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I followed him through the attendees into an alcove that the guards surrounded. Lennox sighed. “Do you know what Luz is up to?”
“Luz?” Oh, right. They’d just created an enormous scandal in front of the entire crowd. “I don’t, actually. I honestly barely know them. Sorry. I wish I could help.”
Lennox nodded and pressed his fingers to his temple as he winced.
“Are you okay?”
“Fine,” he whispered. I’d unbalanced his magic by taking his zevar. He was bound to notice soon. Shit. I tucked my hand into my pocket and untwisted the strings as quickly as I could. My fingers tumbled over a knot I couldn’t undo single handedly, and I cursed silently. I didn’t have long. Anyway, how was I supposed to give it back? Here you dropped this? Yeah right.
Damn it. I’d gotten myself into yet another situation.
“What did Prince Sai say about me?” Lennox asked.
His question caught me off guard. I startled, and the necklaces tangled around my fingers. “What do you mean?”
“You said I didn’t prove to be what he’d described me as. Forgive me, I’m morbidly curious.”
With his zevar pressed against my palm I owed him honesty. I looked up into his eyes that were too sincere and good and kind. “He said,” I whispered, struggling to form the words, “that you tricked Prince Shaan into believing you loved him then used that connection to steal something from him.”
Lennox’s nose flared, and he looked away.
“The globe! It’s missing!” someone in the ballroom screamed.
Lennox didn’t seem to care. He turned back to me. “Half of that is true.”
Those crystal eyes welled with so much hurt and sadness I felt wretched for sharing something that had hurt him.
“Your Highness.” A guard stepped in. “Your father wishes to speak with you.”
Lennox shifted towards me, but I waved him off. “I’m fine. Go ahead and I’ll find you when things settle down.”
“If you need help, you can approach any guard and have them escort you to me.”
“Thank you.”
He held my gaze for another beat before bowing and rushing out. I remained still in the alcove for a moment, studying the cream patterns on the rug at my feet.
Half of the story was true. Well, I knew he’d taken the zevar from Shaan. I had the proof in my pocket.
Which meant the other half was false. Lennox hadn’t tricked Shaan. He was actually in love with him.
It wasn’t an act.
I didn’t understand why or how he’d taken something so sacred from Shaan if he was in love with him but remembering his expression made me want to cry. “Excuse me,” I said to the guards. “I feel perfectly safe, and I’d like to get some fresh air.”
They parted, and I stepped into the crowd, ducked around a man wearing a coat with tails, and bumped into someone. “Pardon me.”
“Lira.” The voice was so familiar, so reproachful and terrifyingly calm I froze, and hair rose on my arms. Mother grinned at me when I raised my face, and she latched her hand around my arms like claws. “Come with me, daughter. We need to talk.”
CHAPTERTHIRTY-FOUR
SAI
Something trembled the palace walls,shook the foundation, and crawled down my spine. “Did you feel that?” I asked.
Elisa looked up from our second failed safe as she locked it back in place. We didn’t want the King to know we’d made it to every secured spot in the palace. This one was put back in order after we’d carefully moved through it. We’d never have time to go through them all at the rate we moved, and we still hadn’t found the damn zevar.
“Feel what?”
