Forgive me, my love, I called silently. The words fell upon deaf ears.

Nicias did nothing more than frown, but the falcon shuddered at the prince of Ahnmik's obvious displeasure and turned to address Nicias's mate with a trembling voice.

"My Lady." His downcast eyes were unable to conceal his terror. "Please, forgive a foolish man his ill-conceived words."

"Do you apologize for my benefit," she asked, "or for my prince's?" Ahnm ik's magic would not let this falcon lie, no matter how much she wished it would. The man looked at his aona'ra and cringed. Araceli's heir was not in a forgiving mood. Nicias would join the Royal Flight for a short time, but it would not be long before he would become restless. He would go to Ahnmik for valiant reasons, but the city would turn him into what he most hated  -  and it would be my fault.

How long would it take him, I wondered, to change into the cold, jaded prince I kept seeing lately? How long would it take him to forget Oliza  -  and me  -  and pick this other woman as his lover?

I could have saved him from that fate. I could have given him back Oliza. But the price, the destruction of Wyvern's Court, was one I knew he would never have chosen to pay. So I damned him.

"Permission granted."

Nicias nodded. "Thank you." For a moment I thought he sounded regretful, but I did not know whether it was for leaving me or for saving me in the first place. It's done, fateful words, echoed in the beat of his wings as he fled and in my pounding heartbeat.

"I'm sorry," Vere whispered. "But if what you have done is indeed for the best, he will someday realize that. First, though, he needs to calm down." I shook my head. "I fear that by the time he calms down, he may be a very different man."

Vere started to reach for me, then hesitated, his mind surely on the peregrine who occupied my heart. I took the white viper's hand in mine, needing some kind of comfort but feeling just as awkward about it.

We had been... Had we been friends? I didn't even know if I could use that term. Now suddenly we had agreed to be mates. Even our reasons differed.

I turned to lean against Vere, closing my eyes for a moment. I did not love him, but as Oliza had said, he was a kind man. Of the two of us, I was far more likely to be cruel. I opened my eyes again, prepared to suggest we move out of the marketplace, when suddenly I saw the child Keyi only a few feet away from us. Her pale blue eyes were gazing up at Vere with fascination. Her golden hair was rumpled, as if she had been playing.

I felt myself go cold.

"What is it?" Vere whispered as I pulled away from him. Then he seemed to turn, and lift the girl in his arms, spinning her about.

Why?

I had done everything I could do, everything.

What assas s in's knife was going to find me, to allow this girl to live? I could think of no other way I would let her a'she come to pass.

She was laughing, this girl with so much blood on her hands.

I looked at the serpents who had surrounded me only moments before, and saw them all still and silent, their bodies glistening with the golden magic that would burn through this land like a storm.

I threw my mind into the power, screaming,

Why?

Ecl, my love.

Ahnmik, my master.

Anhamirak, my bane, please, I must know! There must be a way to stop this fire. Vere caught my hands, trying to call me back to the real world. I felt his magic from Ahnmik soothe mine, even as Anhamirak's power shivered across my skin like... Fire. Like Oliza's wyvern.

Then the vision of the girl turned to me, and her eyes lit up as she said, "Mommy!" Oliza was not the only one whose magic was unbalanced, made dangerous by Anhamirak's flames.

No.

Fate could not be so cruel. When had it ever been gentle?

I shoved back from Vere, hard enough that only a serpent's reflexes kept him from falling. I felt the murmur in the crowd more than I heard it.

When I turned to run, people tried to stop me. Maya grabbed my arm, demanding an explanation, before Opal dragged her away.

I pushed past my followers and my enemies in a panicked daze, fleeing toward the only place I could think of: Wyvern's Nest.

Chapter 19

Only a few feet from the nest, I slammed into Velyo as the wolf stepped in front of me.

"Diente," he said, greeting me with a nod. "Frektane," I replied, gritting my teeth. I tried to step around him, and he blocked me. "What do you want?"

"I wanted to offer my congratulations," he said, "and I suppose an apology. I misjudged you."

