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What could I say? The boy had no reason to believe me and had clearly placed all his faith in his cousin’s word.
I gave the young prince a quick nod, then leveraged my legs over the windowsill. Aleksi was like a phantom in the night. His training as one of their warriors was obvious in the way he moved in soundless steps, the way he eased a wooden ladder against the roof’s ledge.
I leapt off the final pegs into a crouch, but stumbled when the other faces came into focus.
Prince Jonas’s eyes were painted in thick kohl, and it looked as though someone had dipped their fingers in black paint, dragging them down his face. “Still a bit bruised from our introductions, Bloodsinger?”
“What is this?” I asked Aleksi, voice rough.
“A terrible idea,” was all he said as he peered around the rounded wall of the tower.
Jonas leaned close, a sly kind of grin on his face. “We want Livback. Alek’s been talking to us in your favor, be grateful. Know this, I’ll help you escape, risk treason and all that shit, but I’ll not apologize for bruising your ribs. You bleeding deserved it.”
“Can we go?” A woman’s voice, fatigued and weary, followed.
The same woman who’d stared at me like I would be better off gutted sat atop a large stone, her slender fingers massaging the sides of her head.
Her hair was dark brown with a few sun-lightened streaks of red laced throughout the tight braid draped over her shoulder. Her bright eyes narrowed at the sight of me. “I promised Livie if the man who danced with her at the masque hurt her, I’d cut off his cock. I hope you know, I keep my promises, Bloodsinger.”
“Careful with your words, Mira,” Jonas said, draping an arm around the woman’s shoulders. “Alek seems to think that might be Liv’s favorite part of Bloodsinger now.”
“These are the grand heirs of the kingdoms of earth fae, Ever King.” Alek rolled his eyes.
Footsteps crunched over the grit on the cobblestones. On instinct, I backed into the shadows when another hooded figure approached.
“Sander,” Jonas hissed. “Is it done?”
The newcomer tossed back the hood, revealing a face shaped a great deal like Jonas’s with the same kohl around the same moss green eyes. He tucked a leatherbound book into his belt. “They’ll be out until well after dawn. You know Ash will murder us for dousing him.”
“I’m not worried about Ash,” Jonas said. “But Tova? She holds grudges.”
I didn’t know these people. I didn’t care.
Prince Sander squared to me. “Junie said he told the truth, right?”
“She did.” Jonas folded his arms over his chest, mouth tight as though he wasn’t particularly pleased with it.
“Be grateful the lie taster was curious enough to hear you,Bloodsinger,” said Sander. “We just placed sleeping elixirs into the ale of folk who practically helped raise us. We’re now trusting you to get us to Liv. We know we can’t wait for a council, and I assure you, should our parents and Mira’s arrive, you’ll face their wrath too. It will only delay everything.”
“I would think you all would like such a thing.”
“Trust us, we would,” Jonas said. “But Sander found lore on this heartbond issue. Seems it must’ve been fierce, as in you really care for Liv, if it made you bleed like that. Then, with Alek’s assurance—”
“Which should’ve been believed straightaway,” Aleksi insisted.
“Look, I’ve been waiting for Valen to tear this bastard apart,” Jonas said. “You’ve now robbed me of the only joy I’ve had these last weeks, so cease your groaning.”
“I can hold the illusion to dissuade the Rave for moments more,” Mira complained. “Do you fools wish to remain here, chattering, or are we going?”
For the first time, I realized the thick mist was not truly there. No salt on the tongue. It was an illusion. The princess’s fingers trembled, sweat beaded over her brow.
“You know your marks?” Jonas asked.
The three royals nodded. Aleksi smacked the back of his hand against my chest. “Keep to the shadows, Erik.”
They tugged their hoods over their heads once more and slipped around the tower into a square tucked near the back of the fort. Stables with thatched rooftops, stands of straw, and dried oats were lined in neat rows. Armories stacked in axes, swords, and shields littered the square, and crates with earthy roots and sweet pears were covered in linens, ready for the morning crowds.
Shadows of wide shoulders with spears and blades swayed in the torchlight against the stone walls.
