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Her gaze dropped to the sword he’d abandoned on the ground behind him. “You didn’t want to finish by slicing off its head?” Basilisks were vanishingly rare nowadays, so their decapitated heads raised staggering sums at auction when offered up by swaggering hunters.

His strong shoulders lifted in a deeply distracting shrug. “Now that it can’t make eye contact, it can offer us no further harm. I doubt it chose to participate in this tournament of its own accord; I could hardly fault it for attempting to defend itself. And as you said I was allowed to use any weapon I’d brought with me into the tournament…”

“You chose your shirt rather than your sword.” Lorelei swallowed down a groan of pure despair. “Of course you did.” Gerard might be the soulless Emperor’s most favored general and devoid of magic, but he was no callous brute, no matter how hard she’d tried to believe that over the years. Damn it. “You’ve done your research, again.”

For once, her praise was sincere—but his eyebrows lowered into a frown of unmistakable discomfort. “There was an excellent library at my military school. It was only sensible to make use of it while there.”

“Hmm.” Based on the stories she’d heard of others’ military school exploits, most of his fellow officers-in-training hadn’t felt the same. But then … his parents had been notorious for some scandal or other, hadn’t they? Perhaps, after that, the other students had stopped inviting him to join their more sociable activities.

Regardless of the reason, he’d clearly found his way into that library, studied all of the magical creatures Imperial soldiers were meant to hate, and grown into a man capable of commanding tens of thousands … but still soft-hearted enough to spare the universally reviled creature that had just tried to kill him.

As Lorelei met his clear amber gaze, something inside her chest twisted in one final act of resistance … and then subsided in defeat.

He truly was a good man, despite his misguided allegiance. And she …

Well. Fortunately, Lorelei was utterly heartless. Everyone knew that, and she thanked Sylvana now for that blessing …

Because if she hadn’t been, right now, she would be in desperate trouble.

8

Queen Saskia of Kitvaria was feared across the continent for her vast magical powers, her notorious temper, and her unabashed wickedness.

So it felt decidedly unfair that none of the people who knew her best showed any compunction about interrupting her most peaceful moments.

“Ahem.” Morlokk, her majordomo, cleared his throat meaningfully as he loomed over her comfortable wing chair in her cozy library of magic. “I believe you’re wanted, Your Majesty, by Queen Ailana of Nornne.”

“Is that what all the buzzing was about a few minutes ago?” Frowning, Saskia set down the book she’d been studying and glanced across the room at the magical mirror-box she’d set atop a half-empty shelf. She’d promised the other two Queens of Villainy only last week that she would go nowhere without it, in case any new developments arose in the Serafin Empire’s quest to make itself a nuisance and expand across their countries. Still, when she was deeply absorbed in work, she often missed such inconsequential noises … and she was far too close to success in her latest project to stop now. “Never mind. She can wait until later. I’m almost certain, if I just take the time to piece together these two different spells—”

“Ahem.” This time, Morlokk’s throat-clearing was even more pointed—and when it came to the clearing of an ogre’s throat, no one could ignore the strength of that rumble. “I’m afraid Queen Ailana thinks it too urgent for that.”

Saskia rolled her eyes, entirely unimpressed. “Ailana can think whatever she wants, but we’re not in Nornne, so—wait a moment.” Narrowing her eyes, she looked up at her trusted advisor and surrogate father. “How do you know what she thinks? That box has been right here with me all afternoon.”

“That box, yes.” Morlokk gave a massive shrug. “However, Your Majesty, the Queen of Nornne was kind enough to offer similar devices to me and Mrs. Haglitz, as well. We can use them to make our orders for the household far more easily, even from a great distance—and come to your assistance when a message might otherwise be missed.”

“Unbelievable.” Ailana had asked Saskia to enchant several of the devices—but she’d certainly never mentioned using any of them in that fashion. Closing the book, Saskia shook her head at Morlokk. “You, of all people, actually allowed her to trick you into accepting a bribe?”

From the moment she’d first fled into hiding as a child under his and Mrs. Haglitz’s protection, Morlokk had had the knack of looking down at her whenever she made a foolish statement with such weary patience that her shoulders hunched with guilt before he said a single word. Now, he let the silence linger for a long, painful moment before replying, “As you know, no one in this castle would ever accept a bribe to cause you harm. However, Mrs. Haglitz and I agree that the Queen of Nornne was being sensible to lay multiple paths of communication. After all, she has been a useful source of urgent information in the past.”

“I suppose so.” Saskia sighed and looked across the table at her consort. Felix had been keeping his head discreetly bent over his own reading material, but she glimpsed a rueful quirk of his lips as he looked down at the page. Of course, the last time Ailana had carried a warning, it had been in regards to him. “I don’t suppose you—?”

“Forgive me, darling.” Felix finally looked up, eyes gleaming with amusement as he shook his head. “This is your kingdom, not mine—and you’re the one she wants to speak with. I’ll handle the research for both of us while you’re busy.”

“Now you’re just being cruel.” Saskia glowered at him as she stood up. “You know I love researching with you.”

“And I love you,” he murmured, reaching for her hand across the table. His kiss was warm and soft against her skin; she couldn’t help returning his rueful, tender smile. “Take heart,” he added. “If Lorelei’s still missing, at least Ailana can’t use any fae portals to arrive in person with her instructions.”

“Instructions. Pah! She needs to learn, and soon, that we’re not members of her network of spies.” Saskia had informed Ailana of that fact multiple times before—but the ice queen was far too used to being the cleverest, most strategic, and best-informed person in any room. It took all the stubbornness that Saskia possessed to maintain her own power in their trio.

As she started towards the door, already planning her upcoming lecture, Morlokk bowed respectfully. “Would you prefer to contact her from your tower, Your Majesty? Or shall I ask Mrs. Haglitz to send you a tray of coffee in the parlor?”

“No trays,” she told him. “No coffee or treats! We are not going to settle into a friendly chat. This time, it will be a swift matter of business.”

Five minutes later, though, when she opened the mirror-box and caught sight of her ally, Saskia was startled into personal conversation after all. “Gods, what’s happened now?” she demanded. “I’ve never seen you look like this before.”

Termed an ice queen for more than just the strength of her particular magical powers, Ailana of Nornne was famed for her unmatched elegance, perfectly composed demeanor, and nerves of steel. Only a few days ago, Saskia had stood at her side to face down Imperial armies at Kitvaria’s border, and Ailana hadn’t displayed the slightest anxiety about the outcome.

This time, lines of strain creased the light brown skin around Ailana’s eyes, deep shadows tugged at the skin underneath … and her response spoke volumes. “Lorelei.”