AllFreeNovel
Share Us
My feet scurried across the floor, following his practiced lead. He still thought I was working on my assignment. I could work with that.
I nodded slowly, taking time to craft my answer. I couldn’t completely lie, but too much truth and Killian would know enough to expose me.
“I traveled to Aralinth as planned,” I said. He pushed me away from his torso in a spin. My skirts flickered like flame around me as he pulled me back into him. His scent was earthy and Mortal. I could hear his heartbeat as I looked up at him. It quickened when I put my hand on his chest.
“I spent a fortnight in Aralinth, but found no leads,” I continued. Killian spun me again as we danced, wearing fake smiles as I whispered to him. “I heard of a Fae emissary leaving for Cereliath. Ithoughtthe Shadow would meet him here.”
“You don’t think this Fae is the Shadow then?” he asked, tensing as he considered the options.
“If he is, I haven’t seen any evidence of it,” I lied smoothly. Nothing shifted in Killian’s face at my words. His pulse didn’t quiver. He merely nodded. A curl fell loose from behind his ear, but he didn’t let go of me to fix it.
“Do you think the Dark Fae are launching an attack against my father?” he asked, the tight smile he wore shifting to a frown for the merest of seconds.
I pretended to contemplate his question before I answered.
“No. Lord Feron seems completely disinterested in Elverath.” That much, at least was true. “The Fae I followed here is his kin. I don’t think he’s seen much of the kingdom, if any. Lord Feron had even been upset at his departure.” A slight exaggeration, but one I hoped would help.
“You think it’s a journey of rebellion against his lord?” Prince Killian’s eyes were hard as he considered who else the Fae might turn against.
“In the mildest of senses,” I said, redirecting Killian’s thoughts. “I’ve not heard much about this Fae, not from my contacts nor the Shades. I think he is young, perhaps even the youngest of them. I haven’t seen anything to indicate this is any more than a vacation of sorts. Plus, the Fae and their people do not long for the kingdom. I’m beginning to doubt they and the Shadow are connected at all.” I twirled once more. I didn’t break my gaze with the prince. I needed him to trust my lies.
Killian bit his lip. “So youdon’tbelieve the Shadow is here?”
I feigned a sigh, pretending I’d been grappling with the same questions. “The Shadow is smart. I don’t think it was a coincidence that I believed him to be connected to the Fae. I think he encouraged it, planted the rumor even.”
Understanding fell across Killian’s face, his brows rising until they were hidden under the cut of his hair. “A ruse.”
I nodded. “Exactly,” I said, feigning a defeated tone. “One I’m not sure the Fae even realize he created.”
“The Shades have been following nothing but dead ends,” Killian said. He bit the inside of his cheek and scoffed.
This was my chance. The stakes had changed now that I’d been seen. I couldn’t rely on my anonymity to help me survive the king’s rage. I needed him to realize I was valuable. Too valuable to kill. And that would start with feeding part of the truth to the prince.
Riven wouldn’t like the game I was about to play, but Riven wasn’t here.
“I think the Shadow has been hiding in plain sight,” I said as we turned along the dance floor. I took an ominous glance about the room that Nikolai would be proud of.
Killian’s eyes did their own scan across the room before cutting back to me. “You think he’s here?”
This was it. I needed to expose just enough of the truth to set up the lie I would tell in the capital.
“With no true leads,” I started with a shrug, “I thought the House of Harvest would be a good place to continue my search. The Shadow has targeted it before and being so close to Harvest...” I trailed off. My stomach clenched into knots so tight I lost my breath. Had I given away too much?
It was a gamble. One Killian could come to trust me completely for. Or one to doom me entirely.
Killian’s furrowed brow released. “You think he will attack the trade routes?” he asked, his mouth hanging slightly agape.
I nodded once, keeping my face neutral.
“I think it’d be the most efficient way to launch an attack against the king,” I said honestly. I hoped it was just enough of the truth that Killian would realize while the rest of the Shades had their eyes on Volcar, I had been closest to catching the Shadow. When the dam was blown, the king and his son would have no choice but keep me on as Blade. I had been the only one to see the Shadow’s moves for what they were.
I would appear to still be the spy they made me into, instead of the traitor I’d become.
Killian’s eyes stared over my shoulder, unfocused and thinking as we made our final steps. The music fell into a soft decrescendo and the dance came to an end.
“My father must be informed,” Killian said with a stiff jerk of his head. His mouth was set in a straight line. “I need to send a message to Koratha right away.”
I nodded but my stomach plummeted. A bird would make it to the capital in three days. Two if the prince sent a hawk. Any Shades in the capital would be dispatched immediately along the trade routes. We would be racing the news to Silstra.
