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What the fuck?That wasn’t it at all, and he knew it.
He’d been like this all day—sulking, agitated, easily startled—and it was driving me to the point of homicidal ideation. “If you are so intent on leaving, don’t let me stop you.”
“It was your idea to stay in the first place,” he snapped. “Getting cold feet?”
“No,” I retorted. “I’m simply beginning to regret asking you to join us.”
Uncharacteristically, Bael didn’t snap back with any sort of insult. He barely seemed to be listening. “I said I wouldn’t go unless I was called for.”
“Careful, Bael,” Aine said lightly. “You are dangerously close to making Scion sound like the reasonable one in this family by comparison, and I daresay if we stoop that low, we may never recover.”
“Fuck off.” I glared at her before shifting my attention back to Bael. “Why the hell would you say that?”
“The Source only knows,” he groaned, fading slightly at the edges. “I’m going down to my chamber. I cannot stand this anymore.”
I sighed heavily, watching as he disappeared into nothingness. I’d wanted Bael here in the event of an attack and assumed it was only because I’d asked that he wasn’t already by Lonnie’s side. Aine and Gwydion were far from useless, but neither would be half as helpful as he would. Still, with half his attention focused on the hunt and his mood more erratic even than my worst days, I’d almost rather see my cousin off myself.
“How will we know what’s happening now?” Gwydion griped.
I stood, agitated. “If all we’re going to do is watch from here, we may as well have gone hunting after all.”
“I don’t know why we didn’t.”
Of course he doesn’t.Far be it from me to expect anyone to give a shit about this country or pay half a mind to anything going on outside their own ass.
“Because,” I said, struggling to hold in my frustration, “we were attacked last night. Rebels infiltrated the castle without anyone having any gods-damned idea how they got in.”
And also, because it was a highly convenient excuse to explain away my ambivalence toward hunting Lonnie at all, but I couldn’t very well tell him that. A half-truth was better than no truth at all, I supposed.
“I know,” Gwydion said. “I’m not daft.”
I grunted in mild disagreement. It was either that, or he was doing an exceptionally good job of pretending to have no fucking idea of what was going on. I wasn’t sure which was worse. “Then you should understand the problem. There have been rebels in the village for weeks, growing in numbers every day. Now, they get into the castle the night before we will all be out of the city. It would be the perfect time to seize the capital.”
“Or that’s what they want you to think,” Aine suggested. “Maybe they’re attacking Inbetwixt instead.”
I shook my head. “I thought of that, but the risk is still too great to ignore.”
“What about Lonnie?” Gwydion asked.
“What about her?” I ground out.
“You seem to have had quite a change of heart, Sci. Wasn’t it only yesterday you were trying to kill Lonnie yourself?”
Sooner even than that.
“It’s more important to guard the capital,” I replied, all too aware that I hadn’t really answered his question. With any luck, he reallywasdaft and wouldn’t notice.
I hadn’t yet told anyone about my visit to the dungeons, the advice I’d received from Ambrose, or the bargain I’d made to get it. Even now, I was already beginning to regret the decision, and my rebel brother had only been free for a matter of hours.
“There’s more than one way to become king,”Ambrose had told me.“You could simply marry the queen.”
I ran both hands through my hair.
I’d had barely a few hours to consider it—less than a day before I’d had to decide whether to kill her, and I had to admit, the excuse of an impending attack could not have come at a better time. Now, at least, I had another two and a half weeks before we traveled to Nevermore in which to decide if I would take my brother’s advice.
* * *
I leftAine and Gwydion and made my way downstairs.
