“That’s not what Wynn implied.”
“And you’re trusting the musings of a delusional man? The very person who enslaved you and used you as a weapon?”
A low hiss scraped through my teeth, red painting the edges of my vision. “Watch yourself, Gaige.”
Leena didn’t falter. “He may have been delusional, but he wasn’t lying about that. Something changed him, Gaige. And someone was behind that.” She wrapped her arms around her stomach and took a slow breath. “In the end, what happened to him is hardly any different than what happened to me.”
Silence followed her declaration. I expected her hands to fall to her legs, to trace the near-invisible scars on her thighs hidden beneath tailored linen breeches. But Leena held her chin high. Anxiety I hadn’t even realized I’d been holding on her behalf loosened in my chest.
“Not to mention, Raven’s symbol is the same shade as the woman who placed the bounty,” Leena added.
Gaige’s eyes widened a fraction, then slanted to me. “Raven? This is news. Are you positive?”
“I’m the wrong person to ask. I didn’t see it firsthand. All I know is that it’s reddish in color—”
“Currant,” Kost interjected. “It’s currant.”
Calem managed an eye roll. “Sure, Kost.”
Gaige’s brows drew together. “There are a number of Charmers with similar hues living in Hireath. It could be any one of them.” He pinned Leena with his stare. “I’m sure you’ve realized that.”
“I have.” She let out a breath. “Which is why I haven’t openly accused her of anything. I know what it’s like to be wrongly exiled. But I don’t trust her, Gaige. She’s the newest member of the Council. What do you really know about her?”
Gaige gripped the edge of the table and crossed his ankles, a quiet hum escaping from somewhere deep in his chest. “Admittedly very little. But she’s proved herself as a Charmer in the eyes of the people and her beasts. I’m not ready to accuse her, either. So, we’ll have to be careful. If anything, this proves you should still join. You’ll have the opportunity to gather information on beasts—and keep an eye on her or any other who may prove suspect.”
“Can we trust Kaori?” Calem ran an absent hand down his arm. “How many other people are involved in this?”
“We don’t have much of a choice when it comes to Kaori. She’s the only one who knows what’s going on with you.” I kept my voice steady and my gaze level. If his inner beast was as volatile as the pressure of my oath, then we had to keep him calm. He needed to believe that there was a chance he’d make it through this.Ineeded to believe that.
And so did Leena. She rolled her lower lip between her teeth and nodded. “Let’s hope it was just Wynn and Raven. No one else.”
Ozias pushed off from his place against the bookshelf and gripped Calem’s shoulder, giving him a reassuring nudge. “Just be careful.”
Leena’s brow furrowed. “I just don’t understandwhy. Why keep the bounty active? What is Raven hoping to achieve? Everything I overheard while under Wynn’s spell is like static. It’s there, but I can’t grasp it.”
Kost pursed his lips. “There’s something bigger at work here. We just have to figure out what that is.”
“Maybe I should come with you.” I grazed Leena’s cheek with light fingers, and she smiled.
Hurried, uncareful footsteps crashed against the tile of the main hall before hitting the library’s floorboards with a definitive thud. Unease ratcheted up several notches in my throat. No assassin moved that loudly. Not unless they didn’t care about being heard. Or worse, if something was wrong.
Judging by Emelia’s frantic, wide-eyed stare, something was definitely wrong. She’d been on sentry duty since dawn and was still a few hours shy of being relieved from her post. Only intruders would cause her to come rushing back.
Perhaps Hireath wasn’t an option for me after all.
“What is it?”
Windswept hair clung to her flushed cheeks. “Darrien is coming.”
A heavy pounding started in my ears. “What?”
Emelia flinched. “It’s worse. Quintus met him at the gate. It seems he’s jumped ship.”
“I should’ve sent him back to the grave the moment he mentioned him.” I clenched my hand into a tight fist. “No matter. Darrien poses a larger threat.”
“I’ll kill him. You don’t even have to ask.” Calem brushed off Ozias’s grip. His nostrils flared wide, and the veins tracking his arms pushed against his skin. Mercury flooded his stare. “I swear to the gods, I’ll bury his ass in the ground.”
“Calem.” Kost eased toward him with his hands in the air. “Calm yourself.”
