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Zarrah claimed his lips as though she intended to claim his very soul, though in truth, she possessed it already. Even if she were the devil herself, he was too bespelled by her, too lost in the feel of her, too captivated by the sound of her ragged breathing to care. She pulled on his lower lip with her teeth, driving his lips apart. Logically, Keris knew this wasn’t the time, but he yielded to her anyway. The kiss deepened, her tongue slipping into his mouth, sliding over his. He groaned, wanting to pull the clothes from her body, wanting to taste her, to lose himself in the scent of her, because her presence had turned his blood scalding with the need to have her. To push her against the wall and claim her as thoroughly as she had claimed him.
The clock on the wall chimed, and his eyes flicked to it. Everything was on schedule. Everything was going to plan. They had a few moments before he needed to head downstairs, and there was a great deal he could do in a few moments.
Then Valcotta pulled her mouth from his and said, “Your father is still alive.”
Keris’s skin turned to ice even as his stomach dropped. “What?”
“At least, I believe he is. There is a chance that he was killed in the blast, but I don’t think we’ll get that lucky.”
“Lara,” he seethed, furious at himself for having trusted she’d deliver. Furious that he’d allowed himself to rely on a woman notorious for betrayal. “That was the deal. Our help in exchange for her putting a knife in my father’s heart.”
Valcotta blew a breath out between her teeth. “The deal according to whom?”
He blinked. “Coralyn.”
“She lied—Lara made no such promise.” Valcotta took a step toward him, then hesitated as though she wasn’t certain how he’d react. “She likely deceived you because she knew the only way you’d agree to this scheme was if you believed your father wouldn’t survive it.”
His spine stiffened, and he gave a sharp shake of his head, eyes snapping to the clock. “No,she’sthe one who would never agree to it—the risk to the harem would be too great.”
“Which is why she set me up to do it.” Valcotta’s throat moved as she swallowed, and she crossed her arms over her chest. “It wasn’t the first time. It was Coralyn who arranged for me to try to kill him that night in the tower, although I didn’t know it until after the fact. She wanted me to try again, but I refused to do it unless she found a way for me to escape, which she did. Or you did. I…” She trailed off. “I had a chance to kill him, but I didn’t do it. If he’d died by my hand, he’d become a martyr in the Endless War.”
A dull roar filled Keris’s ears, and it wasn’t just that his plans had crumbled to dust, but that his aunt had been attempting to use Valcotta beneath his nose. He should’ve anticipated her meddling. Should’ve known she was up to something, but never in his wildest dreams had he believed she’d ally with a Valcottan just for the sake of killing his father. Still couldn’t believe it. “Where is Coralyn? What happened?”
“She took credit for the plan. Then refused to leave with us.” Valcotta’s jaw quivered, her eyes fixed on his chest. “She told me to tell you that she loves you.”
If his father was alive, and Coralyn had taken the blame for Aren’s escape, then… “I have to help her.”
Valcotta caught hold of his arm, dragging him back. “You can’t help her, Keris. If you try, your father will only become convinced of your involvement and will kill you, too. Which will mean her sacrifice was in vain.”
He pulled out of her grip, pressing his fingers to his temples, trying to think. But it was impossible when he considered what might be happening to his aunt at this very moment. “I should have sent you with Aren. I—You need to go. If you hurry, you’ll catch them at the top.” And at least Valcotta would have a chance of getting free.
“I’m not going with Aren.” Her hands closed over his wrists, pulling them to his sides. “Because if I go, you’ll do something stupid and brave and get yourself killed. And I refuse to let you die, Keris Veliant.”
“Then you’re condemning yourself, because my plan no longer exists.” He met her gaze, silently pleading with her to go. “You need to leave with Aren. He’ll get you out or die trying, that much I know.”
“Then why didn’t you send me with him in the first place?” She locked her fingers with his, squeezing hard. “Because you didn’t like their plan? Or you had a better one?”
Because he didn’t trust anyone other than himself to keep her safe. “Both.”
“What was it?”
He felt like he couldn’t breathe, visions of what his father might be doing to his aunt filling his head. Why had she lied about Lara’s intentions? Why had she tried to get Valcotta to do the deed?
“You might never know the truth behind Coralyn’s motivations,” she said, seeming to sense his thoughts. “And we don’t have time to deliberate. You’ve three minutes to explain the rest of your plan to me, and then you need to go down those stairs and cover our tracks. Donotdestroy the chance Coralyn’s gifted you.”
Keris scrubbed at his face, wincing as he pressed against his swollen cheek.Focus,he shouted at himself.You have the rest of your life to hate yourself for tonight’s mistakes.“Everyone will be chasing after Aren. The chances of him getting out of the city are slim, but he’ll die before he’s captured again. I was going to hide you, then sneak you out when—” When he was king, when he had control. He swallowed. “When it was safe to do so.”
“How?” she asked, and Keris turned to the chest that traveled everywhere with him. He unlocked the lid, lifting out stacks of books until the bottom was revealed.
The false bottom.
Zarrah’s eyes moved to the clock. “One minute.”
They were out of time, so he spoke quickly. “I came up with the idea weeks ago but dismissed it. Your absence would be discovered immediately, and I’d be the obvious culprit. But everyone thinks that you’ve escaped with Aren, so no one will have reason to suspect me.” He pressed a tiny button on the carved exterior, which popped up the false bottom. “You’ll need to hide in here.”
Zarrah stared at the chest, her throat moving as she swallowed. She hated this plan; that much was obvious. She wanted to fight her way free, not hide in a box, and he almost wished such a thing were possible. “Valcotta—”
“Lock me inside in case someone searches your room. And then you need to go.”