"Fine. Forgiven," I said. "Now move aside."

"You look upset," he observed.

"And in a hurry," I returned.

"You did the right thing."

The right thing  -  this from Velyo Frektane, of all people. "I want no comfort from a man who murdered his own father to ascend to the throne."

"I did it for the good of my pack  -  just as you have done this for the good of Wyvern's Court. Oliza's weakness would have made her  -  "

"If Wyvern's Court had been ready for a wyvern queen, Oliza Shardae Cobriana  -  and her Naga, Betia Frektane  -  would have been the greatest monarchs this land had ever known," I snapped. "They are both strong, just and capable leaders... and they will prove it," I continued as the vision came to me, "when Betia succeeds you as alpha of the Frektane."

Velyo scoffed. "Your prophecies have become muddled again, Hai. There is no way I would allow that deviant back into our pack."

I had seen in sakkri this wolf with his angry hands on Oliza's mate. I had seen him try to repeat the crime with the wyvern. I had stolen Oliza's throne from her only minutes earlier, but there was one gift I could give to her and Betia now, so I gave it. "You want a prophecy, Velyo?"

Sometimes, speaking of a vision can set into motion the very events one is trying to prevent.

Or in this case, trying to cause. "Betia and Oliza will become the much beloved queens of the Frektane tribe. Their son, an orphaned wolf cub they will adopt within the next few years, will inherit the title later. And you will have a say in none of it  -  because you will be dead within the next six months, at the jaws of one of the wolves you call your allies."

As I spoke the words, I felt Fate shiver, the future realigning itself until the possible events I had seen became a near certainty. Paranoia would eat at Velyo, and he would turn his fear on his allies until they would be forced to exterminate him.

"Enjoy your future," I said. "Now, I have my own to attend to." I pushed forward, shoving the horrified wolf out of the way, and stumbled through the doorway of the dancer's nest.

Inside, I was struck by the silence. Usually this place was full of graceful bodies and joyous sounds, but now all I heard was a single voice.

Rosalind, Salem's mate, was singing a haunting, wordless melody. The others were silently dancing, their movements slow and careful.

They were praying, offering their worship to the gods in exchange for the health of one of their own.

The instant Rosalind noticed me, the mood shifted from sorrowful to angry.

"You aren't welcome here, falcon," she said. Her eyes were glazed with tears, and I could feel her pain like hail against my skin. "I don't care if you are Diente. You have no right to be here."

"I need to see Salem."

"So you can finish what your supporters started?" Rosalind said accusingly.

"So I can try to save him!" Serpents jumped, as startled as I was by how desperate I sounded. The dancers were the only rulers of their nest. My own magic would stop me if I tried to force my way past them.

Before Rosalind could respond, A'isha, the nest leader, placed a hand on her shoulder.

"What can you do for him?"

"I don't know," I admitted. "But I have to  -  "

"We can't trust her!" Rosalind protested. "For all we know, it is her magic that is keeping him in this state."

A'isha shook her head. "I can't know your intentions for certain," she said to me, "but I will let you pass. If Salem's guard disagrees, you will leave."

"Thank you."

I pushed past, shaking off Rosalind when she tried to stop me. Behind me, I heard A'isha trying to calm the fearful woman.

I descended the stairs to the private rooms beneath the nest and found Salem's room easily. When I opened the door, Nicias looked up at me with disdain.

"Oh, gods," I whispered. "Nicias..."

"Get out of here," he ordered.

He knew that my vows to him were what kept me in this world, knew that my magic would tear at me to obey him. I fell to my knees to keep from turning around.

"You have to listen to me," I begged, fear, need and pain all too clear in my voice.

