Queen of Myth and Monsters (Adrian X Isolde, #2)(5)

“Come inside, my queen,” said Tanaka, breathless from toiling his way up the stone steps behind me. I wondered when he’d joined us in the courtyard. I had not noticed him before.

Tanaka, Adrian’s viceroy, was older than any other vampire I had met. His skin was white and wrinkled, even on his cheeks, and while his hair was still dark, it had receded nearly to the back of his head.

I wondered at his age and why he was changed so late in his life. Despite having a few memories from my past life as Yesenia, I did not remember this man or his connection to Adrian, though it was possible he grown closer to Adrian in the two hundred years since my death.

A lot had happened in my absence.

“My queen?” Tanaka asked.

“I am not quite ready,” I said, not looking at the old man.

“But it is cold,” he said.

I did not mind the cold. It, at least, allowed me to feel something beyond the strange, distant numbness that had consumed my body since my father’s death.

“If you are uncomfortable, you may return to the palace,” I replied.

He huffed out a breath and tried once more. “Adrian will be very cross with me if you were to catch a cold.”

“Then I will be sure to protect you from his wrath,” I said, though my reply felt distant, even to my ears. I was distracted, but by nothing in particular, truly unable to focus on one line of thinking. It was as if my mind were a puzzle, and since the bloodletting and betrayal, I had been trying to piece together a picture of my world—its truths and its lies.

I lingered on the tower wall for a few minutes longer. Tanaka did not try to convince me to return to the palace again, and he did not leave my side. I wondered why he stayed. Was it out of true loyalty to Adrian or a ruse?

“Winter is upon us,” said Tanaka, his voice quiet, almost as if he were speaking to himself.

I glanced at him, and he nodded toward the eastern sky where clouds gathered, thick and heavy, full of a coming storm.

“It will be snowing by sundown.”

I frowned. Winters in Revekka were harsh, and while I doubted it would affect Adrian, I worried for those outside our city.

“Is Revekka prepared?”

The blood mist was still a threat, and with fewer noblesse, could the others survive?

“We will do the best we can,” he replied.

“What is your best?” I asked, and when I looked at Tanaka, he had frozen, mouth ajar as if his answer was stuck in his throat, or perhaps he did not have one at all. After a moment, he composed himself.

“These are winter folk, my queen. They know how to survive.”

As much as I desired to remain outside awaiting Adrian’s return, I was queen of Revekka, and while my husband hunted, I would plan.

This world thought they knew a conqueror when Adrian had been born, but they had yet to feel my wrath.

“I must speak with Gavriel,” I said, determined to gather information about Lara. Unfortunately for Adrian, I had no intention of resting. “Summon him to the garden.”

With a final look at the horizon, I left the wall.





Two





Isolde

I returned to my quarters, parting ways with Tanaka at the base of the stairs. I was chilled to my core, my skin so cold it felt tight over my bones and my long hair tangled after spending so much time in the wind, but with each step, my body thawed and I continued to plan.

I would have to return to Lara eventually, along with Killian, and preferably before news of my father’s death spread. I had little faith that I would be welcomed by my people and even less faith that the Nine Houses—or what remained of them—would allow my coronation to take place. And while I knew Adrian could force anything I desired, I did not wish to conquer that way.

Becoming the first queen of Lara mattered. It was how I had always imagined my life, and even though it was unfolding differently, I wanted it no less. And it was not only Lara I wished to possess. I wanted Vela. I wanted to watch the life drain from King Gheorghe’s face as I conquered his kingdom, reclaimed my mother’s homeland, and freed her people—my people. As badly as I would have liked to leave tomorrow, I knew the consequences would be disastrous. Things had to settle in Revekka, and I hoped in that time I would learn Ravena’s intentions with The Book of Dis.

By the time I crested the steps that led to my private room, my heart was filled with fire and vengeance.

As I approached, I heard Violeta and Vesna, my ladies-in-waiting. I paused for a moment, trying to catch pieces of their conversation, but their voices filtered through my closed door, a low murmur of unintelligible words. There was a part of me that felt guilty that I would seek to spy, and yet my trust in others had been crushed and I no longer felt confident in my ability to discern friend from enemy, no matter their role or age.

So I listened a while longer and only caught a few words.

Mother. Jasenka. Kseniya.

Vesna was talking about her family, likely that they were making the move from their small village in Jovea to Cel Ceredi this week. Adrian had appointed Tanaka to find them a small space to rent after I had asked to relocate them. I had many reasons for the request—I did not like seeing Vesna so sad and preferred that she was able to return home to her sisters nightly, and perhaps I felt just the slightest bit of guilt given that I was the reason they were fatherless, but I had not thought beyond the knife in my hand when the man had come to my court, offering his daughter to my husband as a concubine in exchange for immortality.