Serpent's Claim (Serpent's Touch 2)

“He did?” the king sounded surprised, just like Lady Igaed had been.

“He promised to always have me at his side.” Maybe the need to fulfill that promise was what had brought his spirit back to me?

His soul was tied to mine one way or another. The connection didn’t break, no matter how much time had passed. It only grew stronger.

“He would’ve come,” I repeated with conviction.

The king frowned. “I don’t recall any reports about him.”

“Because there weren’t any. I’ve gone through all recent communication from Ellohi in the Archives. All letters and recordings are signed by Udren, the High Lord, with no mention of Kyllen or his return. They got rid of every trace of him, as if he perished in my world and never came back.”

The king sat in silence for a few moments, resting his chin on his hand.

“Udren has been the High Lord of Ellohi for centuries,” he said slowly. “I’ve met him on a few occasions. “

“He’s Kyllen’s younger brother. Udren’s son, Bherlon, was the one who murdered Kyllen.”

The king scratched his jaw with a rough, grating sound against his dry skin.

“Something as big as the heir returning after a long absence would definitely be news normally shared with the king. Unless there was a plan to get rid of the heir, of course.” He shrugged. “Unfortunate but not unusual. The law may be on Kyllen’s side, but if the nephew was raised to believe the High Lord’s throne was his, I’d expect him to fight for it.”

“To fight!” I fisted my hands tighter. “To openly defend it in an honest dispute would be an honorable thing to do. But to cowardly ambush a member of his own family…” I closed my eyes, battling the sickening feeling rising in my throat. “To murder in cold blood…”

“That was a crime,” the king agreed calmly.

I met his eyes. “Shouldn’t Bherlon be punished for what he’s done?”

He tilted his head, gazing at me with interest. “Is that what you want, my little pet? Revenge?”

Punishing Bherlon would not bring Kyllen back. Forgiving and forgetting might be a noble thing to do. However, everything inside me burned with thirst for retribution. Kyllen deserved that. He deserved justice. And I might have the power to make it happen.

Like Lord Adriyel had said, I had the king’s ear. The most powerful man in the kingdom might be inclined to do me a favor. I’d never asked him for anything before, but for Kyllen, I would.

“Yes.” I squared my shoulders and raised my chin. “I want Lord Bherlon detained, tried, and punished for the murder.”

The king stared at me with a new expression in his eyes, as if he’d just met me and tried to figure out what kind of person I really was.

“Would that make you happy?” he asked. “If I made him pay?”

“Happy? No.” I shook my head with a humorless laugh. Happiness wasn’t possible for me in this world without Kyllen. But punishing those responsible for his death would give me some satisfaction. “It would bring Kyllen justice. And for me… Well, maybe I would get a modicum of peace from that.”

He nodded. “I’ll send a commission to Ellohi to do a formal investigation and to arrest those found responsible.”

“Thank you.” I pressed a hand to my chest and bowed my head in gratitude.

He sprawled in his chair in a more comfortable position. “Meanwhile, instead of telling me a story about the boy today, why don’t you tell me something about the girl?”

“What girl?” I blinked, confused.

“This one.” He tipped his chin at me.

I sat back. “You want me to talk about myself?”

A faint smile played on his lips. “Yes. You’ve been sleeping in my bedroom for two months. Yet all I know about you is your name. Tell me, where are you from?”

I hesitated. “From nowhere, really.”

That was true. I had no roots. In the world where I was born, I’d been nobody. Everything that I would ever become would have to start here, in Lorsan.

“I… I really don’t know what to tell you.” I spread my arms.

“Tell me about your world. Where were you born? Where is your family? Where did you grow up? How exactly did you get to Nerifir? And how did Kyllen make you fall in love with him that fiercely?”

“Oh, I…”

I was about to insist that there wasn’t much to tell, that my life hadn’t been anything special, that I hadn’t done anything that would interest the king. Because really, how could my twenty-somewhat years of cleaning animal cages and brushing Madame’s hair compare with the centuries of waging wars and ruling a kingdom that had been the king’s life?

But I stopped myself, thinking about the answers to all the questions he’d just asked.

There had been tragedies in my life, and there had been beautiful, magical moments. I’d met some remarkable men who’d helped me along the way. I’d known love, loss, and true friendship. I’d gone against the wishes of a goddess and crossed the River of Mists.

Maybe I did have a story of my own to tell, one that might captivate the king.

“Okay, Your Majesty.” I smiled at him. “I’ll tell you about myself, but under one condition.”

“A condition?” The familiar spark flashed through his dark-orange eyes. The king was intrigued.

“Yes. My story isn’t free. We’ll trade. For every part I’ll tell you about the girl, you’ll tell me something about the king. Deal?”

He laughed heartily.

“You want me to talk about myself? Be careful what you ask for, my girl. I may never stop.” He rubbed his eyes, shaking his head. “Really, you can read all about it. There are hundreds, thousands of scrolls down in the Archives, documenting every glorious moment of my life. I know you go to the Archives daily.” He gestured to my nest by the window, the pillows raised with the books hidden under them. “I’ve seen you read. What books interest you?”

I tried to read during when the king was busy and didn’t need me. But I hadn’t tried hard enough to hide it from him, either.

He didn’t appear angry right now, just curious.

“History books, mostly,” I said. “Also, some about current laws and governance.”

His brow ridges shot up in surprise.

“Why those? Surely, we have plenty of much lighter reading, more suitable for a young girl like you.”

“I want to know everything gorgonians know about their homeland,” I replied.

“Why?”

“Because Lorsan is now my home, too.”

He squinted his amber eyes at me. “I see.”

I’d read some of the scrolls about his life, too, but I wanted to hear his own accounts of that. I especially hoped he’d tell me the parts that weren’t documented that well, or possibly hadn’t been recorded at all.

“I’d love to hear about your family, Your Majesty. And about how you decided to become the king. You weren’t born into the line of succession.”

He huffed a laugh.

“No, I was not. But I always knew I was destined for greater things than just being one of the lower princes in Ufaris. There are many lords in the Kingdom, but only one king. I wasn’t born as the successor, but I knew I was meant to wear the crown one day.”

I propped my elbows on top of the game board and rested my chin on my folded hands. “I want to hear all about it.”

“Well, it’s a deal, then. A story for a story.”