Captain Byrne stood by, his hand on his Lady sword, his face pale and haggard. Standing guard as always. Micah Bayar lurked in the corner of the room, like a mourner waiting for a funeral to begin.
Others packed the doorway—Aunt Mellony, chewing her lower lip, fingering her pearls. Julianna beside her, face pinched with worry.
Then the human blockade parted and Harriman Vega swept in, with Finn a pale shadow on his heels. “Make way,” he said. “We are here to attend the queen.” He dropped his kit bag on the floor at the foot of the bed with a thump.
“Thank the Maker,” Mellony whispered, giving Julianna a reassuring squeeze.
Ash and Titus looked at each other across the queen’s bed, sharing a question silently between them. Ash could tell that Ty didn’t want to let go of their patient, either. Behind him, Magret muttered, “We’re doing as well as anyone can. We don’t need him.”
And, yet—he had to give way. Vega had years of experience in the healing halls that Ash couldn’t match. It would be wrong to refuse his help because he was a pompous ass. Ash had too much blood on his hands already. He didn’t want to preside over his mother’s death as well.
He nodded at Titus, took a deep breath, and let go of his mother.
Vega took hold of his amulet, bowed his head, and murmured a charm that sounded more like a prayer. He rested his hand on the queen’s forehead, murmuring another charm. She flinched under his hand, the first she’d moved since she collapsed. Her eyes flew open, staring into the wizard’s face. Then closed again.
Ash’s amulet seethed and burned, all but blistering the skin of his chest beneath.
Vega looked up and shook his head. “She’s gone,” he said. “I’m sorry.”
Captain Byrne appeared to fold, bringing his fist to his chest as if to prevent his heart from ripping free. Aunt Mellony began to cry in deep, heaving sobs.
Adrian reflexively wrapped his hands around his amulet and heard his father’s voice, as clear as the day he died. Ash. Take me to her. Take me to Raisa. There’s not much time.
Ash stared down at the amulet his father had put into his hands that day in Ragmarket. Then dropped to his knees beside his mother’s bed. She still lay cold and silent. He set the amulet on her breast and brought her hands up, doing his best to wrap her fingers around it. The amulet brightened under her touch, brightened so that it illuminated the entire room. Then he closed his hands over hers, to keep them in place. He could feel the heat of the flashcraft through her skin.
It was as if his mother was lit from within, her skin like time-darkened parchment with a candle behind it. And gradually, though it might have been a trick of the light, it seemed that the color was returning to her cheeks.
“Prince Adrian.” It was Vega’s voice behind him, a clamor in his ears. “I did everything I could. Please. You must let her go.”
“Go to hell,” Ash said.
The healer leaned in beside him, reaching for the serpent amulet. Flame exploded from under their fingers. Vega pitched himself backward, landing on his ass with a metallic clatter.
Familiar. But he couldn’t focus, with his head still clouded from the poison.
“Ash,” Finn said. “Please. Don’t blame Lord Vega. It’s not his fault. He was too late, is all.”
He’s always too late, Ash thought.
“Leave him be, Finn.” It was Bayar, of all people. He leaned down and whispered something in Finn’s ear, and Finn and Vega withdrew.
Help me, Ash. He could feel his father’s presence, his embrace.
Ash braced himself. Take whatever you need. Take whatever is left.
Power flowed from the amulet, a river of magic that joined the three of them together. The queen took a breath, released it, took another breath. Ash could see her eyes moving under the lids, as if she were dreaming. Her fingers tightened on the amulet, and she smiled. Ash pressed his fingers into her wrist, and her pulse thrummed strongly under the skin.
And, then, his father’s voice again. I sent her back to you. You are spent, and I need to go. Come see me in Aediion. You and your mother and sister have enemies at court. Enemies on the Council. Don’t give your trust easily.
And his father was gone.
Eventually, he felt Ty’s presence beside him. “Can I help?”
“Yes,” Ash said softly, without taking his eyes off his mother. “Get everyone out of the room except for you, Magret, Jemson, Talbot, and Byrne. Now.”
Ty nodded and slipped away. Dimly, Ash heard people protesting, demanding answers as they were ushered from the room.
“But . . . can’t we help?” Julianna said. “Isn’t there anything I can do for Aunt Raisa? If we can figure out what kind of poison was used, perhaps my eyes and ears—”
“At least let me sit vigil with my sister’s body,” Aunt Mellony argued.
Once the door was closed, it was blessedly quiet.
The queen opened her eyes, looked around wildly, then seemed to relax as she focused in on Ash’s face. “Adrian,” she said, smiling. “I saw him. I spoke to your father. It was—it was miraculous.” Tears leaked from her eyes. “He’s been with us—with all of us—all along. But he couldn’t find a channel, a way to connect.” She looked down at their joined hands, the light from the amulet leaking out between their fingers. “We were together at last. I have missed him, so very much. I wanted to stay.”
“But you didn’t,” Ash said, unsure exactly what she meant.
She shook her head. “No,” she said. “There is work still to do, and there are battles yet to be fought. Han will help us. He says to come to him—that you’ll know how.” Then, looking past Ash, she spoke, a little impatiently, to someone he couldn’t see. “Go, sisters. I will stay awhile longer in
