A Court of Three Stars

19: The Snake

The Meat Market, Lunathion, Midgard

Leur

"You know, when that door opened- you were the last person I expected to walk through it." The Viper Queen looked at me with those familiar bright green eyes, pupils in a narrow slit. She sat at her desk, a pen twirling in pale fingers.

All I did was flash her a smile, "Don't pretend like you aren't excited to see me."

She just tapped her nails on the metal desk, the sound like clock chimes, "Seeing you means that you're either going to bargain for a favor or ruin something for me, so I can't say that I am." She gave me a tired look, "Did you at least leave my guards alive this time?"

I rolled my eyes, slipping down into the chair next to Ithan Holstrom, "Of course, I know how pissy you get when you need to find new ones."

The wolf's blue eyes were wide, trained on me as if he had no idea what to do. Considering that he was about to offer himself to a fight to the death for Tharion's freedom, it was a lucky thing I had walked in when I did.

"And what is it that you want, Leuruna?" The Vipe spoke in that hissing voice of hers, the sound grating on my ears. My shadows, hidden within the sleeves of my leather jacket, made a low, disgusted noise.

"You were about to make a deal with my employee here." I put a hand on Ithan's shoulder, "Unfortunately, his deals are not his own to make."

The Viper Queen and Ithan said at the same moment, "They're not?"

"I won't bore you with the legality of it all." I waved a hand, "I know none of that is to your taste anyways."

"What an interesting development." She looked between the two of us, "I had assumed when I saw Tristan Flynn and Declan Emmett that Ruhn Danaan wouldn't be far behind, which meant that you'd make an appearance as well." Her eyes settled on me, "Where is the Prince anyways?"

On another planet.

"Busy." I lied through my teeth, "You know how he is."

Buy me some extra time. Tamlin's voice echoed against my shields, Ketos is off his ass.

I fought the urge to roll my eyes, Fantastic. Just what I wanted to hear.

The Viper Queen narrowed her eyes, running her tongue over sharp, white teeth, "You know, I heard something interesting."

"Did you?"

"There's a rumor floating around." She swirled her hand in the air, black pointed nails reflecting off the fluorescent lights, "A rumor that Ruhn Danaan, Bryce Quinlan, and the Umbra Mortis have all gone missing."

I rolled my eyes, "Have they?"

"Someone else told me that they tried to break into the Eternal Palace, that they were responsible for the lab explosion that claimed your dear cousin's life." She leaned back in her chair, a smirk spreading across her serpentine face, "Then, I heard the most interesting thing of all."

I picked at my nails, keeping my heart at a slow, steady pace, "Mhmm, what's that?"

"I heard that Ruhn Danaan is not the child of the Autumn King, and that his true parents are the keepers of a great power." She grated a nail on the desk, "Power so great that their rage has prevented the rise of the sun for days, sent all the rivers flowing backwards, turned all of the gates black."

"It's a dramatic story you spin." I crossed my legs, a bored look on my face, "Is it over yet?"

She just smiled, a deadly, cruel thing, and then reached down. She slid open a drawer, the slow creak of the metal echoing off the walls, the tinkering sound of glasses and a liquor bottle. I watched as she poured herself a glass, thinking that she was toying with me, thinking she had something on me.