“Something for later,” he replied.
He twisted the metal wheel to unlock the door and revealed Mathias on the other side. The regent’s jaw tightened, then released. By his next breath, his expression became as smooth as glass. I didn’t even try to match him, sure that even Ilyana would let her shoulders sag with fatigue in the same circumstances.
“There you are.” His gaze swept over me, a flicker of disappointment tightening his mouth. “Come, Lady Ilyana.” He turned, striding off with clipped steps.
I glanced at Zane, who rolled his eyes. He walked with me down a smoothly cut tunnel, arms awkwardly swinging by his side. I didn’t reach for him. That I wanted to cling to him was an entirely human impulse, and I was already in enough danger without putting my disguise under any more scrutiny.
“First, you must be presentable for the council,”Mathias narrated. “I’ll afford you a few minutes to scrub the labyrinth from your skin and change into something fresher.”
“Wouldn’t want to offend the council with my odor,” I muttered.
We emerged into a familiar hallway, part of the queen’s wing of the mansion. Mathias had chosen a path already littered with fragments of my past life. My lip curled as we passed a life-sized portrait of Nemea, the last of a line of paintings depicting queens come and gone. If I survived tonight and became queen, I’d burn it in the graveyard of her rose garden.
Anxiety churned what little remained in my belly, threatening to empty it out.
Finn.When had I last thought of him? Not once since Zane's lips met mine. He’d all but saved me in the labyrinth and held me when I needed him most. Some pseudo-Beloved I was, letting myself get swept up in the all-encompassing presence of Zane. Had Mathias put him before the Flask of Dominion already? Was I about to step in his ashes on my way to my own execution?
Strong fingers squeezed mine, jolting me from my thoughts. “Hey.” That’s all Zane had to say to bring clarity back to our surroundings. That crease of worry hadn’t left the space between his brows.
“I’m okay,” I lied quietly.
“You will be.” He smiled. It became bittersweet as he flashed pearly white fangs.
I stood a little straighter. I still needed to get a cure in his veins. The Flaskcouldn’tkill me now. There was so much I’d leave unfinished.
Mathias walked us straight to my quarters. He held Zaneback from joining me inside with a hand on my betrothed’s arm. “Explain to me how you know?—”
The door closed, cutting off the demand. I drew a cold bath and hurried through cleaning away the worst of the dirt and dried blood on my skin. To the hells with the council. I didn’t want to offend Zane’s newly enhanced senses with my odor.
I had the opportunity to change into one of Ilyana’s lavish outfits but chose leather instead. This was one more fight to win, after all.
When I emerged, Zane and Mathias had finished their conversation. A muscle jumped in the regent’s clamped jaw, while Zane flashed his usual warm smile at me before turning to murmur a quiet instruction to a nearby servant.
“Better,” Mathias commented. His gaze ran up and down my form. My belly clenched at the heat in his appraisal before he shuttered it and clenched his fists at his sides. He went back into motion, leading us straight to the great hall.
Several heads turned as we stepped inside the large room. Its rafters were empty. Instead, the vampires stood behind the table that held the Flask of Dominion on its black velvet cushion. I tensed at the assembled, judgmental stares of the Sanguine Council. They were most of the bloodsuckers I hated most, with Lady Lorelei and Head Priest Bruvor at the front, flanking one of Nemea’s surviving kings. I nearly sneered at them.
Next to the table stood Finn, his arms secured behind his back. His eyes, dry and reddened from blood thirst, still lit up a fraction when they fell upon me. I swallowed a lump in my throat.
He’s okay. For now.I didn’t allow myself to feel relieved yet.
Mostly overlooked, Butters crouched on the second level’s railing. The orange tabby peered down with wide eyes, tail tucked close to his body as if he understood the danger his master was in.
“Come to join us, have you?” Lady Lorelei’s cutting comment was aimed at Zane, who parted from my side to stand with the rest of the council. He replied in an undertone. Whatever he’d said had the vampiress jolt in offense. Lord Valerius’s shoulders shook with silent laughter.
“We are all in attendance,” Mathias said, cutting through the council’s chatter. He gestured at one of the guards. “Seal the hall until the Flask passes its judgment.”
“Yes, Lord Regent.”
My pulse throbbed in my ears as Mathias turned to me. “The blood of the goddess has guided the future of our great house since its founding. Arguably, helping us select our next queen is its most important role.” A few of the council members nodded as he spoke. “It’s more vital than ever that the right vampiress assume control of the coven. Someone who will fight for her people and lead us to victory, to reclaim our lands and remind our enemies of their place. She who commands the four most capable males as her Devotion in Lady Eona’s image.”
Bruvor applauded lightly. “Here, here.”
“We cannot risk placing a crown on the head of a weakling, a cheater, or a pretender. So, we rely on the Flask of Dominion to guide us in the matter of Lady Ilyana and her last-minute devotee.”
What a charade.My fingers twitched at my sides, itching to tear into the group of bloodsuckers. “In my defense?—”
“There is no defense the council is interested in hearing from you,” he interrupted. “Don the necklace andspeak with the Flask instead. If you live, we will continue to honor your place in the trials.”
