House of Sky and Breath (Crescent City #2) by Sarah J. Maas

“I can’t tell if this is a good or bad thing.”

“Both. The Autumn King expects me to keep up my engagement with Prince Cormac.”

“Even though your scent makes it clear you’re with another?”

“Apparently.” She didn’t want to think about that. She finished the beer, then gathered up her plate and Hypaxia’s to toss in the trash. She quickly paid their tab, and as she pocketed the receipt, she asked the queen, “Wanna walk a little? It’s not as hot as it was.”

“I’d like that very much.”

They kept silent, unnoticed by those around them as they entered the alley. Ithan fell into step a polite distance behind. The dragon, if she was there, was nowhere to be seen.

“So your brother told you of the situation with my mother’s coven, then.”

“Yeah. That sucks. I’m sorry.”

They reached the river a block away and turned down the quay. Dry, warm wind rustled the palms lining it. Hypaxia studied the stars. “I had such visions for what the future would be like. Of witches returning to power. Of being with the person who I …” She cleared her throat.

“You’re seeing someone?” Bryce asked, brows lifting.

The queen’s face shuttered. “No.” Hypaxia blew out a long breath. “The relationship wasn’t possible anymore. I might have continued it, but it was not … They didn’t want to.”

Bryce blinked. If Hypaxia was in love with someone else … Fuck. “Poor Ruhn,” she said.

Hypaxia smiled sadly. “I think your brother wants to marry me as little as I want to marry him.”

“Ruhn’s hot, though. So are you. Maybe the attraction will kick in.” Bryce owed her brother at least an attempt to try to play up his good attributes.

A laugh. “It takes far more than that.”

“Yeah, but he’s a good guy. Like, a really good guy. And I can’t believe I’m even saying this, but … while I’m sure the person you love is great, you really couldn’t do better than Ruhn.”

“I’ll remember those words.” Hypaxia toyed with one of her long curls. “The engagement to your brother was an attempt to prevent my mother’s coven from gaining too much power.”

Bryce said, “But you said you want the witches to return to power. Or is it that you want your people to regain their power—but you want your mother’s coven to … be excluded from that?” Hypaxia nodded gravely. Bryce’s brows knit. “Aren’t the witches already powerful?”

“Not as we once were. For generations now, mighty bloodlines have run dry, magic withering. Like they are … siphoned into nothing. My mother’s coven has no interest in discovering why. They only want us to become even more subservient to the Asteri.”

This female had freed Hunt in pure defiance of the Asteri. Was Hypaxia a rebel? Did she dare ask her? How much had Ithan and Ruhn told her yesterday?

Dark mists curled on the other side of the river. She asked quietly, “Did your mom summon your tutors from the Bone Quarter? Or another eternal resting place?”

“Such things did not exist when my tutors walked the earth.”

Bryce gaped. “Your tutors predate the Asteri’s arrival?”

Hypaxia narrowed her eyes in warning for Bryce to keep her voice down. “Yes. They were already long dead when the Northern Rift opened.”

“They remember a time before the Asteri—when Parthos still stood?” Bryce ventured.

“Yes. One of my tutors, Palania, taught mathematics and science at its academy. She was born in the city surrounding it, and died there, too. So did generations of her family.”

“The Asteri don’t like people talking about these things. That humans accomplished so much before their arrival.”

“They are classic conquerors.” Hypaxia gazed toward the Bone Quarter. “They have conquered even death in this world. Spirits that once rested peacefully are now herded into these … zones.”

Bryce started. “You know about that?”

“The dead speak to me of their horrors. When my mother died, I had to do some things that … Let’s say my mother’s coven was not happy that I found a way for my mother to avoid going to an eternal resting place. Even if doing so sacrificed my ability to speak with her forever.” Shadows darkened her eyes. “But I could not send her to a zone like the Bone Quarter. Not when I knew what would become of her.”

“Why not tell everyone? Why not tell the whole world?”

“Who would believe me? Do you know what the Asteri would do to me? To my people? They would slaughter every single witch to punish me. My mother knew it as well—and also chose not to say anything. If you are wise, you will not, either. I shall help Ithan Holstrom and his kin as best I can on the equinox, but there are limits.”

Bryce halted by the rail overlooking the night-dark river. “Where did the dead go before the Asteri arrived? Did your tutors ever tell you that?”

Her mouth softened into a smile. “No. But they told me it was … good. Peaceful.”

“Do you think the souls that are harvested here ever wind up there?”

“I don’t know.”

Bryce blew out a breath. “Well, this is the most depressing girl talk I’ve ever had.”