"Oliza cannot take the throne. For her to do so would be disaster. You haven't seen  -

Dear Ahnmik, help me speak true and clearly," I prayed. "You haven't seen the visions I've been haunted by. You haven't seen Oliza murdered by her own child. You haven't seen Wyvern's Court burned to ash by Anhamirak's fire, or by the falcons when they come..." My voice trembled. "I heard you scream, too, Nicias, my  -  Please, believe me, I would do everything in my power to keep you from that pain. I know you fear that sakkri can mislead, but not these," I whispered. "I have never seen visions this strong, this sure. I've tried and tried and I can't keep this land from burning." He crossed the room as if he couldn't help himself, and lifted me to my feet. Even if he hated me, Nicias wasn't the type of man who could stand by and let a woman grovel. His hands did not linger on mine. Coldly, he said, "So you set yourself up as queen of a land you never wanted. Then why are you here?"

"Because I can't rule, either," I whispered. I looked at Salem. "I swear to you, Nicias, I have never betrayed you. I swear it by blood, by fire, by flesh, by steel, by Ecl and by Ahnmik and by all that is and never will be... I swear I have never lied to you and I have never betrayed you. I breathe this scorched air for you.

Now, please, believe me.

In every vision I see, this land falls. In every future I look to, I see you screaming. Salem Cobriana must take the throne, or our world burns. Ours?"

"You made your world mine," I said. "When you pulled me from Ecl, you gave me this land. At first I hated you for that. Now... I don't want this land to become the falcon crystal I see whenever I turn around. Let me try to help Salem."

"You couldn't help him before," he argued. "How can you help him now?"

"I'll dive deeper... I don't know, maybe I can't do anything, but I need to try again. It's all I can do."

He stepped to the side, letting me past. When I moved toward the silent cobra, Nicias touched my arm.

"I'll try to hold you, to keep you from going too far." I shook my head. "Don't pull me back. His life means more than mine." Presuming there was any life left to save.

Chapter 20

Oh, gods, help me.

Diving into Salem's body again hurt.

He wanted to die, but the magic I had wrapped into him previously kept him on this side of existence. His heart wanted to stop, but my power kept it beating. His spirit was curled somewhere in the darkness, screaming in pain as it struggled to flee its corpse. Fear and agony ripped through me as his flesh prayed for release. Had Salem been anyone else, I would have given him a gentle death, faced with such pleas. I was tempted to do so even now, but there was too much at stake. This world needs you,

I cried, begging him to return. But how could he return when his body wouldn't take him? It wasn't... right. Stripped of its magic, it had no life, no place for a heart and a mind and a soul. It yearned for Brysh's embrace, after which there would be only silence and peace.

For him. For us, there would be only pain.

Come to me,

I commanded, straining with every ounce of my own magic.

Come to me.

I tried to wrap the words around him but felt him slipping away. I cursed the am'haj poison. I slid my power over the ruined edges of his magic, trying to make him whole again, but Ahnmik can only destroy, and I had never had control over the hint of Anhamirak in my blood.

I tried to soothe Salem's pain and coax his terrified spirit back into this body, promising anything if he would return to this land. I felt him starting to fall into his final rest instead of rising.

I drew back and felt him shriek.

Salem could not survive without magic.

Wyvern's Court could not survive without Salem.

And Wyvern's Court needed to survive.

Therefore, Salem's body needed magic.

Suddenly I felt calm.

I had tried being gentle, coaxing and soothing and begging in much the same way that Ecl had whispered to me for years.

Come to me, and I will let you rest, the void called.

Come to me, and I will take care of you. I will comfort you, and you will be at peace. But Anhamirak's power wasn't rooted in peace, gentleness and quiet entreaties. A cobra's magic, my father's magic, was what burned in me every moment of my life. It was fire and chaos; it was freedom, savage and natural, beyond civilization and law. And it was desperation.

I slammed power into the cobra now, drowning his body in all the energy I had at my disposal. I held back nothing, baring every part of myself as I forced his flesh and soul to do as I willed.

Desperation was all I had left.

Finally I felt something in him react to the assault, drawn by the flicker of my father's magic. I had never been able to control Anhamirak's power, but now I used it as a lure, enticing Salem not with promises of rest  -  serpents didn't rest  -  but with heat.