Page 29 of Blade of the Nightking

I splashed him lightly, earning a quick shift away. “Then what happened?”

“His experience was still invaluable, so I appointed him Warden of Dheren and took Calantha as my Second.”

I stiffened instantly. He noticed.

“Don’t look at me like that,” he said, brows knitting. “She’s nothing if loyal to this Court—and to me. Her power is a terrible thing, yes, but that makes her well-suited for the role. It was the obvious choice.”

“Not Hamish?”

His lips pressed together. “In an ideal world, yes. But he has no magic. As my Second, that would have weakened my claim.”

“He would have held his own against any of them,” I said fiercely. “He’s a good man.”

A brief, savage intensity flashed in Aedric’s gaze, something feral and territorial at my mention of Hamish. But it was gone almost before I could register it, his easy smile sliding back into place. “Male,” he corrected. “He’s a good male. He may not have magic, but make no mistake—he’s no human.”

“Sairus doesn’t like him much.”

“No,” Aedric sighed. “He doesn’t. Being born without magic is considered dishonorable. Sairus tried to kill him at birth.”

My breath caught. “No.”

He nodded. “He meant to cast him into the Vein. My father intervened, just in time to save him.”

I blinked. “That’s horrifying.”

“Things like that happen among the Fae, more often than not.” He shrugged and reached for another towel. “Are you ready to get out?”

I nodded and held up my fingertips. “I’m pruning.”

He chuckled, holding the towel loosely between his hands. I knew he was warming it. A quiet wave of affection washed through me. How had I let myself doubt him? These small considerations, the thought he gave without being asked, made something inside me soften.

It wasn’t as though no one had ever shown me true kindness before. Laurie had. But when he’d been considerate, it had always left me uneasy, as though I owed him something in return. As though kindness was a ledger that needed balancing, lest he think I was taking advantage of him. Or worse, that I cared for him the way he cared for me. Which I didn’t.

Laurie.

The thought of him sent a dull pang through my chest.

“The mortal lands.” The words slipped out as my unease deepened.

Aedric’s expression tightened. “What of them?”

“The Infected were warded into the Court of Thorns. But the Veil was the only thing separating the mortal lands from the Thornlands… and now it’s down.”

Aedric looked as though he wanted to be anywhere but here. “El —” he began.

The look on his face made my stomach drop. “Tell me.”

He exhaled and dragged his fingers through his wet hair before answering. His tone was careful, measured, as though he were speaking to a skittish animal. “We don’t know.”

I stared at him. “What does that mean?”

He bit the inside of his cheek. “He retreated back into the land when the Veil fell, but we don’t know where he’s gone. No one will venture beyond the wards. That would be suicide…”

“He’s loose in the mortal lands.” Fear iced my veins as realization washed over me.

He met my gaze, pain etched across his face. “I’m sorry, El.”

I rose abruptly from the bath, and he stood immediately, wrapping the towel around me. It was warm, a soft cocoon against my skin, but the chill inside me only deepened.