“Zurvashi.” Ivy’s voice, normally soft and sweet, had a hard edge in it as she uttered her words in the vrix tongue. “I, Ivy Foster, challenge you for rule of Takarahl.” Ketahn’s hearts ceased beating. His chest constricted, his throat closed, and his fine hairs stood straight up. The world around him fell apart, flooding him with cold beyond anything he’d ever felt, beyond anything Ivy had described from her Earth. A long, harsh buzz sounded from the queen, and she tilted her head. “You?” She chittered. “You mean to—” Ivy’s eyes narrowed into a glare. “I also challenge you to release my
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