Page 41 of Whispers of Ruin
“The amsirah mostly kept to themselves throughout the years. I assume that didn’t change much when I retreated to the crone realm.”
“No, it didn’t.”
“Do you know much about them?”
“A little more now.”
She smiled as she pushed aside a low-hanging leaf the size of her. “There’s so many different creatures in the Shadow Realms; it’s impossible to know them all.”
“So many mysteries out there.”
“It’s wonderful, aweing, and frightening when you think about it.”
“It is,” Brokk agreed. “All this talk about kings, emperors, and rulers reminded me of something I’ve pondered off and on through the years.”
“What’s that?”
“Why did the witches never have another queen after that vampire killed the last one?”
“There was talk of appointing another one. Like the dark fae, family heritage never dictated who would rule over us; a voting council appointed our queen.”
“And that council never voted on a new one?”
“They did.”
“So… what happened?”
A small, wistful smile played at the corners of her lush, inviting mouth—a mouth he’d give anything to taste.
“I didn’t want to be a queen.”
“So,youturned it down.”
“I did, and this was centuries before what happened with Fabian, so it wasn’t because of that. I believed we were doing fine on our own and didn’t require a central figure who could become corrupted by power.”
“Was the last queen corrupted by her power?”
“No, but things were working well after her death and have continued to do so for years. A council of witches still represents all the different covens, so everyone has a voice and democracy rules.”
“Were you good friends with the last witch queen?”
“Notgoodfriends, but we got along well.”
“Not many would have turned the position of queen down.”
“I’m not many.”
“No, you’re not,” he murmured.
Kaylia cast him a sideways glance from under her lashes as his gaze ran appraisingly and hungrily over her. She was so amazing.
The sound of running water drifted to him a few seconds before the stream came into view. Beneath the moon’s glow, the water glistened as it meandered through the jungle, over rocks, and around tree roots.
It wasn’t a large stream, but big enough for them to wade into, sit down, and scrub themselves clean. Brokk’s skin prickled with excitement as he kicked off his boots.
Next to him, Kaylia edged away a little and crept further down the bank. There wasn’t much here to shield himself, but nudity wasn’t something he’d ever cared about.
Recalling her dead fiancé and how sheltered she’d been for these past centuries, he hesitated with his hand on the button of his pants. “Is this okay?”
