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Before she could react, Ber grabbed her arm, tugging her the few steps to the desk. He snatched the book off the table and forced it into her hand. “Hide this before you kill me,” he said softly.
“Ber—”
“And this.” He pulled the ring off his smallest finger and shoved it almost painfully onto her thumb. “Add a touch of magic and intent, and it will transport you to my old room in Llyalia. Or back here, too. Don’t hesitate to use it if my death does not improve matters the way I expect.”
She blinked down at the thin, silver band studded with tiny moonstones. He’d always worn it. Was he trying to claim it was a teleportation artifact? That had to be a lie. Why wouldn’t he have used it to return to his childhood home instead of using the Mages’ Guild gates? If he could have appeared in the Llyalian palace at any time…
Uneasy suspicion nudged away her anger.
“Am I to accept that a villain would try so hard to save me?” she demanded.
Another knock boomed. “Time’s almost up, Your Highness.”
Cursing, Ber gripped her wrist and forced the knife to his throat. “It seems I must reclaim your place for you, my love,” he said, digging the blade into his skin once more.
As she stared at the new line of red dribbling down his neck, realization struck.
He’s sacrificing himself for me. Oh, gods. Toren was right.
With his unyielding grip, she would never wrest herself free before he got in the final slice. She pressed her thumb against the side of her hand, the Ber-warmed ring smooth against her skin. If he hadn’t lied, the ring would teleport her away. Only a little energy and intent, he’d said.
His hold shifted, and more of his blood spilled. Tes closed her eyes against the sight and focused on the ring.Llyalia,she thought, pouring in her power. Light flared against her eyelids. Her stomach roiled as the world dropped away, taking her insides with it. Then her feet thudded against stone with enough force to send pain through her ankles and up her calves.
It only took a heartbeat.
Stumbling a little, her eyes shot open, and her now-free hand sliced downward without Ber’s hold. Instinctively, she pulled the blow, even as she scrambled to identify her surroundings in the dull darkness. Alone. No one she could have hurt. With a relieved sigh, she allowed her hand to drop to her side, no doubt smearing her husband’s blood across her skirt.
Had she truly ended up in Ber’s old room? She’d never asked to see it, and Toren had never offered to show it to her. It was too dark to see much. Moonlight spilled through the window and glared against the white cloth covering what had to be furniture. Little motes of dust floated in the pale beam of light.
She’d lived here long enough to recognize the shape of the window casing, the same design used throughout the palace of Llyalia. No matter whose room this was, she had no doubt about that. Ber hadn’t lied about the ring’s function, for it had teleported her to the palace as directed.
What else hadn’t he lied about?
Against her heart, she gripped the secret book close. He’d claimed she would find the truth inside these pages, but the sick feeling in her stomach suggested she’d already discovered it in his actions. It was clear that he’d been waiting for her to have her retribution. He’d shown not the slightest interest in fighting back, though he’d had ample opportunity.
A villain would have fought back.
Kill me openly, and you’ll be able to uncover the others responsible,he’d said so blithely.
And then the ring.Don’t hesitate to use it if my death does not improve matters the way I expect.
Had this entire mess been intended to save her from her father? But surely, he would have told her. They’d always planned their steps against her father together. Always. She’d been so certain of their accord that she’d had no doubt that he would rescue her when she’d first been captured by Toren after her foolish attempt to kidnap Ria. The horror of his absence had reverberated through her ever since.
How could he have left her to suffer that? If he’d been acting on her behalf, how could he have remained so unbothered by her pain?
It seems I must reclaim your place for you, my love.
Shudders wracked her body, and she dropped down in the middle of the dust-coated floor. Simply sat there, trying and failing to process all that had happened. She needed to get up. To go find Ria and the kings. To hold Speran close while she told the others what had happened.
Most of all, she needed to read the book she still clutched tight.
But first, she had to get her trembling muscles to do their job.
Ber only hadmoments to act, and one thought claimed every speck of his attention—he had to rid himself of any sign of Tes’s presence. With that in mind, he kicked his pants off, dampened the fabric with water from his bedside cup, and washed every remnant of her from his cock. He had only enough time to toss the soiled bundle into the wash bin, where it was swept away for spell-cleaning, and pull on an extra pair of pants before the door swept open.
Three guards strode in, though they stumbled to an awkward halt when Ber spun to face them. “I nearly had her,” he snapped. “Explain this at once.”
The man in front eyed Ber’s neck, but he was too well-trained to waver. “You admit to having a woman in here, a direct insult to our dear Princess Lora?”
