Page 105 of The Half King
“His?”Cerise repeated. “It draws from a person?” She took back the pendant and rubbed her thumb over its gnarled metal, imagining it draining some distant priest each time she’d used it. “I could have killed him.”
“No, you couldn’t have.”
“You don’t understand how energy works.”
“Trust me. No one was in danger except for you.”
There was no point in arguing. Nina wouldn’t listen. “If you say so.”
“I do.” Nina pointed at the water. “Now, tip back that dirty head.”
Cerise leaned down so Nina could wash her hair. She was glad to have her sister there, even if Nina had only come to the palace to fuss at her. She’d missed her sister. It didn’t seem like that long ago she had promised to break the curse for Nina’s baby. Now the time had come to prove it. Maybe Nina could see it happen for herself.
“There’s a ceremony in a couple of hours,” Cerise said. And then she told her sister everything, starting with Mother Strout’s journal and the clues that had led them into the mountains and ending with the test to win the Petros Blade. She left out the battle with the corpses, not wanting to scare Nina. But she didn’t leave anything out when she told her sister about Kian. She even included the details that made her blush to say them out loud.
“The king?” Nina asked, washing out the last suds from her hair. “Really, Cerise? After I asked you not to draw too much attention to yourself, you began a torrid affair with the most infamous man in the realm?”
“Yes, really,” she said. “And it’s not a torrid affair. We’re in love.”
To Nina’s credit, she didn’t scoff or laugh. “Well, I can’t say that I blame you. He is rather nice to look at.”
“He is,” Cerise agreed. She imagined Kian getting ready in his royal chambers, washing and dressing and eating stomach soothers like candy. He was counting on her. All of the noble firstborns were. Daerick and General Petros, Nina and her baby—their lives were in her hands.
Tension crept into her shoulders.
“You’re nervous,” Nina said, starting to towel-dry Cerise’s hair. “Just do your best. That’s all the king or anyone else can expect of you.”
“I’ll feel better knowing you’re there,” Cerise said. “You can stand right up front, where I can see you.”
“At the ceremony?” Nina shook her veiled head. “No, Cerise, I can’t go with you. No one can know that I’m here.”
“But the staff knows.”
“No one atcourt,” Nina clarified. “This veil doesn’t make me invisible. It draws its own kind of attention. The more people see me, the more they’ll talk. Word will get around.”
“And get back to your husband?”
Nina hesitated as though she’d forgotten about him. “Yes, to my husband.”
“Where does he think you are right now?”
“Still visiting Mama and Father. So you can see why I have to be careful. You said it yourself: if the ceremony doesn’t work this time, you’ll keep trying until the king’s last sunset. That could take days, if it even happens at all.”
“Wait,” Cerise said, ignoring Nina’s lack of faith in her. “How long do you plan on hiding out in my suite?”
“Until you break the curse,” Nina said. “Or until the king’s last day, whichever comes first.” She grew still for a long pause. “Father’s carriage is parked outside the gatehouse. Do you remember what it looks like?”
“Yes. Why?”
“If anything happens, I’m taking you home.”
“What do you mean?” Cerise asked. “And to what home? To the temple?”
“I mean if you can’t break the curse,” Nina said. “And no, I want to take you to my estate in Calatris. It’s more secure. You’ll be safer there than anywhere else.”
“But the king…” Cerise shook her head. “I won’t leave him.”
“If he dies, you can’t stay here. You have to know that.”
