Page 50 of Blade of the Nightking

“But Levinica⁠—”

“Levinica is mad.”

She fixed Malec with a sharp look, and he quickly dropped his gaze, the tips of his ears reddening. Her attention snapped back to us—Aedric at the head of the table, me at his side.

“You cannot do this, Aedric,” she said, her voice low and biting. “What if it’s a trap?”

He shook his head. “It isn’t. Levinica wouldn’t dare. There’s too much at stake for her.”

I heard the words, dimly, but they barely registered.

My attention was fixed on the center of the table. Last time I’d been in this room, blood had pooled across its surface—thick and dark—dripping from the corpse suspended above it.

My stomach roiled.

Only hours ago, I’d felt that same magic turning on me. The horrifying sensation of my organs, my very blood, beginning to boil inside me, heat spreading through my body…

I tore my thoughts away before they could finish.

If Sairus ever discovered the siphoning, I knew exactly how I would die.

If one dies, the other follows…

“El?” Aedric nudged me lightly, jolting me back to the moment. “Are you alright?”

“Fine,” I croaked. He turned back to the others, the discussion moving on without me.

My gaze lifted, and caught on Hamish. He was watching me, his honeyed eyes steady, his expression drawn tight with concern. He was easier to read since we’d become… something like friends. I looked away.

“If the Dark Prince is waiting for you⁠—”

“If he were at the Court of Dusk already,” Aedric cut in, “do you think Veylan would have left? He’d never abandon his master’s side.” He planted his hands on the table, fingers splayed. “No. Levinica still holds her Court. That much is certain.”

“I don’t trust it,” Calantha muttered, worrying the skin beside her thumb. “Something is off. It could all be a fabrication.”

Aedric threw up his hands. “I’ve never known you to be this paranoid.”

“The Dark Prince’s return brings out the worst in all of us,” she shot back.

“Think logically,” Aedric pressed. “Veylan left the Court of Dusk. Which means he’s searching for Rìan. Why else would he travel all the way here?”

Calantha pursed her lips, but didn’t respond.

“We’ll go to Levinica under the pretense of returning Veylan to her, so she may exact her own justice.” Aedric leaned forward, his elbows braced against the table. “Once we’re there, we’ll press her to reveal her vision.”

“And if she refuses?” I asked.

His eyes hardened. “She won’t.”

I had no idea how he intended to force a High Lady to speak—but that was a problem for later. At best, she would tell us willingly. At worst…

Saerena’s face rose unbidden in my mind. He wouldn’t… Would he?

Calantha laced her fingers over the flat plane of her stomach, the leather bodysuit she wore as smooth as skin. “Well, we’re coming with you then.”

Aedric shook his head. “No. Only one of you.”

“Have you lost your mind?” Calantha hissed, lunging forward again. “You need protection, Aedric. Rìan found you once already—and far too easily. How can this possibly be a good idea?”