“Why didn’t you tell me?” Her hazel stare was entirely too damning. Lies. Secrets. My reason would mean nothing to her.
“To protect you.”
“I’m so sick of that excuse!” Her fist slammed into the wall, and rosewood light exploded from the back of her hand. The air throbbed with power. “When will it end? How many more secrets are there?”
Red tendrils leaked into my peripheral vision, and anger swam through my veins. “Don’t you understand how dangerous this information is?”
“Just because it’s dangerous doesn’t mean you should keep it from me.”
“He kept his lineage a secret to protectallof us,” Kost said through clenched teeth. “He knew that if Varek learned of his existence, he’d squash Cruor and anyone Noc held close—anyalliesin, say, the Charmers Council—with the might of the capital. To him, it would look like the prince was raising an army to reclaim the throne. Never mind that Noc has no intention of ruling.”
Leena glowered, and the light around her hand sharpened. “He trusted you with the truth, didn’t he?” she asked Kost.
His mouth fell open as if to respond, but he gave up and pursed his lips. Ozias ran a hand over his shorn hair, fingers tense and unrelenting. His disappointed gaze cut deep, and I forced myself to look away.
After an eon of silence, Leena capped her power and rested her hands on her hips. Voice cold, she stared somewhere above my head instead of meeting my eyes. “So where does this leave us?”
I wanted to bridge this distance between us. But everything about her was jagged. Piercing. She’d cut me right now and not think twice about it. It only fueled the foreign anger brewing inside me. How could she not see the danger behind my name? How could she still be so defiant? A hint of red toyed with my vision. It was so hard to focus with the pressure of the oath. So hard to remember to breathe.
Kost sighed. “It leaves us in a predicament, seeing as Gaige is the one who put the pieces together that night in the library.”
“That’s why Noc asked me about him.” She didn’t even look at me. Didn’t acknowledge my presence. She spoke around me as if I weren’t there at all.
Kost tilted his chin, but I shook my head once and a strange mixture of relief and frustration tugged at his features. Slowly, I let out a breath. “Exactly. Though if he didn’t mention anything to you, I’m hoping that means he didn’t tell anyone else.”
“But there’s still the matter of Darrien,” Kost said.
Ozias held his head in his hands. “Darrien? How does he play into this?”
“He knows too.” My words were low. Defeated. “If I had to guess, I’d say Quintus tipped him off after spying on Gaige and Kost. When Darrien was in the library, he was way too interested in Gaige’s research. Judging by the way he acted when you escorted him out, I’m betting he felt like he had an upper hand we didn’t know about.” My fingers twitched, nails involuntarily elongating. My blood screamed to infiltrate Darrien’s system and command him to stand down. Either that or kill him. It was hard to separate the warring desires inside me—mine and the oath’s.
“But he has no physical proof.” Kost finally replaced his spectacles. “We would’ve noticed if he’d taken something. That piece of Gaige’s left-behind research.”
“And you don’t look like the Frozen Prince anymore.” Ozias tossed a sidelong glance in my direction. “I’ve seen the history books and paintings. Your appearance is different enough.”
“Thanks to this.” I tapped the monstrous ring on my finger. “This emits a glamour that alters my looks, as well as keeping people from even questioning any similarities I might share with my former self. Well, until Gaige, that is.” Sighing, I ran a heavy hand through my hair. “He asked me about a doppelgänger at the hearing. Which means the magic must be fading.”
“How do we fix it?” Ozias asked.
“Find a mage. Talmage bartered with one when he raised me to keep my identity safe and give me a chance at a new life.”
“Eryx?” Leena asked.
“No. A different mage with different magic. It’ll take time, and that’s something we don’t have right now. It’s strong enough to deceive most people, so we should be fine. As long as this ring remains intact, I’ll always be just Noc.”
Leena’s scoff was an arrow straight to the heart. “Sure.”
“Which is why I’ve been against you joining us on this endeavor. There’s too much at risk,” Kost said..
Leena shot him a simmering glare. “How so?”
I grimaced. “Because each one of the sacred ruins holds special significance to the royal family. There, messages from the gods, passed through powerful deceased mages, are given to an ascending prince or princess. It’s required to visit each location before accepting the crown.” Pushing away from the table, I stood slowly. “If I go to Oslo’s Ruins and Silvis’s Ruins, that will make three. It would be hard to deny who I am and have the king believe me if he were to discover I’d been visiting these sacred sites.”
“He’d see it as a bid for the throne.” Kost drummed his fingers against the table. “Noc would likely be executed. And Cruor and Hireath… If he thought we were rallying to his side, everyone would be in danger.”
For the first time since I’d announced my bloodline, a flicker of concern darted through Leena’s eyes. She smothered it in a moment and leaned against the wall, tipping her gaze to the ceiling. “So the way I understand it, Darrien has no physical proof as long as the ring’s magic holds, and we keep our presence in the ruins a secret. Right?”
I took a step toward her. “Right.”
