Queen of Myth and Monsters (Adrian X Isolde, #2)(31)

***

I woke even before the sun began to redden the sky.

My room was cold, my hearth unlit, and while I could summon Violeta for the task, I wanted to be alone, so I pulled a blanket from my bed and wrapped it around me, choosing to sit at my desk. Nadia’s letter remained folded, unanswered near my well of ink and quill. She had written long before my father had arrived for my coronation, long before I’d learned what he truly prized.

I considered responding to her. It would be an opportunity to lie, to tell her that my father was well and that we were enjoying our time together, but I did not think I could read her words again. It was bad enough that I could recall most of them on my own.

Think often of us, especially your father. He is lost without you.

Her words made my stomach churn, but I knew she believed what she wrote.

I also knew she believed I had a plan to kill Adrian.

Nadia had been the first to suggest it. She had put the blade in my hand, and while I had tried to carry out her wish, it had been impossible.

I had fallen in love with him, long before I even knew what was happening.

The body knows before the mind.

I wondered if news had spread across the courts, about how the former princess of Lara loved the Blood King, and I wondered if Nadia scolded anyone who dared speak such blasphemy about her sweet Issi.

But I had never been sweet.

And that had always been Nadia’s greatest fault—refusing to see the princess she truly cared for.

“They will kill you,” said a voice.

I turned to find Ana in my room, but it was not the Ana I knew—this one belonged to Yesenia’s time. She looked just as beautiful, the only difference being her hair. Not a hint of silver showed in her golden tresses.

“I am going to die anyway,” I said, and as I spoke, I carefully inked words onto the thick pages of a book.

“That is not funny, Yesenia.”

I paused and met Ana’s gaze. “Was I laughing?”

Ana paled. “So you plan to die and leave these spells behind. For whom?”

“You are using the wrong words. There is no plan to die, but I will die,” I said. “And the spells are for me.”

“I do not understand.”

“You do not have to,” I said. “All you have to do is hide the book.”

A knock at the door made me jump, and I found I was alone in my room. Ana was not present, and the book I had been writing in was gone.

I’d had many moments in this palace where I had visions of the past, but this was the first one I’d had about The Book of Dis.

My heart beat heavily in my chest as I tried to process what I had witnessed, but I was once again interrupted by a second knock at the door.

“My queen?”

“Fuck,” I said under my breath and rose from my place to open the door.

Violeta and Vesna had arrived to help me prepare for the day.

“My queen!” Violeta exclaimed as she entered my room. “Why did you not call for me?”

My lady-in-waiting collapsed to her knees before the hearth and began preparing the fire. Vesna remained near the entrance, arms folded, shivering.

“I did not wish to be disturbed,” I said, letting my blanket slide from my shoulders and handing it to Vesna.

“Oh no, my queen. I couldn’t,” she said.

“Do not refuse my generosity, Vesna,” I said, and she took the blanket.

Violeta climbed to her feet, dusting off her knees as the fire roared to life. Once it was warm enough, I dressed in a black gown. The bodice was structured and dipped into a V that accentuated my breasts—something Adrian would admire. The collar was high and the sleeves long, embellished with silver beading made to look like flowers caught in moonlight.

I accepted whatever jewels Violeta gave me, eager to find Ana. All I had learned was that Ana had ensured the book survived two hundred years until I could return to claim it, but in those years, had she read it? Did she recall any spells? Perhaps we would be able to anticipate Ravena’s next move.

Another knock came at the door, and I grew frustrated at having another visitor who would delay my search for Ana, but when Vesna answered the door, she curtsied immediately.

“Your Majesty,” she said and stepped aside so Adrian could enter.

He wore all black, a long shadow, and he cast his darkness upon me though I could not deny that I wanted it.

He looked just as tired as I felt—pale, dark-eyed, and sad.

He had pulled his hair away from his face, and it exposed his beautiful, angled jaw.

“May I speak with you?” he asked.

I stared at him a moment, and then my gaze shifted to Violeta and Vesna. “You are dismissed.”

When they were gone and the door clicked shut, Adrian approached, halting a few steps from me. I wanted to fill the void between us because I hated how it felt—empty and raw.

“I came to apologize,” he said. “I was unkind in so many ways last night. I promised you the world, and when you asked, I took it away.” He paused for a moment, looking away, his eyes becoming hard. “The problem is…I waited two centuries to have you in my arms again, and if I let you go, I fear you will never come back.”

“Adrian,” I said, whispering his name. His words made my heart ache.

“I came to let you know that I dispatched one of my soldiers to Nalani.”