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Rion couldn’t wait for the night to end. He fully intended to whisk Arianna back to their rooms and submerge them in a hot bath with all the soaps she liked. Anything to wash away the scent of males from her skin. He planned to do other things to her as well that would make her forget everyone’s name but his own.
Rion swallowed hard and struggled to focus. Niall had drifted off with a small group Rion didn’t recognize, and Ellie had snuck away to dance with Kirian, the soft spoken half-breed she loved so fiercely.
His heart grew heavy as he imagined them separated one day. No one knew how long a half-breed might live. Not until adulthood. Either they displayed signs of Fae strength and longevity or they didn’t. He prayed Kirian would.
Rion sensed a pair of eyes watching him and turned toward the main door to find a brown haired female approaching from the side of the dance floor. Rion looked over his shoulder, hoping to find another meeting her gaze, but no one stood anywhere near him.
She drew closer, inching her way through those who drank and conversed on the sidelines. The female stopped more than once, as if fighting some internal war with herself.
Ellie was confident no one would ask him to dance. Surely this female didn’t plan to. Even if by some miracle she did, he’d politely decline. Perhaps he’d make small talk about the weather or the party. Maybe the female wasn’t interested in him at all and just wanted to inquire about Arianna.
She wore a long dress, but it wasn’t as elegant as some of the others and moments later he understood why. A half-breed. He relaxed a fraction and offered her a nod in greeting.
“I’ve been sent to take you to your rooms,” the female said. Her voice, no, her entire body shook and she refused to meet his gaze.
Rion studied her, his brow furrowed. Had someone dared her to approach? Was she confused? Drunk perhaps? He scented the air around her body but didn’t smell any alcohol. Tentatively, Rion said. “I know where my rooms are.”
She wrung her hands together. Nervous. Uncertain. “No, I mean your room, my lord.”
Rion just wanted her to leave, but he didn’t know how to tell her that without sounding harsh so instead he said. “I don’t need to go to my room right now.” Or ever for that matter. He hadn’t even known he had a separate room. There wasn’t a reason for it.
“There is a gift waiting for you inside.” At that, Rion went rigid. His gaze swept across the room as understanding seeped through his core. Wisely, no one met his gaze and the female was smart enough to keep her head down.
“Who sent it?” His voice was firmer now and she retreated a step. Fear radiated from her, turning a few nearby heads. The female trembled harder as she shook her head, unable to find her voice.
Rion studied the crowd again. Someone had laid a trap for him, but why had they made it so obvious? Only an idiot would listen to the female’s nonsense and—Rion stilled when his eyes landed upon Arianna.
Someone had set a trap for him in another room. If he refused to go, would they target Arianna’s room next? Did the world know she couldn’t use her abilities on herself? And if they didn’t, would they risk injuring her just to eliminate him?
His gaze darted between her and Talon. Talon had given his word to protect her. The male had even made eye contact with him before asking the ambassador of Fiadh for a dance, something Rion hoped to hear about later.
Rion eyed the personal guard her father had sent, counting them as they blended in throughout the room. Six had eyes on her while the others meandered about, mixing with the crowd.
The female didn’t speak again, she simply waited, still wringing her hands. She jumped at his reluctant voice. “Lead the way.”
Her lips parted as if in shock then she was moving, weaving her way in and out of the crowd with Rion close behind.
Rion stopped beside one of the guards from Móirín and the male stood straighter at his proximity. “Keep an eye on her. I won’t be long.”
He nodded, refusing to make eye contact.
The female didn’t exit through a main door. Instead, she led Rion through a servant’s door and into the main hall. A place others might not notice him leaving.
She was under threat, of that much Rion was certain. Which meant someone still had leverage over their slaves. Freedom was just a front. But he’d have to sort through that later.
He wasn’t surprised to find Fae lining the hall with drinks in their hands, though the female certainly seemed to be. She’d probably never done anything like this and Rion hoped he could get to the bottom of it all so she’d never have to do it again.
She uttered apologies as they passed, but Rion met the questioning stares of each and every one, wondering if they were the cause for the female’s predicament.
Most turned away.
They walked up the central staircase all the way to the fourth floor and Rion’s magic stirred when he saw the shadows on the walls. They were an easy weapon for the Shadow Weavers of Fiadh and the too few lamps down the hall created the perfect atmosphere for an ambush.
He expected the female to run. For assassins to leap from the corners and fight him in the hall. Maybe their blades would be poisoned. Maybe they’d hope to subdue him, then eliminate the threat to the throne.
But she pulled a key from her pocket instead and stopped before a door on their left.
Rion didn’t move. “What’s inside?”
