The Blood Spell (Ravenspire, #4)(73)
Why is Kellan mad at you?
Because he thought she’d risked both herself and her mother. Because he had to greet royals and go choose a bride instead of spending time with Blue.
Because her emotions had been too easy to read, and he knew she longed for him too.
She gave Nessa a little smile and signed, He was just worried.
He worries about you a lot.
Blue didn’t know what to say to that. The pair from Súndraille reached the royal family, and Nessa turned her attention to them.
A page raised his voice and said, “Your Majesties Queen Adelene, Prince Kellan, and Princess Vanessa of Balavata, may I present Their Royal Highnesses Thaddeus and Arianna Glavan of Súndraille.”
While the families greeted each other, Blue turned to find the black Llorenyae ship docked and its passengers disembarking. There were a few merchants, a handful of children dancing around a harried-looking woman, and some small loads of crates coming down the gangplank on carts, but Blue’s eyes were drawn to the twin bounty hunters who stood on the deck, legs braced as if they were still at sea, their dark auburn hair glowing in the sun like halos of fire. Behind them, a train of wagon beds were being loaded with cages and crates full of creatures who howled, hissed, growled, and screamed in unearthly tones that sent a wave of stunned silence over the crowded dock.
Near Blue, the princess of Súndraille sighed dramatically and said, “Hansel and Gretel always bring the most terrifying creatures with them when they travel. I could never strand myself on board a ship with those monsters. I need a slice of pie just thinking about it.”
Her brother laughed. “I’m not sure pie would do you any good if one of their creatures got loose.”
The princess snorted. “I think you’re seriously underestimating the value of dying while doing something you enjoy.”
Kellan laughed. “I have to agree with Princess Arianna. Seizing the moment is never a bad decision.”
“It’s Ari, please,” the girl said, “and you sound like a wise prince.”
Blue laughed, choked when all five members of both royal families turned her way, and then laughed again at the smirk on Kellan’s face.
“You don’t think I’m wise, Blue?” he called, daring her to join the conversation. To tease him. To act like they were alone in her storeroom instead of standing on a dock in front of the city and worse, his mother.
“I . . . really couldn’t say.”
“Ooh, that means you must have some very interesting stories to tell,” said a bold, bright voice behind her. She whirled and found herself face-to-face with the bounty hunter Hansel, his blue eyes dancing with glee. There were dark runes inked into his arms and iron charms tied in his shoulder-length hair. A single white streak of hair grew from his left temple.
His sister stood behind him, a matching streak of white at her temple, along with matching runes in her skin and charms in her hair. The way she held her lithe, graceful body reminded Blue of Pepperell’s sudden stillness as he stalked prey across the garden.
“Hansel! Gretel!” Ari rushed to them and threw her arms around them. “It’s been ages since you’ve visited.”
Hansel grinned, lifted her in the air, and spun her once. Gretel simply gave her a serious smile and squeezed her shoulders once. Hansel slung an arm around Ari’s shoulders and looked around. “Where is your silent, predatory partner in crime?”
Ari grimaced. “Still on the boat, lying down. Turns out Sebastian doesn’t handle sea travel well.”
“Vomited, did he?” Hansel asked.
“If I were you, I wouldn’t tease him about it,” Gretel said quietly. “Cornering Sebastian is a good way to get hurt.”
Hansel included everyone in his smile. “Speaking of getting hurt, Your Majesties, if I might suggest clearing the dock before we bring our beasties off the boat? While our cages are solid and our crates are strong, Akram has ordered some of its most vicious monsters yet. If one of them gets loose, you’ll need all prey . . . I mean people, of course . . . out of the way so we can catch it.”
“What happens if you can’t catch it?” Kellan asked, frowning.
“Then we hunt it down and kill it,” Gretel said in a voice that left no doubt she was capable of doing exactly that.
Blue thought of the witch hurting people in the city and blurted, “Can you catch a witch?”
Kellan met her eyes and nodded his agreement with the direction her mind was heading.
Hansel’s eyes lit up, and he cracked his knuckles. “Witch hunting happens to be a specialty of ours. What’s the problem? You have one going a bit rogue?”
“We have someone who released a spell in multiple parts of the city. It caused black flames to burn on whatever living being it touched until it extinguished itself, long after the person or animal was dead,” the queen said. “Then, a few nights later, a house and everyone inside it simply disintegrated into dust.”
“I hate witches who hurt people,” Hansel said, for once sounding nearly as serious as his sister. “Any clues to the witch’s whereabouts?”
Kellan shook his head. “We sourced the ingredients and followed up, but no one sold those items to anyone besides their regular customers within the last year.”
“How did you know which ingredients were used?” Gretel asked, the stillness of her body somehow going from aware to menacing without Blue being able to identify what specifically had changed.