Page 24 of A Court of Darkness and Dragons

Zander turned to the guards. “No one enters but Meri and me. Understood?”

They nodded.

And as Zander walked past me, I saw the weight settle over his shoulders. Heavy. Reluctant.

But unshakable.

We stepped out of the room, the heavy door shutting behind us with a solid thunk that echoed down the corridor like the closing of a tomb. The two guards Zander had assigned snapped to attention, their gazes forward, unreadable.

Good, they’d need to be. Because if even one word slipped…

I exhaled slowly. “Ferrula and the others are still searching for Dareth’s killer,” I murmured. “They’ll keep our secret. But how long can we keep that up?”

Zander’s expression was unreadable, but the tension in his jaw hadn’t eased since Theron spoke the name Inderia.

“One thing at a time,” he said.

I nodded, falling into step beside him as we started down the stone corridor, our footsteps soft on the worn rug.

“We need to put eyes on her,” I said quietly. “If Theron was telling the truth, if she really killed Lady Belana and is working with a Blood Fae, then she’s more dangerous than we thought. But I’m not sure if we should arrest her yet… or follow her.”

Zander’s brow furrowed, and I could feel the war inside him. He wanted justice. So did I, but too many secrets had slipped through our fingers already.

“If we arrest her too soon,” he said slowly, “she’ll refuse to talk, or her conspirators will kill her before she can. Especially if they are inside the castle.”

“But if we follow her…” I murmured, “we risk letting her hurt someone else.”

He looked at me. “What does your gut say?”

I hesitated, then spoke low. “We follow her. At least until we know who she’s working with. If it’s a Blood Fae, we can’t afford to let them escape.”

Zander nodded once. “Then we set a tail. Quiet. One of ours. No palace guards, no rotating schedules. Someone she won’t expect.”

I tilted my head. “Tae.”

Zander’s lips curved just slightly. “Smart. She likes him, and he is a notorious flirt.”

“And he can influence her if it comes to it. Briefly.”

“Then we have Cordelle assist him,” he added. “He can track her movements while using the guise of assisting his father with lorekeeper duties.”

I glanced at him. “You’re getting good at this.”

Zander arched a brow. “That’s what happens when everyone around you tries to kill you.”

We reached the stairwell, the castle quiet in that unnerving way it always was when secrets were thick in the air.

Inderia was still here.

And now we had a bigger question—Who was she working for?

Because this time, the game wasn’t just political.

It could decide the war.

Chapter

Eight