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On our way here, Ember swayed her hips until every male acted like they wanted to fall at her feet. Every eye followed her when we passed by, servant and courtier alike, while I tried to decide if this was part of the Reaper’s game—or Solok’s?
Crux’s mouth dropped open, his eyes bulging when he caught sight of Ember, who merely slid into the chair beside him, leaning forward, her breasts spilling out of the low-cut dress. I didn’t know what to do, so I took the chair on the opposite side, to keep everyone in view.
Lyrae had gone from cool observer to high alert, one hand on her knife, her body taut, ready to spring. Almost as if she knew Ember wasn’t…Ember
“Anaria…the princess…said you had some questions for me.” Ember waved her hand in the air. “Ask away.”
I didn’t think Crux was going to be able to pull his eyes away from her cleavage, but he managed. “State your name.”
“Ember.” She leaned back in her chair, her smile growing wider by the second. “What isyourname, since we are doing introductions?”
“Crux.” He purred, as if he couldn’t help himself.
“And your friend?” Ember asked lazily.
“I’m Lyrae and if you want to keep that tongue of yours, I’d stick to answering his questions, girl.” I couldn’t figure out if Lyrae knew there was a Reaper in the room, or if she simply sensed a threat, but this interview could easily turn into a bloodbath.
“How did you manage to get through the ward between Caladrius and Solarys?”
“I found some Fae traders coming down out of the mountains. They seemed quite eager to give me a ride.”
I didn’t know if that was an answer, or a euphemism for something else, but every hair on my body stood up. This was not my friend in front of me. This was something else. I’d been gone for how long…three or four hours?
And in that short time, Em had been erased.
Ember leaned back in her chair, and Crux’s gaze traveled from her red painted mouth down to her navel. My friend never would have allowed such disrespect, and I stopped myself from dragging her away from his lust-fogged eyes.
“And after you crossed over?’ Lyrae positioned herself right behind Ember, her knife in one hand, close enough she could slit her throat. She flashed a warning look at Crux, who scrubbed his face, as if he’d gone off somewhere else and was trying to bring himself back to reality.
“I’d been on foot for two days when a family passed me by. They owned a farm along the Dead Chasm and offered me a ride. Because I amnotan idiot, I took it, and they brought me to Blackcastle. Walking to the Keep, I spotted Anaria,on a horse.” She smirked, as if that was the most ridiculous thing she’d ever seen.
“And I brought her to my rooms so she could clean up and sleep.” I finished, before Ember could delve into Raz and Zorander’s fist fight. “Does that answer your questions?”
Crux nodded in agreement, but Lyrae interrupted, “Not quite. How did you manage to escape Solok? Someone like you…a close friend of the princess, is a valuable prisoner, and I would expect you were heavily guarded.”
Ember turned in her chair until she looked straight up at Lyrae, lifting an eyebrow when she spotted the knife. “All of that is true, but there was a disturbance, and in the confusion, I slipped away from Solok’s incompetent guards without too much trouble.”
She spun to look me in the eye. “My friend had abandoned me, after all, and I had no one to rely on but myself.”
My heart thumped erratically with every accusing word.
“What disturbance?” Lyrae asked, not to be deterred.
“The Fae King losing his magic, of course. It seems his power has left him and he is as helpless as a mortal, if you believe the rumors. A thousand years in power, and it vanished,” Ember snapped her fingers, never breaking our stare, “Just like that. I wonder where all that power went?”
Blood roared in my ears as I waited for Ember to reveal my secret. All she did was grin, her teeth looking sharper than ever before.
Lyrae asked a few more questions, though her focus shifted to this new development and how to best exploit the Fae king’s weakness.
Did the Reaper know I’d claimed the magic, or was it guessing?
I resisted checking to make sure the iron bands were in place, then Crux jumped to his feet, practically knocking Lyrae down in his haste to pull Ember’s chair out for her. I didn’t miss the way my friend brushed her body up against him on her way past and neither did Lyrae, whose narrowed gaze followed us through the door.
Then I trailed the Reaper all the way back to my rooms, trying not to stare at those swaying hips, the way every male’s scent flared when she passed, as if Ember’s body was a weapon, and she knew exactly how to use it.
I didn’t know what I’d expected, but it wasn’t this vile creature who’d manipulated one of the king’s protectors like a lump of clay.
Sophie was nowhere in sight when we returned and the moment I closed the door, Em threw her arms around me and sobbed. “Oh, my gods, Anaria, I thought I would be sick. But I think they believed me.”
