“How convenient,” she said dryly before setting the clothes down on the bed. “Tell me, did the last assistant needconvincing to leave their post or did you have something to do with it?”
“If I told you I charmed her into leaving her employment, what would you do?” he drawled as she heard his footsteps approach her.
Taking the bait that he so blatantly laid out before her she scoffed. “I highly doubt anyone would be foolish enough to fall for yourcharm.”
“Charmed you easily enough.” Anelize tensed as he brushed her hair off her shoulder before placing a kiss upon her neck. “Or do I need to do it again?”
He smiled against her when she shuddered.
“Is that a yes, Temperance?” he whispered into her ear, his hand wrapping around her middle as he pulled her into his chest. Leaning into his touch against her better judgment, she loved and loathed the way he managed to have such an effect on her.
Opening her eyes as he continued kissing and nipping at her shoulders, teasing her, she turned in his arms. He huffed out a laugh as she drove her fingers through his hair and tugged him down. Going up on the tips of her toes, she kissed him before he could say another word, eliciting a low groan from him. Her tongue battled with his for dominance as she pushed him, forcing him to walk back a few paces until the bottles on the vanity rattled as he bumped into the table.
When she pulled away, he looked about as dazed as he made her feel. His eyes drunk on the intoxication of her kiss. He leaned forward to steal another before she pressed a hand against his neck and pushed him back with a satisfied grin.
“Looks like you aren’t the onlyone who can charm,” Anelize murmured as she turned around and strode for the bed to collect her clothes.
“Forget the Watchmen and the king executing me. It is you who will be the death of me by the end of all this,” he rasped as he ran a hand over his face. His gaze promising to return the favor if she gave him the chance.
“You should be so honored.” She laughed as she stepped into the bathroom and closed the door behind her, smiling when she heard his own answering chuckle.
Downstairs, she found everyone had already gathered. Idris and Adan were dressed the same as Aeric, their hands upon the pommels of their swords.
“Please, be careful. All of you,” Zara said as she pulled each of them into a tight embrace. Ignoring the way Adan rolled his eyes while he fought a grin. When she reached Anelize, she held onto her much longer before she murmured, “We’ll be waiting forallof you to return. Please bring back my Wellyn.”
“We will be ready for your command. Anything you need, say the word, and the rebels will answer the call,” Henry asserted, his face grim but determined.
“Thank you, my friend,” Aeric said as he patted his back.
Finally, Castian stepped up to Anelize, taking her hands in his unnaturally cold one’s. His touch so gentle as he squeezed her and said, “Please be safe, Anya.”
Nodding, she said, “Take your tonics. Do not miss a single one.” When he granted her a wry smile, she asserted, “I will be cross with you if I find that you haven’t. King or no king, I will make youregret it.”
“You heard her.” Adan and Idris chuckled when the prince blanched before gingerly nodding. They ruffled his hair in passing as they made their way to the stables where they would slip out to the carriage waiting for them.
Casting them all one final glance, Anelize hoped it wouldn’t be the last time she would see their smiling faces. The family she’d come to love that she would do anything to protect.
As they left the tavern and stepped out onto the darkened street, Anelize noticed there was a black carriage waiting for them. The twins already seated upon the bench nodded at them once before facing forward. The shift in their demeanors evident as they slipped on the masks of Watchmen. The change so stark compared to the way they’d behaved in the tavern moments ago. The two black horses tied to the carriage snorted softly against the cold, sending white clouds to billow into the air around them.
Aeric pulled the door open and motioned for her to enter first. They both slid onto opposite sides of the bench within the coach before he closed the door. The coach gave a sudden lurch as Adan urged the horses to move forward, the sound of hooves and wheels rolling over the cobblestones.
“Before the Senin, the twins will show you where to find the tunnels. It is past the postern gate on the west side of the castle grounds. Very few possess the key to it—the guards who shift their watch within the tunnels, the king, and me.”
Aeric lifted the side of his cloak, revealing to her the set of keys fastened to his belt that she hadn’t seen before. One of them darker than the rest with a strange pattern running along the bow of the key reminding her of flora.
“I’ll have Adan hand over the key to youwhen the time is right. I can’t risk the king noticing its absence. He’s particular when it comes to them.”
“What of the prisoners? Where are they kept?”
“The northern tower, it is where he keeps all the Vedrans. It is dark and sealed away, limiting the sources they can draw from within their cells should any of them attempt to fight the guards,” he said, his face grim.
Anelize could hardly bring herself to wonder what sort of horrors lay within those dungeons. How the Vedrans were being treated.
Still, it was not enough to deter her from asking, “And is Enid all right?”
He hesitated but nodded. “She is alive.”
She frowned. “That does not answer my question, Aeric. Is she all right?”
