Crown of Cinders (Imdalind #7)(10)

“We’ve been over this, Ry.” I was still hesitant to say much, my magic prickling more in preparation.

“No, I mean, you are a queen.” He finally pulled out of his stupor, spinning to face me. The gaunt nothing had left his face, and a brilliant eager light had taken its place. Still, I couldn’t relax, even though Ilyan had seemed to. Whatever he was viewing through my eyes had put him at ease.

It would be nice if he would share some of that calm, but he was silent.

“Yes.”

“Little girls love queens. They love princesses.”

Everything fell into place as Ryland wrapped his hands around my shoulders, shaking me slightly in his excitement.

I could feel the confusion slip from my scowl. Either that or it was the brain damage from being jostled around.

“So, I should be a queen? Like, in a theme park where little girls line up in pretty dresses and get signatures and pictures?”

Ryland nodded, obviously proud of his deduction.

Ugh.

“I should have worn one of my council dresses.” It was a grumble of irritation that Ryland chuckled at. He knew my hatred for dresses better than anyone.

I wasn’t sure I would get into a dress, anyway, but I knew that frayed jeans and blood-stained sneakers weren’t going to cut it. Ryland, however, didn’t seem to care. He smiled eagerly and stepped away, jogging toward the kids in his excitement.

“Jaromir!” he yelled, jerking awake several of the Chosen. Jaromir turned, his face breaking out into the biggest smile I had ever seen, causing the mark on his cheek to squish together.

With a rush, he ran from the bed to tackle-hug Ryland around the waist.

“I heard you have news for me,” Ryland said.

“The best news!” the kid erupted, grabbing Ryland’s hand and dragging him toward the girl who still sat on the bed, blonde hair braided down her back, face wilting in what I assumed was fear. “This is my sister.”

“Hello, Míra,” Ryland whispered, his big, meaty hand wrapping around the girl’s tiny one, his magic surging from the contact. I was confident he was laying the foundation for what I needed to do. “It’s so nice to meet you. Welcome to our home. We are so glad you are safe.”

“So am I. It was so scary out there,” the little girl squeaked, her response hesitant and worrisome.

I could tell she was attempting to look brave, to look innocent. The shake in her voice was perfect, the way her shoulders pulled into her ears carefully done.

It was almost overdone, a perfect replica of another deceptive man I was related to.

That might be why I saw right through her.

I saw through the wide eyes and looked into the darkness that haunted her. I looked past the innocence in her voice and heard the malicious voice that had haunted my dreams for so long. I heard the wickedness that had hunted me in shadows.

I would love to say I heard it because of what Ilyan had said, because I knew there was a ?tít inside of her, but one look to Ryland and I knew I wasn’t alone.

I wasn’t the only one who had heard it. I saw his back stiffen, freezing him in place, his hand still wrapped around the little girl’s as his muscles knit together. I could almost hear his mind buzzing with anxiety, my own spiking in fear of what seemed like an imminent attack.

So, you hear it as well? Ilyan whispered into my mind, the words lost amongst the panic I was fighting.

Before my magic could awaken into a flood, however, Ryland shivered, his curls bouncing as a ripple moved down his spine like a dog shedding water.

“Well,” Ryland continued, his voice shaking with exertion, fighting the demons exhausting him, “you are safe here.” He smiled warmly, although I could see the panic in his eyes.

The little girl looked at him with her wide, dark eyes picking up on the change. I was certain she couldn’t piece the reasoning together as to why he had reacted that way. At least, I hoped she couldn’t.

If Ryland was right, and Edmund had sent her, we were all in a bit of trouble.

“I brought a surprise,” Ryland continued without missing a beat, turning away from the children to face me. “I present Queen Joclyn.”

The girl’s eyes widened, her awe obvious. Her brother, meanwhile, looked concerned and somewhat fearful of my presence.

She sat as awestruck as a little girl in a theme park. Ryland had announced me, and the spotlight shone right on my face. At least my braid was pristine. She didn’t even seem to notice the holes in my dirty jeans.

“Queen?”

“Hello, Míra. I am very pleased to meet you,” I told her, trying to ignore the way my stomach swam.

Leave it to a child to make me feel more like a queen than all the councils and pretty dresses combined.

Ilyan chuckled at my complaint as I kept the smile plastered on my face.

I didn’t extend my hand as Ilyan had instructed me months ago. Instead, I kept them politely by my sides.

The girl looked a bit affronted at first, something that vanished when Ryland and Jaromir bowed a bit toward me. The legitimacy of my claim unquestioned, her eyes widened.

“Hello.” Her voice was barely above a squeak, the awe wiping away all sign of the darkness I had heard behind her voice before. “Are you really the queen?”

“Yes.” I chuckled, my smile widening, the girl’s eagerness at meeting me infectious. “I am. Queen of the Sk?íteks. That’s the magical people charged with protection,” I answered at the confused look she gave me, which seemed a little forced.