The Queen leaned back with a sound of satisfaction. "You couldn't stand the thought of killing him even when you despised him," she said in an amused tone of voice. "It's almost charming, in a pathetic way. I've often thought of you as a little yapping dog standing in front of a mastiff, as if you might protect him in some way."

I clenched my teeth. The words cut, despite the person speaking them. "There's other ways to protect than with a sword," I said, forcing the words out through my clenched throat.

"With a kiss?" she asked, her voice mocking, and pressed one to my hair. Then her voice fell back into a smooth cadence. "I didn't need you to wield a blade to use you against him, my dear," she said. "All it took was a taste of death and a few penned notes for him to start a war, and so very much can happen on the right battlefield. King Omahice was so eager to be my heir, and I was so eager to die. But then..."

She laughed, glittering, and squeezed my hand, hard enough to hurt. "He knelt for you, dear girl. Such a thing! And you chose to love him in return. I did try to stop him from fighting in this final war, but again he has slipped away from death."

"He tasted the heartflower in my kiss," I said, feeling almost... sad. Dain's mother was broken, twisted inside, and she'd had no one to give her the space to heal, and stand. But perhaps she hadn't even wanted it, seeing only her hatred of the god who had betrayed her, and clinging to it.

You can't destroy a god—but perhaps you can destroy his kingdom, and hurt him in return. The Queen had tried, but Dain had stopped her, defending his people with the strength of winter. So she'd bided her time, laying her plans, letting everyone know that she wanted Dain dead, the son she'd wanted with such desperation and whose price had broken her. With him gone, who could stand against her?

"So it seems," the Queen said with amusement. "I brought Lyraniorn together, and gave them my command, and they killed themselves for me. I am the Crown, after all, and I may draw on the power of the heart of Stag Court to hold people to my geas, even into death. My son is a worthy opponent, but he is only the crown prince, even if he is half a god." She nuzzled my neck and I almost gagged, hating the touch of her cold skin. "He loves you, dear girl, more than life itself. I would have taken Stag Court from Sarcaryn in any way I could, but it will be a beautiful thing to see it destroyed by the child he forced on me. The Beast who destroyed Phazikai will be more than a match for the Antlered Palace."