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I blew out a breath. “Okay. What do you need me to do?”
“Just act natural. You’ll come in later, once we move her to the abaton.”
I paused. “What’s that?”
She urged me forward, obviously not wanting any more delays. “It’s the official name for a space used for dream incubation. In this case, the old chapel on the east end of the grounds.”
I’d never seen an old chapel on the grounds, but as large as they were, that didn’t surprise me. “Sounds good,” I said for lack of anything clever. I couldn’t help feeling on edge. Not just because of what we were about to do, but also because I was waiting for her to mention the Adam thing. As it turned out, I didn’t have to wait long. But first, I had to get through seeing Maisie.
Rhea pushed me through the dining room doors. “Look who decided to join us,” the elder mage called, her tone overly jovial.
Maisie looked up in surprise. Her brow knitted into a frown and she didn’t say anything. Obviously, I wasn’t the only one recalling our last conversation.
Rhea brushed past me, shooting me a look to remind me to act natural. I wanted to remind her that I used to be an assassin not an actress. But that didn’t really matter because it was obviously up to me to get the ball rolling with Maisie.
“Hey, Maze,” I said.
She rolled her tongue into her cheek. “I didn’t know you were coming.”
I cleared my throat. So much for warm greetings. Taking my seat, I flashed her a smile. “Rhea invited me.”
Maisie shot Rhea a look, clearly believing the mage had set up the dinner as some sort of sisterly reconciliation. Rhea, a much better actress than yours truly, shrugged and looked abashed. “I thought it might be nice for all of us to sit down to a nice meal together. It’s been too long, don’t you think?”
Maisie shrugged. “Whatever.” She busied herself by fussing with her napkin.
I grabbed my glass of water and took a drink to cover a visual inventory of my twin. Judging from the look of her, my idea of sticking a guard on her had prevented her from feeding from anyone. But the lack of blood also meant she couldn’t maintain the glamour she’d been using to hide her physical deterioration. The circles under her eyes had darkened into bruises, like she’d been punched. Her cheeks had hollowed out and her hand shook when she lifted it to smooth a stray hair. I was surprised she managed to sit upright given how exhausted she looked.
“So, Sabina,” Rhea said into the tense silence. “Is something wrong with Adam?”
The innocent question caught me off guard. I accidentally sucked down an ice cube and immediately choked. A violent coughing fit followed. Rhea jumped from her chair and pounded my back until I managed to swallow the frozen shard.
“Are you all right?” Rhea said, forcing me to look at her.
I swallowed against the pain in my throat and nodded. “Wrong pipe,” I gasped.
“Hmmph.” She gave my back one more pat for good measure and took her seat. “Well?”
“What?” I said, my voice hoarse.
“Adam?”
I shifted uneasily in my seat. Obviously, she hadn’t seen Adam. Rhea might be a good actress, but if she knew what had happened, she wouldn’t bother digging for info. She would have come out and asked me what the hell I’d been thinking treating her nephew like that. “Not sure,” I said, evading. “He’s been so busy we haven’t seen much of each other lately. Probably, he’s just stressed about keeping everyone safe at the festival.” It wasn’t exactly a lie, but it was much easier than the full truth.
Luckily, I was saved from further questioning when the door to the kitchen opened and servants entered with trays of food.
“So, Maisie,” I said, “what did you do today?”
She stabbed at her food with her fork. “Rhea made me meditate in the Sacred Grove.” Her tone was petulant.
“Who wants wine?” Rhea asked quickly. Obviously, the meditation had been a part of the covert prep for the incubation.
Before we could answer, Rhea rose and went to the sideboard. Behind my sister’s back, Rhea looked at me and gestured for me to make conversation. So with one eye on the vial Rhea produced to drug my sister’s drink and the other on my unsuspecting sibling, I tried to mend fences. “I’m sorry, Maze,” I said quietly.
She looked up. Her expression uncertain. “For what?”
I heaved a deep sigh. Good question. Was I apologizing for our fight or for betraying her? Probably both, I decided. But for now, I’d focus on past sins. “For our argument the other day. I know you’ve been going through a lot. Maybe I haven’t been there for you as much as I could have.”
Her cheeks turned pink. “Forget about it.”
Rhea poured white powder into one of the wineglasses. I watched the granules fall and felt my conscience rise.
“I can’t forget about it,” I said, my voice tinged with remorse. “I can’t imagine how hard it’s been for you. And I know that I could have done more to protect you.”
“Sabina—” she began, but I shook my head.
“Don’t say it’s okay. It’s not.” Behind Maisie, Rhea paused and turned to shoot me a concerned look. I ignored her and continued. “But I’m going to make it right.”
Rhea came forward then and set Maisie’s wine by her hand. “Here you go!” Her tone was overly bright.
Ignoring Rhea, Maisie snorted, a harsh sound. “Sabina, believe it or not, everything that happens isn’t about you.”
I pulled back, stung. “That’s not what I meant. I—”
She lifted the wineglass and took a long drink. When she’d swallowed it, she glared at me. “You think the world revolves around you? Well, it doesn’t. My problems are just that—my problems. I don’t need you or anyone else to save me.”
Rhea, quiet as a ghost, came around the table and handed me a glass of wine. “Careful,” she whispered.
I looked up at her. Her eyes pleaded with me to let the matter drop. But I couldn’t. Not now. If Maisie woke up in a few hours and realized what we’d done, she might never speak to me again. This was my chance to lay it on the table. “Listen to me, Maisie,” I said. “Like it or not, I was involved with what happened to you. Lavinia kidnapped you to get to me. She unleashed you on Adam when you were blood crazed to punish me.”
