AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Marisa twisted her lips. “Why on earth would they kill him before getting more information out of him?”
“They didn’t,” Ysa interjected, speaking loudly. “When Vesperus’s guard came, he killed himself first. Potion.”
A collective grumble passed through the room.
“It doesn’t answer my question. Who has betrayed this House?”
Uriah inspected his nails. “We’ve been here for decades, Elias. And not a word has ever been passed beyond these walls. We have nothing to gain from that.” Looking up, he flicked his eyes to Danni, then back to me. Instant fire coursed through my veins. “Perhaps the newest addition to our court speaks to her old House more than she admits. Traitors run deep in Fire and Fluorite.”
Nova and I moved at the same time, and I beat her there by a mere second. Gripping Uriah around the neck, my nails extended, piercing into his skin. I held him up, his feet dangling off the ground. The wolf pulled her lips back, baring her teeth as she growled, the rumbling coming from deep in her chest.
“Speak of her that way again, and I will rip your throat out,” I snarled through clenched teeth.
“Put him down,” Danni said quietly. I turned as she stood up, stepping off the dais and coming to my side. She stroked Nova’s fur and placed a hand on my arm while she pleaded with her eyes. The same warmth spread through my limbs, tingling at my fingertips.
I dropped Uriah, letting him fall unceremoniously into his seat. Blood dripped down the column of his neck where my nails had torn into his flesh. Dannika had a habit of saving people when they didn’t deserve it. “You are too soft,” I said.
“Maybe I am,” she said, shrugging. “But you’re too brash.” Gasps filled the room at her brazen statement. No one had ever spoken like that to me. “Uriah is a dick, but he’s not wrong to want to question if it’s me.”
I huffed once, then smirked. “As you wish,” I muttered, walking back to my throne.
Uriah attempted to stand, but Danni placed a hand on his shoulder, pushing him back down. “Sit.”
Bianca held a hand over her mouth, trying to cover the grin that had crept up her face.
With Nova by her side, Danni towered over Uriah. The wolf’s eyes narrowed, and her jowls trembled with anger. “If you have something you want to say to me, speak your mind, but I am done with men who think they can treat me as though I am beneath them. Disrespect me again and I’ll let Nova use your arm as a chew toy. You know nothing of my past with Fire and Fluorite, or with Mathis. While the details are none of your business, I will tell you one thing: I have no allegiance to that shifter. That House would be better off with him dead.”
She turned on her heel, then strode to the throne next to mine. She sat gracefully, her chin held up high and a slight crease between her brows.
Uriah clasped his hands on the table, refusing to make eye contact with anyone.
Bianca leaned toward Katie, sharing a private conversation while everyone was distracted by Uriah’s public shaming. They spoke to each other in low tones and harsh whispers, and I watched with intrigue. Bianca’s eyes widened, and Katie clasped her hands over her mouth, shaking her head quickly.
“Speak now,” I bellowed, and they both jumped at the volume that echoed around us.
Katie’s mouth fell open, and she closed it again, trying to find her voice. Bianca put her hand on Katie’s arm. “She’s taken a new lover,” Bianca started.
I shot my gaze to Katie, gripping the arms of my chair, and the wood creaked under the pressure. “And?”
“I didn’t tell him anything,” she said before explaining more, the words coming out fast and jumbled. “But I . . . I . . .”
“She talks in her sleep sometimes,” Bianca finished for her. “It’s usually just random. Asking for oranges, the occasional shout for a pool boy with abs. But she’s repeated bits and pieces of conversations before. I didn’t think anything of it at the time because it wasn’t important. Just repeating dinner talk.”
“How do you know this?” Marisa asked, glancing between them.
“Because we’ve had a few flings together,” Bianca replied. “Nothing that would have an effect on our duties in the High Court. Just a few threesomes . . . foursomes . . . you know how it is. Falling asleep in a pile of bodies . . .”
Marisa rolled her eyes slowly, resting her forehead in her hands. “This isn’t happening,” she muttered.
“Name. Now,” I shouted, standing up.
“Jordan Westpoint,” Katie answered, hanging her head in shame. “I swear, I didn’t know . . .”
Bianca rubbed her hand over Katie’s back, soothing her, but the look of panic on both their faces didn’t escape me.
I turned my head to Ysa. “I want him found. Casual. Empty his pockets. Gag him. Whatever it takes to stop him from killing himself like the other rat. Bring him to me when you do. I want to talk to him.”
“Elias, I—” Katie started.
