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Eclipsa nods, obviously impressed. “Exactly. Someone’s been paying attention in class.”
Mack practically melts from the praise, beaming at me with a look-how-smart-I-am smile, the show off.
“But why?” I ask. “What does Hellebore gain from constantly antagonizing the Winter Prince?”
Eclipsa seems to be searching for how to word her answer. “People are starting to notice the Winter Prince’s . . . infatuation with you. And now that he’s broken Fae law, it makes him appear weak.”
Weak?
“If you were another Evermore,” Eclipsa adds carefully, “especially a highly sought after female with lands and power, it would still be against the laws—but would be viewed more favorably in the courts.”
The hypocrisy boils my blood. I fist the sheets, not even bothering to hide my disgust. “But as a mortal slave with about as much value as a turnip, it makes him look foolish, right?”
“Yes, unfortunately.”
“But if they knew . . .”
My words trail away. I look to Mack, the urge to tell my best friend everything hitting me hard. But what would I say?
Hey, bestie. I forgot to mention that I’m a body-hopping Evermore princess who also happens to be mated to the Winter Prince and, oh, the Darken probably wants me for his evil plans.
Also, just knowing this now puts you in grave danger. You’re welcome.
“Know what?” Mack asks, but she’s only half-listening, her face buried in the cream flyer Eclipsa brought in.
This is so not the time to drag Mack into all my unwanted—and dangerous—drama, so I change the subject. “Have they figured out what the darklings were in the vault for?”
“Not officially, but the prince and I have our suspicions.”
I lift an eyebrow. “And those are?”
The Lunar assassin regards Mack for a moment before saying, “Remember the Darken’s axe? The weapon that destroyed both our worlds and was broken into pieces after the war?”
A cold shadow of dread falls over me as I nod.
Mack slaps a hand over her mouth. “A piece of the Worldslayer was here, at the academy?”
Of course the Darken’s evil weapon has a terrifying name. Of course it does.
“We think one of the pieces was stored below the academy,” Eclipsa confirms, “inside the vault.”
“I think you’re right,” I murmur. “The thing Evelyn held, it looked like part of the axe’s blade. So that means whoever is controlling Evelyn is the same person working for the Darken?”
“It certainly appears that way, but—” Eclipsa pauses, and her head swings to face the door.
A second later, Valerian bursts through, trailed by Asher.
Before I can blink, Valerian is at my side. “How do you feel?”
“Other than the room spinning whenever I so much as breathe? Peachy.”
“There’s that smart tongue I missed.” Valerian’s intimate tone sets a fire low in my belly. The others look away as Valerian holds my stare, impervious to anyone but me. “I missed all of you actually, Princess.”
O-kay then. We’re doing this in front of everyone. “Thanks for coming to help us, even though I ordered you not to.”
Asher raises his eyebrows while Eclipsa swallows a laugh and Mack stares open-mouthed.
“Ordered?” A seductive grin dances over his lips as he leans down and whispers, “One, I wasn’t coming to help your shadow friends, I was coming for you. Never underestimate your value to me. Two, I’m an Evermore Prince. I don’t take orders, especially when they put my mate in danger. Understand?”
