The Last Dragon King (Kings of Avalier #1)(11)

Did this man have no morals? He must need an heir badly to be assessing the magic of married women.

The people in the room parted and I made my way up the crowded aisle, feeling like every pair of eyes were on me.

Why did this need to be a public affair? I was nervous enough as it was without the entire town looking at me.

When the throng of people had finally thinned enough to give me a good view of the commotion, I gasped at the sight of the sniffers.

There were two of them, females with bright red hair, and skin so fair I could see the network of blue veins in their cheeks and neck. Twins, I realized, as I scanned their faces. Identical. They each wore a thick black leather eye mask that tied behind their heads and covered their blindness. The tips of their fae ears poked out of their hair, and they cocked their heads to the side in unison as I approached.

Kendal stood proudly behind them as the rest of the girls, rejects I suspected, hugged the walls and watched.

“Bring her to me,” one of the twins said, and I gulped. Many, many, rumors surrounded the sniffers. One was that they were born blind, which enhanced their sense of smell. Another was that they weren’t blind at all but that their mothers bound their sight with masks to force a magical smell enhancement.

Now that I saw the black leather masks, I wondered if the latter was true and what it would be like not so see anything your entire life by choice.

Regina nudged my back slightly and I steeled myself, looking back at my mother for one last glance.

I expected to see terror, but instead there was determination and the glint of steel in her hand.

Oh Hades.





FOUR





My gaze narrowed in on the glint of steel in my mother’s hand. She had pulled my hunting knife from my pack! My eyes widened, my mouth going slack, but then I quickly fixed my face so that Regina wouldn’t see.

What the Maker was Mother intending to do with that? Stab the sniffers? My mom hadn’t killed a thing a day in her life, never even swatted a fly. This whole situation had turned her mad.

I stumbled forward, and without seeing me the sniffer reached out and laid a hand on my shoulder.

My heart pounded so hard in my chest I could feel it in my ears.

Another hand landed on my other shoulder, and I looked up to see the second sniffer.

As if they were one being, they both inhaled at the same time, tipping their heads back as if to devour my scent.

I flinched, feeling like my entire soul lay bare in that moment. Something, some magic caressed me then, slithering over my skin and worming into my chest. My breathing became ragged and they both smiled at the same time.

“Sandalwood,” the one on the left said.

“Neem,” said the one on the right.

“Blood,” they both said together.

“And a whole lot of magic,” the one on the left said with nostrils flared.

Hades.

“Enough to bear the king a child?” Regina’s hopeful voice came from behind me, and I steeled myself.

They both shrugged at the same time. “More than this girl.” They flicked their head to Kendal and spoke in unison as if sharing one mind. “But not as much as the girl from Grim Hollow.”

I sagged in relief. There was a girl in Grim Hollow with more magic than both Kendal and I. Thank the Maker.

“Well, bring them both anyway,” Regina told them and I went rigid under their grip. “They’ll need to be properly tested, and in the end it’s the king’s decision who he chooses.”

Bring them both where?

Kendal and I? To Jade City?

Their hands fell away from me and I slunk over to stand with Kendal, wanting to get away from the sniffers’ flared nostrils.

My gaze went to my mother, who was watching the sniffers coldly, and I observed her put the hunting knife back into my pack.

Relief rushed through me.

“Would the families of the two chosen girls please come up to the front to speak to me?” Regina called out loudly. “Everyone else may leave.”

No one moved. It seemed they didn’t want the show to end. “Out!” Regina bellowed, and that got everyone to shake out of their trance. Funnels of people headed for the doors as Kendal’s mother and father warily stepped closer to Regina. I watched as my mother shouldered my heavy pack and followed them to stand before the leader of the Royal Guard.

The sniffers started to shuffle out of the room, but halfway through the space they stopped and both turned over their shoulder to look at me. Inhaling again, one of them actually moaned, and then they left.

“Creepy,” Kendal whispered, but I found that I wasn’t fully in agreement. It was creepy, but they also fascinated me. The way they walked, with no canes, it was almost as if they could sense the chairs and people in their way and moved to avoid them. If anything creeped me out, it was their sheer power, which I simultaneously respected.

Regina pulled out a piece of parchment and faced Kendal and I. “Have you both started your monthly bleeding cycles?” she asked flatly.

My eyes widened at the direction of her questioning. She gave me an apologetic look and I nodded. Kendal’s cheeks burned as she looked at her father, who cleared his throat, but she nodded as well. Talking about the monthly bleeding in front of men wasn’t done in Cinder Village. We kept that private among women only.

Regina seemed to pick up on that and muttered an apology to Kendal.