Chapter 37 · The Frost-Bone Bride Rises

"Take your hand off him!" I slammed my palm against the royal vault seal, but Aileen's bone blade was already buried in Varan's chest.

Varan dropped to one knee.

Blood ran over the white ribs of his armor. His fingers locked around the blade, stopping it from sinking deeper, but his face had gone gray.

Aileen smiled down at him. "You always were hard to kill."

"And you're still ugly when you smile," Varan rasped.

She twisted the blade.

His breath tore out. Mine did too.

"Sula." Kaiser's hand closed around my wrist. His voice stayed calm, but his grip was hot and tight. "Don't touch the array."

"Let go."

"If you reverse it wrong, the crown will take your marrow. Not a little. All of it."

"Then stop talking and help me save your brother."

Behind us, the vault doors shook. Aileen had brought half the royal guard with her. Their boots hammered against the iron steps, and every spear carried the red seal of the old crown.

The crown sat above the throne dais, black bone chained to the ceiling. It had belonged to the first queen.