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I hoped when I banished the Reaper and had my friend back, she wouldn’t remember a minute of this.
We made for quite the show.
A gambler, a pretend princess, a Reaper disguised as my best friend, the king’s general and Crux, all on full display for the good people of Solarys.
I wondered what the Shadow King made of this. And if Ember had managed to send word back to Solok and the Fae King.
I’d been careful not to let anything slip, but Ember had eyes and there was plenty she could report, though I didn’t know what Solok could do with the information. Military numbers, though I’d been careful to steer her away from where Zorander amassed his troops.
Day to day activities at the Keep, including the number of guards posted.
I’d skipped the past five royal audiences. While I didn’t miss the senseless killings, I was sure the Shadow King was running out of patience.
“Crux.” Lyrae shoved through the crowd, irritation plain on her face. “The king has called a special meeting.” Her gaze locked on me, and for one awful moment I thought she’d order me to attend, but she turned away, hands braced on her hips.
“House Belanthus has brought a proposal for the king. He wants us to personally meet Lord Gravelock when he arrives from the Stormlands.” Lyrae smirked at me, as if that name meant something. I had no idea who any of the courtiers were, nor did I care. A bunch of rich, foppish fools who bowed and scraped to my pretend father, and sometimes lost their heads, if they weren’t careful.
An irritated Crux pushed away from Ember and I breathed a sigh of relief, at least until Zorander knocked my sword sideways. “Sloppy, princess. You know better than to take your eyes off me.”
“You try fighting in a dress, commander. You’ll find it’s harder than it looks.”
I rubbed my blistered palms on my dress. “And you think tacking the wordprincessat the end of your insults means you can say anything you want.”
“It works, doesn’t it?” Zor handed my sword back, then jerked his head toward Crux’s disappearing back. “The Reaper’s getting bolder by the day.” He said quietly as he adjusted my stance. “This cannot go on.”
“Fine, then, we’ll do this your way.” I grumbled, letting him press my shoulders into place. Using my friend as our weapon wasn’t what I wanted, but the ruse would keep Ember alive a little longer.
“Tomorrow someone else will administer your lessons, though I doubt they’ll have more luck than I have.” Someone in the audience sniggered. When Zor glared their way, the crowd went silent.
“Why won’t you be here?” I mustered up every ounce of petulance I could manage. “There are only a few more days to practice and I must be ready when we go to battle.” I waved the sword around like a madwoman, barely missing Zor’s eye.
“I can’t both run a war and teach you to fight, princess.” He stepped away and raised his voice. “We’re moving the mounted battalions across lowlands to the portal, starting tomorrow.”
“That sounds…complicated.” I widened my eyes. “How long will you be gone, commander?”
“I expect two days, but we must get our riders in place for when we make our initial foray into Caladrius next week.”
There.
I didn’t dare look at Ember to see if she’d heard, but that was the message Zor wanted delivered. His army was on the move and they were heading for the Northern Road. We’d see if Solok would mobilize the Fae armies to meet them.
“Sword up, princess.” My dress pinched in all the wrong places, my palms were slippery, my eyes stung from sweat. I needed different clothes. This time when Zor swung, my sword snapped backwards, the tip slicing my cheek.
Zor faltered at the sight of my blood, but Ember didn’t.
Her eyes went pure black, that devouring look focused solely on me. She slithered off the fence and the second her feet hit the ground, she was moving…only to be intercepted by Tavion, stepping directly into her path.
“Fuck, Anaria.” Zor was in front of me, blocking her view, but when I saw his expression, I lost my breath entirely. Emotion rippled across his face. Fear and regret and something fiercer, before he brushed a finger across the gash. “I’m sorry. I should have been more careful.”
“I’m all right.” I swiped my sleeve across my face, to catch the dripping blood. “I expect before the end, I’ll have plenty more.”
Zor’s face was a mask of fear, dark eyes shining with it. “It’s nothing, Zor. I’m not hurt, it’s just a little blood.” I wanted to reach out, touch his face…but this was Zor.
Then everything went back to normal, Ember’s eyes turned silver once more, Zor cleared his throat and stepped away, Tavion glared at me like this was somehow my fault.
But for the rest of the day, I never turned my back on Ember, and that night I was afraid to close my eyes.
* * *
