“Where is she.” There was no hint of a question in Kost’s deadly calm voice. He was still lingering by the table, but his words carried an unspoken threat that rang loud and clear.
Gaige shook his head. “I don’t know. I hadn’t seen her all day.” He glanced at Raven, who gave a weak shrug.
“Bullshit.” Kost whirled on him, closing the space in a few easy strides. “I swear to the gods if I find out you’re helping her, that you intentionally endangered the man I…Noc, I will end you. Slowly.”
Something raced through Gaige’s stare. Understanding. Disappointment. Hurt. And then he tucked it away. Emotion masked, he surveyed Kost with the cool detachment I’d seen Noc use. The same icy shield he employed to put distance between us when emotions were too dangerous to be recognized.
Gaige’s tone was level. “I. Don’t. Know.”
Kost simmered, and I stepped between him and Gaige. “Let’s take a breath.” With a gentle shove, I pushed Kost toward Calem. Calem blanched, clearly not wanting to be close to an enraged Kost, but he didn’t move. Gaige’s control wasn’t as practiced as Noc’s, though, and I caught the crack in his gaze. The canyon of swirling emotion Kost had just created with his outburst.
“It’s safe to assume Yazmin will still be at Hireath.” I focused my attention on Gaige. “We need to go there immediately. If she attacked before, it’s possible she’ll attack the Charmers again. And Noc will likely be with her.”
“Let’s go, then.” Skimming his fingers along his jaw, Calem straightened and tossed a furtive glance at Kaori. “Yazmin needs to pay for what she’s done.”
Gaige eased his way off the cot. “I’m coming too.”
“You’re staying. Your injury will only slow us down.” Kost didn’t look at him.
Gaige’s nostrils flared. “My home is in upheaval, and the Crown is allegedly behind it. Another member of the Council should be present to recount what happens to the others. I’m going.” Reaching for a long-sleeved tunic left by the attendant, he painstakingly slipped it over his head.
“Me too,” Raven said, slowly easing her way off the cot. “I can at least help the other Charmers escape if Yazmin starts attacking again.”
Kost opened his mouth to argue, but I cut him off. “It’s okay, Kost. Let’s hope this doesn’t come to a battle, but if it does, there’s no need for Gaige to get in our way. And Raven can help us.” I shot her an apologetic stare, hoping we’d have time to mend the rift I’d caused when this was all over. “And they can both bear witness. Yazmin’s been manipulating us from the start. More eyes and ears will only help.”
Not to mention Gaige should be the one to witness the chaos he’d caused. We didn’t know for sure yet how we were all tied together, how Yazmin and the bounty and Noc’s identity were intertwined, but I didn’t believe they were coincidences. Everything was connected.
Silence stretched as Kost studied me with hard eyes. Finally, he gave a curt nod. “All right.” Turning, he stalked toward the double doors leading out to the halls of Cruor. “I’ll notify Emelia. The sentries need to remain on high alert until we return. Yazmin isn’t our only enemy right now.”
“Darrien,” mumbled Oz. “I almost forgot about him.”
Calem shot me an alarmed glance. “What? Did something else happen?”
I tried my best not to toss a frustrated look at Gaige and failed. “Thanks to the research this one left lying around, Darrien now knows of Noc’s heritage too. He was at the capital helping the Sentinels.”
If Gaige had been pale before, he was ghostly now. Apparently, his endless quest for knowledge had never been so disastrous before.
“That can wait.” Kost stared at the door. “We need to save Noc before we can worry about how the king will invariably come after us too.”
Without a second glance our direction, he left. The doors slammed behind him, and Gaige let out a shuddering breath.
Steeling myself against the frustration boiling inside me, I turned to face Gaige. I’d placed my faith in the wrong people before too. Wynn had been more than a friend and mentor—he’d been my lover. And he’d still betrayed me. The truth was, there was no telling just how far someone would go to get what they wanted. And since what Wynn wanted wasn’t me, it had been easy for him to sacrifice our relationship.
There was no telling what Yazmin wanted or what she’d be willing to lose to make it happen.
I offered Gaige a strained smile. “Don’t worry about Kost. Just stick around and prove that you’re innocent…or rather, ignorant.”
Gaige raised a single brow but didn’t respond. Instead, he followed Oz out the doors with Raven by his side, leaving Calem and me to fall in step behind them. Calem’s floppy bun bounced in time with his gait, and a few loose strands fell into his eyes when he glanced down at me. The mercury ring had crawled back toward his pupils, allowing the muted-red hue of his eyes to dominate his irises. Cracking a lopsided—if weak—grin, he nudged my side with his elbow.
“I missed you,” I said. I hadn’t realized how much that was true until now. He’d always been the stabilizing member of our troupe. The one who wasn’t afraid to tease and lighten the mood while simultaneously lunging headfirst into conflict. Seeing him in control was the only salve that could possibly alleviate the despair spreading through my chest.
He stretched a lazy arm across my shoulders and winked. “I missed you too. I knew you’d grow tired of that brooding guild master of ours one day.”
I rolled my eyes but couldn’t keep my own weak smile from my lips. “How are you doing?”
“Fine.” He let out a long sigh. “I owe Kaori my life.”
“Oh? And how do you plan on repaying her?”
