Page 114 of The Serpent Prince

He was a half-breed, like her—a shifter and some other kind of elf. Maybe even an Eldritch elf like her with his red brand.

Magnus’s wyvern, without fire, was nothing against Kiran’s.

His destruction was total. Nothing stood a chance. The noise of his flames and destruction roared in her ears as he beat his powerful wings and tore lines of fire through the palace’s defenses, like explosions of magic she’d never seen.

He roared, and Imani screamed. The fire heated her face.

Parts of the city were in flames now. Kiran’s fire. The army below—following him to their deaths—was astounding. Massive. The whole Under flew behind him.

Parrying favors, making deals, forging relationships … he must have been planning this for years. He knew every breed and every lord in the kingdom …

Everything from the past six months clicked into place. He had been rallying them for war while she helped him gather the final pieces to make himself monarch of the Niflheim Kingdom.

And she knew he had his sights set on the Essenheim Kingdom next.

The Under realm horde beasts flew in synchrony with him—the beasts she had helped him secure.

“Kiran, no,” she whispered. “What have you done?”

She dropped to her knees as fifty beasts and dark angels flew overhead. An army of the Under.

She had given it to him.

He lifted off the tower, spotted her again in the woods and, seemingly satisfied she was safe, destroyed the entire standing guard of shifters.

He controlled several dragons and beasts, as well as the rebel armies from the territories … all the different breeds they’d visited this past year—the sirens, Drows, dwarves, and other serpent shifters. The power he wielded behind him was nothing short of breathtaking. He’d already destroyed half the palace with them, and she had to wonder if he was working on finishing it off entirely.

It had been Kiran all along. He was the traitor the king had been searching for, not Respen. He had turned the king against his brother. He had positioned the king to be weak in front of his clans. He had orchestrated new loyalties and had exploited weaknesses.

The perfect plan.

Not only that, but he had also severed any possibility of a challenge to succession. Of course, it was possible someone else would inherit the throne, but that would be highly unexpected. Kiran was the most powerful witch in the Niflheim Kingdom.

Saevel.

She put her hand over her mouth. He was probably going to kill him, too, along with all his other brothers. If he hadn’t already.

While the sight of war was sickening and his lies and betrayal once again tore her in half, a proud feeling swelled in her chest. These people had done nothing but put Kiran down his entire life, and now they were paying for it.

Nothing came without a price.

If the king had known … if their other potential heirs had known, Kiran would have been gutted in his crib, either by his father or one of his brothers. His mother had to have known. Some others knew of his plans, too—Zadie was likely one of them—but unless they were loyal to him, Kiran probably had been killing people off over the years when they had learned the truth.

Imani had a feeling Respen had known … and had been murdered months ago for it.

Gods. He’d been using flesh magic since he was little to cover his true brands—his Under magic and his serpentes shifter sigil. No wonder he was addicted to the blood-burning magic, the brutality … he had to be.

Her protectiveness lashed out on instinct, but his betrayal ran deeper than she wanted to admit. If he only knew that, until now, Imani had considered confiding in him about all her plans … Thank the gods she hadn’t.

He hadn’t confided in her like she had thought.

And she had to stop him. For Essenheim.

Deep sadness permeated her bones. This betrayal of lies would not be forgotten by her, however much she respected this massive chess move that must have taken years for him to execute.

The whole city trembled when he roared.

Another screech and rush of air sounded above her, and she ducked. Rocks tumbled down and barely missed her. She coughed, trying to breathe. The fire burned so hot she felt her skin heating a mile down from the palace, the walk even treacherous for her, despite the safe route she knew by heart.