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I swallowed hard. “I prefer not to speak of those events,” I said tightly.

She snorted and it sounded so much like Voski, my heart fluttered. “Dear God, girl, you’re going to have to toughen up if you’re going to succeed at his side.”

“I am resilient—”

“No, Grace, I don’t refer to your willingness to endure privation, or live rough—I’ve already heard the tales. Don’t look at me like that, I know more than you know. But your past is the past—as is my son’s. My concern is for your future and whether you and I will walk side by side, or as adversaries.”

I dropped my chin and gaze to the floor. “I wish only to become a part of the family as—”

The room seemed to lurch as she hissed a curse, and suddenly she was no longer at the window, but at my toes, leaning over my lap, her face just inches from mine.

I gasped and jerked back, but her hands shot out to grasp mine, and she held me there.

“Grace, put the bullshit aside, please. What do you want from this? What do you hope for? What is your goal? I have discovered that if we can only find where our goals align, we can work together for the good of all.”

“I only wish to succeed, to hold Vane’s heart—”

She hissed. “Love is bullshit. Strength will keep you together. Desire will make it satisfying. But it is the vision that will determine your steps.”

“My vision is for him,” I said softly. “For his prosperity, and authority, and—”

Her lips thinned. “Wake up, girl. Success has nothing to do with wealth or status. Those will come in the wake of it. In order to succeed as my son’s Pair, you must face the horrors of a Cruor’s life without wavering—the rituals, the losses, the blood. You must applaud him before others, yet be willing to stand at his toes and challenge him when his pride threatens all of us. And you must be humble enough to step back when his courage will lead us all forward. This role is not for the weak—and I have lived it. Only I can show you. But I will not lay a trap at my son’s heels. Did your parents prepare you for this, or not?”

We hadn’t prepared for this question. Instinctively, I reached for Voski and attempted to show him what she asked.

‘She’s trying to figure out if you’re a plant. Someone placed to tempt her—and me—by our would-be enemies.’

‘Would she see my ignorance as an asset?’

‘Only if she believes it.’

“Answer the question,” she snapped.

I raised my chin. “Lady Ashford, I have spoken the truth. I love Vane. I offered myself to him unaware of his unique position. I am thrilled to have the opportunity to be an asset to him in his pursuit of this… this society. I may not be a ruthless type, but I am single-minded, and I’m equipped for this. Whether you believe so or not,” I ended firmly, nodding, as if bolstering myself.

The Lady Ashford smiled.

Schemes Within Schemes

~ VOSKI ~

I paced in the hidden chambers I’d taken, where I knew there were no eyes or eavesdroppers. I was close enough to Grace’s quarters to speak through the link. I wished I could talk to my dragon, to find his steadiness. But Kham and Koa had to keep their distance from the castle during daylight. He would circle high every few hours, and draw closer at night. But for now, he was too far away for me to reach in a link.

A part of me was grateful. The two were enjoying their reunion—just as I prayed Grace and I would soon. Properly. Yet, it would be even more difficult to concentrate on Grace and measure her as she faced down my mother if I was battling the dragons’ desire at the same time.

After all this time, and drawing close to the lunch hour when the king was likely to bring his party back from their hunt, I knew my mother wouldn’t be with Grace much longer. But I also didn’t trust Mother to leave Grace unscathed. I prayed there would be time to see her before it grew risky with Breckon’s return.

But then my mate’s voice, breathless even in the link, bloomed in my head.

‘She’s leaving—to find you, I think.’

‘Which exit did she use? I need to be in waiting for her,’ I sent quickly. Grace suffered a bolt of nerves, but I knew the best way to keep my mother cautious in her steps was to never allow her full control of timing, or circumstance.

‘She’s just started down the corridor.’ Grace sent a foggy image of my mother’s upright back as she walked purposefully past the guards in the hall.

Perfect.

They were only two hallways away. I made it out of the room without being seen by a servant, then walked briskly, but without agitation, to the intersection of hallways, then toward the royal wing.