Page 16 of The Serpent Prince

She had no idea if he believed her or not, but like a good little sheep, she shot up and jumped out without a word.

CHAPTER 6

It rained almost every day in Niflheim. As expected, this place was stuck in an unchanging state of being overcast during the day and an obliterating blackness at night. Some of the people here hadn’t seen the sun for years. Maybe ever.

The last night of wandering about the capital city, Kehemol, her new home, was over.

Once she dressed, the servants began taking apart her tent, and Imani buried deeper into her cloak as she wandered around. She took in the half-daylight and the rain and saw herself in the shadows, luring them, letting everyone underestimate her, use her, and smile at her. Like usual, several guards trailed her, and she wondered if the Essenheim witches would ever be trusted enough to roam more freely. Or maybe those guards were simply for her.

She’d spent the last three nights of the journey trying to learn more about the politics, the royal family, and the kingdom in general, assuming there would be more to learn here than in Stralas. No one seemed to be willing to give up information—not about themselves, or the princes, or the king. Many even stonewalled her when she asked about the godsdamn weather.

Tanyl had told her magic wasn’t viewed the same way here, but these people—even the witches—were downright unfriendly to her kind. Still, every step inside the dark kingdom solidified her determination. She hated how weak, how subservient, she felt right now, but her mistakes were in the past. Yes, everyone wanted to use her here, and probably would at some point, but she was going to reinvent herself in the Niflheim capital. She held more power now than she’d ever thought possible—and more secrets—and she would find out how to use them both to get the information she desperately needed.

At her carriage, a servant waited with a note that brandished the royal family’s seal. Imani dismissed him offhandedly and ripped it open, not in the mood to attend to any of Saevel’s needs.

But the signature indicated it was from Kiran.

Her hands shook slightly with anger at the curled script ordering her to ride with him that day—she hated being at his beck and call. Upon another glance up, she noticed her trunk wasn’t loaded onto the back like usual.

Crumpling the letter in her clenched fist, she stomped out to the front of the traveling company.

Two guards stood in front of the door, and she thrust the wrinkled note into the right one’s face. “I’ve been summoned.”

Without a word, they stepped aside and opened the door for her to enter.

Imani’s heart pounded as she walked up the steps and climbed into the carriage. She had been told they would have at least an hour or two of traveling still, which made her patently aware that it would be the most time she’d spent alone with Kiran, except when they had done the blood burning. What could he want with her presence for that long?

Or was he planning on using her for a bit, then tossing her out while they were still moving like last time?

She glanced down at her attire. Earlier that morning, she’d decided on something nicer for their arrival at the Court of Darkness—a sapphire silk gown her sister had made. Her traveling dress had gotten horribly muddy last time, and she’d be damned if she arrived at the palace looking anything less than her best.

Imani took a deep breath as the door closed behind her, feeling the noose around her neck tighten as it so often did near Kiran with his snaking magic signature.

Settling her gaze on him, she almost stopped breathing. Indeed, she couldn’t tear her eyes away from him. In his hands, he held a snake as one might cup a small bird. He watched it move and hiss in his palm as he gently stroked his fingers down its snout.

It horrified her, but she clamped her mouth shut and took a seat as far away from the prince as possible.

They still hadn’t started moving, so after another long moment, he opened the door again and bent down to let the creature slither onto the ground outside. Then, leaning back, his gaze found hers, one green eye and one black eye watching her with unfaltering intensity.

“You should rein in your soul draw magic,” Kiran said quietly. “I can feel it, even through the echo shield.”

He was right; she was inadvertently letting her elf magic out, bypassing the echo shield, yet he barely seemed affected. But for him to comment, that couldn’t be true.

With a smug smile and a deep inhale, she focused her mind and body on tightening up the soul draw swirling around her.

“If you called me here to drag more secrets out of me, just do it already.” Imani rebraided her hair casually, as if she couldn’t care less about whatever threat was going to come out of Kiran’s mouth.

In truth, she was riveted.

“I wanted to make sure you understood what will happen next, once we arrive in Kehemol.”

She stopped braiding and gave him a withering look. “Let me guess … I’ll have to give in to your every whim?”

“It’s highly recommended.”

She sat back with a heavy sigh and looked out the window. “Your demanding ways are quickly tiring me. Sometimes I think I would rather choke to death than obey them.”

Kiran leaned forward with a smirk. “Well, that’s exactly what would happen if you didn’t. It’s your choice, though.”