin. I was picking at the remains of a packet of biscuits and gravy, the thick, clumpy mixture making me feel even more nauseated.
I nodded, eager to be out of the stuffy room, which held so many nightmares. I couldn’t stop picturing the shifters on our bed, lounging back with their fleshy pouches pooling on the covers, and the cold sensation of the female’s hands on my neck. Flashbacks of Orion’s punishment exploded in my mind, forcing me to relive the pain and the shock of it. More than that, I was haunted by the dead-eyed corpse of Kalvin, the pike skewering him like a kebab. I needed fresh air and a change of scenery.
“The cabin?” I asked. Surely, the intel would have uploaded by now. If it had, it meant we’d have something concrete to send back to Orion, to get him off our backs. Hopefully, it would mean I could go home, and get this awful thing out of my neck, once and for all.
“As long as you’re up for it,” he replied, his tone laced with concern.
“I’ll be fine,” I said, infusing my voice with more confidence than I felt. “I’m feeling better.”
“As long as you’re sure…”
I grimaced. “I’m sure. Now, can we go, sometime before Vysanthe thaws out?”
He chuckled. “Coldblood humor—I like it,” he commended, slinging the bag onto his shoulder and heading for the door.
The flight to the cabin seemed to whizz by faster than it had the last time, with us reaching the woodland within half an hour of leaving the confines of Regium. I smiled as the dark trees approached, remembering the night Navan and I had spent asleep under the stars, cozied up in the warmth of the igloo. I thought of the skeletal fish, twisting and turning beneath the water of the pond, and the beautiful fireflies glowing in the darkness.
The good feeling didn’t last, however. When we set the Snapper down in the glade where the cabin sat, I was surprised to see another ship already sitting there in the open space. Panic shot through my veins, and I started hyperventilating. I was already on edge from the effects of the chip—I didn’t think I could cope with another surprise.
“Who is it?” I whispered, feeling foolish as I realized the owner of the ship couldn’t hear me from the passenger seat of the Snapper.
Navan frowned. “Lazar,” he answered, his eyes narrowing on the vessel.
“How do you know? Is he supposed to be here?”
Navan shrugged. “I left a message with him saying we’d be coming here today. I guess he thought he’d wait for us.”
“Don’t mind another man in your man cave?” I said, allowing myself a moment of levity as relief washed over me.
“Who said I didn’t mind?” Navan replied, a smile tugging at his lips. “He was supposed to wait outside.”
Lazar opened the door to greet us as we made our way across the glade toward the entrance to the cabin. His shoes were off, and he was wearing what looked like furry slippers. Navan eyed them, a glimmer of irritation passing across his face. It looked like Lazar had made himself a little too at home.
“Well, you took your time!” Lazar said, as Navan and I stepped into the warmth of the cabin.
Navan moved toward the black box he’d left on the coffee table, ignoring his uncle’s comment. As he reached it, however, a long string of expletives erupted from his throat. I hurried over to where he stood, just as he snatched up the box and shook it, hard.
“Useless piece of crap!” he yelled, shaking it once more for good measure.
“What’s wrong?” I asked, trying to get a look at the progress screen. Two words flashed up, in neon-blue letters: Data Corrupted.
“Did you do this?” Navan snapped, whirling around to look at Lazar.
He shook his head vigorously. “Of course not! It didn’t say that five minutes ago, I swear—it was hovering at ninety-nine percent.”
“Then that little suck-up must have given me a faulty disc,” Navan growled.
“I doubt he did it on purpose,” I said, feeling sorry for the little fanboy who had been so excited by Navan’s presence at the Observatory.
“Is there nothing we can use from it?” Lazar asked, wearing an expression of disappointment.
Navan exhaled, running a hand down his face. “I don’t have the tech here, and I don’t want to risk transmitting from anywhere that’s not remote.”
“How about we take it to the palace, extract what we can from the disc, and have a good look around while we’re waiting for it to upload again?” Lazar said. “Even if there is intel on there, it won’t include the palace—we should check for weaknesses there, do some multitasking. Then, we could come back here and get everything we have sent off at once.”
Navan scowled. “I really don’t want to go back there.”
“The queen will no doubt be expecting you to drop in on her at some point, thanks to your father’s meddling,” Lazar replied apologetically. “He’s calling you his deputy-chief advisor.”
Navan’s expression dropped in horror. “He’s not!”
“Oh, he is.” Lazar nodded. “Although, it’s probably not a bad idea for you to go and see her today—keep her sweet after last night’s debacle, smooth things over, you know.”
I nodded. As reluctant as I was to go anywhere near that queen again, Lazar’s suggestion m
ade sense. “She’s terrified of losing her crown,” I said. “A little pep talk could be just what she needs to get her back on track. The last thing this place needs is a mad queen, executing people left, right, and center. And, if people doubt her, things will start to fall apart… Civil war would destroy this place.”
“You had me at ‘mad queen’,” Navan muttered, stuffing the black box into his bag. I just hoped we’d be able to get something off it before Orion started to lose patience.
Zipping back across the harsh landscape, with Lazar crammed into the Snapper with us—since he’d decided it would be better if he kept his ship at the cabin, as a getaway vehicle, if necessary—I thought about home. If everything went well, I’d soon be returning, with plenty of time to intercept the blood-pod on the way. Glancing at Navan, I wondered what he’d do when this mission was over, and the blood had been retrieved. Would he come back with me to Earth? It was something I had assumed in the back of my mind but never asked. Given his hatred for Vysanthe, I hoped he would.
The icy palace came into view, and the Snapper descended into what felt like our usual spot. We got out and walked through the vast entrance, the guards letting us past without so much as a grunt or a gruff word.
Everything looked so different now, compared to the previous night. All the decorations had been torn down, the walls and ceilings looking strangely bare, and the grand hall had been cleared of all party evidence. There were no opaleine towers bearing vials upon vials, no crystal glasses with red liquid inside, and no chairs and tables. It was one big expanse, devoid of festive spirit.
Crossing the empty floor quickly, Lazar led us down the same hallway that Queen Gianne had disappeared through after Kalvin had been executed. It was broad and wide, ending in a familiar set of double doors. This was the throne room, where Navan and I had visited the queen. Frowning, I guessed several corridors must lead here.
Navan stepped up to the door and rapped hard on the metal surface. A moment later, a guard came to the door and poked his head out.