Inkmistress (Of Fire and Stars 0.5)(99)

His face contorted in fear as Ina slammed him to the ground. She tore off his armor piece by piece, giving the audience time to crescendo into a deafening roar.

Between me and Ina, the king was helpless, pinned to the ground with nothing between him and death but cloth and leather. Ina slowly dug in the claws resting on his chest. The king’s scream rose to join that of the rest of the crowd.

Ina’s fangs closed around his throat to choke off the sound. She tore out his windpipe, spattering her white scales with his blood. A pool of red spread beneath him.

Zumorda had its new queen.





CHAPTER 38


I IGNORED THE OVERWHELMING SHOUTS OF THE CROWD and ran into the combat arena.

My focus was singular: I had to get the Fatestone.

Ina still stood over the king’s body, both of them now in human form.

When she saw me coming, she stepped in front of his body like an animal defending her kill. Then she saw where my focus lay. She bent down and tugged the golden ring from his finger.

I came to a stop before her, staring her down in a way I’d never done before. My place had always been to accommodate her, to please her, to love her.

My days of subservience were over.

“Give me the ring!” My voice cut through the roar of the audience.

Ina behaved as if I hadn’t spoken. She cast a nervous glance at Nismae, who still lay in the sand, unmoving. Hal wasn’t far from Nismae, but I could still sense the brightness of his life force in spite of what the king had drained.

“I just helped you win the crown,” I said. “Give me that ring.”

“You did that?” Ina hesitated. She had to have sensed the transference of power. It was too big to ignore if she had the Sight activated at all, and I knew she had.

I was out of patience, and power still coursed through me. “I did it to him and I’ll do it to you if you don’t give me that ring right now.” I let my magic slip into hers and tugged just enough to be a warning.

She fell to her knees. The audience gasped to see their new queen on the ground.

“I don’t want to hurt you, but I will if I must,” I said. She undoubtedly knew how priceless the Fatestone was, but not necessarily what it would allow me to do or how badly I needed it.

Her gaze flickered to Nismae. Worry creased her brow.

“Only if you agree to help Nismae,” Ina said, raising her chin. Her eyes flashed in a way that once would have frightened me.

“You’re in no position to bargain with a daughter of the shadow god,” I said.

Ina’s eyes widened. She only knew the version of my story that had long since been proven untrue.

“Demigod or not, I’m still your queen.” She didn’t back down, even on her knees.

I crouched beside her. “Queen or not, I can tear you apart.”

Our eyes locked.

“I’d like to see you try,” she said, but her voice faltered. She was tired from the battle, and maybe she could see the truth in my eyes—that I no longer loved her like I had back home.

“Give me the ring and you’ll have your crown.” I held out my hand.

She pulled off the ring and threw it into the dirt, then scrambled to her feet and fled toward Nismae.

I snatched the ring and put it back on my finger.

Hal.

I hurried to where he lay.

“Hal,” I cried, checking for a heartbeat. It was faint, but it was there. Without hesitation I threw most of the king’s magic that I’d stolen into him. Power flooded through him, pulsing and twisting wildly until the glow of his energy brightened in my Sight.

His eyes flew open and he sat up, gasping for breath.

I threw my arms around him, so grateful that he was all right.

“Nismae doesn’t have the Fatestone,” he said.

“It’s all right,” I murmured, burying my face in his neck. “I got it.”

He kissed me softly and then looked to where his sister lay.

“Oh no,” he said, scrambling through the sand to her side.

Ina fixed him with a look fierce enough to melt rock, but he paid her no mind.

Hal checked Nismae’s pulse and listened for breath.

“She’s barely breathing,” he said. “She’s going to die all because she saved me. Oh gods . . .”

His pain cut through me as Ina’s once might have. I wanted to help Hal. But Nismae had never done me a single kindness, unless not killing me counted. But she’d saved someone I loved.

“Do something!” Ina looked at me. “You fixed him. Now fix her!”

On the far side of the coliseum, a palace attendant was approaching with the crown in his hands.

“I can’t do this without you,” Ina whispered to Nismae.

Hal hung his head.

Their combined suffering was too much. I poured the last of the king’s magic into Nismae.

A few moments later she coughed weakly.

“Nis!” Ina said, hugging Nismae as she sat up. “Oh, thank the gods.”

“My blade is yours, Invasya. So are my scrolls. Now and always,” she said, her voice gravelly.

Ina’s eyes softened and a shaky smile came over her face as she looked at Nismae in a way she’d never looked at me. Nismae gazed back with equal intensity in spite of her weakened state. What passed between them in that moment—I couldn’t help but notice it looked a little bit like love.