Page 59 of Queen of War and Ruin

And then he turns and walks back to his wife and guards, leaving me alone on the very edge of the world.

The sun is sinking into the ocean by the time we reach the little town nestled in the valley below the palace of Ethiria, and it’s almost dark by the time we reach the palace gates. All the windows in the palace shine with candlelight, which makes the skin on the back of my neck pull tight. Something about the looming castle gates makes me feel like a mouse staring down a cat.

The guards lead us through the gates, and I immediately scan the courtyard for Lilias. Not that I expect her to be waiting to greet me, of course. Still, I’ll feel better once I see her. A lot better.

A large guard with a thin smile walks toward Elrick.

“Welcome back, your lordship,” he says as he takes the reins of Elrick’s horse.

That panicked feeling climbs to the back of my throat. The guard is smiling widely, but there’s something hard in his eyes, like there’s a dagger hidden up his sleeve.

Elrick dismounts with a smile. If the guard’s shallow bow and mildly offensive greeting bother him, he doesn’t show it.

“Thank you,” Elrick says.

“If you will follow me,” the guard says in a tone that makes it sound less like an invitation and more like an order.

Elrick’s smile fades. His lips press together and he nods curtly. Behind him, Anura and his men-at-arms dismount. Gerard glances at me with a strange, nervous expression, almost like he’s asking me what in the hells is going on.

Shit. If Gerard is scared enough to forget how much he despises me, things are bad.

I’m the last to dismount, and I hand my reins to a stable boy wearing a strangely formal outfit, the light green and gold of Ethiria’s seal shining across his chest in the lamplight that flickers through the open door. I suspect he’s not dressed up for us.

My throat pulls tight as we follow the guard into the castle. He leads us into the same shabby reception room where we waited for Prince Laurance yesterday. Lilias sits in a chair by the window. She jumps to her feet when we enter, relief washing over her features.

Something inside my chest twists. I wish I could pretend the look on her face is for me.

But she rushes to her brother. I step back, giving her space as she embraces Elrick. The only one who seems to notice my presence is the guard; he moves sideways, so his massive body fills the open door behind him.

And then the guard pulls the door shut. Elrick turns from Lilias to the guard.

“Are you joining us for dinner?” he asks.

“I’ll be here,” the guard grunts, giving us an unpleasant smile. “To keep you safe.”

Gerard gives me that look again, a sharp, wide-eyed glance, and I only barely manage to stop myself from dropping my hand into my jacket to touch the dagger strapped to my chest. Elrick clears his throat.

“Lovely,” he declares.

With that, the prince of Marion sits down at the table. The rest of us follow his lead. We stare at each other awkwardly until a servant brings a strange dinner of what looks suspiciously like castoffs from a larger, more elegant feast. The guard stands with his back against the door the whole time, blocking the room’s only exit with his arms crossed over his massive chest and a nasty gleam in his eyes that makes me think he’s really hoping we try to cross him.

Once the dinner dishes are cleared, two of the guards who escorted us to the cliffs enter the room to guide us to our rooms. Elrick starts to say that won’t be necessary, but after a few words, he seems to recognize the futility of arguing with any of this, and his voice falls silent.

We follow the guards up and up, back to our rooms on the fourth floor. We stop at Elrick and Anura’s room first, then the room Elrick’s men-at-arms are sharing, and finally the smaller and rougher room assigned to my wife and me.

My jaw clenches as the guard slams the door behind us.

“Damn it,” I whisper under my breath.

Lilias walks to the darkened window. She looks at the sheer drop to the courtyard below, then turns to me with wide eyes. She doesn’t speak, but the question on her face is as clear as the dawn.

How in the hells are we getting out of this?

Chapter 32

Lilias

THE WAR FOUND US