House of Flame and Shadow (Crescent City #3) by Sarah J. Maas

41


Hunt had left his body. Maybe he’d died. That was Bryce in the doorway, smirking at the Ocean Queen.

She was Bryce and yet she was … not.

She wore her usual casual attire—skintight jeans and a soft white T-shirt topped with a navy athletic jacket. Hel, she even sported those neon-pink sneakers. But there was something different in her posture, in the way the light seemed to shimmer from her.

She was older, somehow. Not in any line or wrinkle, but in her eyes. Like she’d been through some major shit, good and bad. Hunt recognized it, because he knew it lay etched in his own face, too.

The Ocean Queen eyed Bryce unflinchingly. “And who, pray tell, are you?”

Bryce didn’t miss a beat. “I’m Bryce Danaan, Queen of the Valbaran Fae.”

Hunt let out a strangled sound—a sob.

Bryce looked at him then, scanning his face, the tears he couldn’t stop. Her gaze flicked to the halo, then down to his wrist—but her expression yielded nothing. She just walked up to where he sat, and it was her, her fucking scent, and that was her soft skin brushing his hand as she peered down into his face.

“Hey,” he said, voice rough, eyes stinging.

Bryce squeezed his hand, tears filling her eyes as well. “Hey.” She blinked her tears away, twisting back to the Ocean Queen, who monitored every move. Every breath.

The Ocean Queen said to Bryce, shark’s teeth flashing, “I recognize no queen bearing that title.”

“I do,” Hunt said, folding his wings behind him as he stood, coming to Bryce’s side. Her fingers grazed his own, and a chill of pleasure soared through him. “She’s my mate.” He sketched a bow to the Ocean Queen. “Prince Hunt Athalar Danaan, at your service. I can testify that Tharion Ketos serves my queen and mate. Any other claims to him are false.”

Bryce shot him a wry glance that seemed to say, You’re a big fucking liar, but I love you.

The Ocean Queen still surveyed Bryce with a face as cold as the northern reaches of the Haldren Sea. “That remains to be seen.” She pointed to Tharion, her fingernail made of pure nacre. “Tharion Ketos, you are confined to this ship until I decide otherwise.”

Tharion bowed his head, but remained still and silent.

The Ocean Queen lowered her finger and shot a sharp glance at Bryce. It was instinct for Hunt’s knees to bend, to prepare to leap between them, to shield his mate. But there was no amount of lightning, no gun, no weapon that could save Bryce, should the Ocean Queen bring the full wrath of the sea down upon them. This deep, they’d have no chance of reaching the surface in time. That is, if their bodies didn’t explode first from the pressure.

But the near-divine being declared, a shade haughtily, “Queen or no queen, you are all now guests on my ship—and will leave only when I bid you to.”

Hunt refrained from saying that her checkout policy wasn’t very guest friendly. Especially as the Ocean Queen asked Bryce, dark eyes narrowing, “Does your father the Autumn King still draw breath?”

Bryce smiled slowly. “For the time being.”

The Ocean Queen weighed the words—then answered Bryce’s smile with her own, revealing all those hooked shark’s teeth. “I don’t recall inviting you onto this ship.”

Bryce checked her nails—it was such a thoroughly Bryce movement that Hunt’s chest tightened. “Well, someone sent me an e-vite.”

Hunt lowered his head to keep the grin from his face. He’d forgotten how fun it was—to see Bryce in her element. Leading these shitheads along by the nose. It lightened some of that weight in his chest, some of that primal terror—just a fraction.

The Ocean Queen said flatly, “I do not know of any such thing.”

Amusement glimmered in Bryce’s whiskey-colored eyes, but her tone was dead serious as she explained, “I teleported here. I needed to find my mate.”

“You and your mate are dismissed,” the Ocean Queen said, waving that nacre-tipped hand. A hermit crab skittered through her dark locks and then vanished again. “I have important matters to discuss with Captain Ketos.”

Tharion looked up, grimacing. Maybe his death sentence hadn’t been delayed after all.

But again, Bryce didn’t miss a beat. “Yeah, see, my matters are a bit more pressing.”

“I find that highly unlikely.”

Two queens facing off. And there was no doubt in Hunt’s mind that Bryce was a queen now. The poise, the strength radiating from her … She didn’t need a crown to rule this room.

Bryce sucked in a breath, the only sign of nerves. And said to the ruler of the seas, “You’re wrong.”



* * *



It was only through sheer will that Bryce didn’t throw her arms around Hunt immediately and kiss him silly. Only through sheer will that she didn’t start raging and crying at the halo inked anew on his brow, the brand stamped on his wrist.

She’d kill the Asteri for this.

She’d already planned to, of course, but after what they’d done to Hunt while she’d been gone … she’d make sure they died slowly.

That is, once she figured out how to kill them.

And as soon as she held Hunt, she wasn’t letting go. Ever. But they had so much shit to do right now that giving in wasn’t an option, holding him and loving him weren’t options.