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Chapter Forty-One

I had avoided thealcove ever since Titus found me there. I missed the music, but a naïve part of me hoped that if I simply didn’t encounter the spymaster again, he’d ignore me. He’d rightfully pointed out that if I told Raphael or anybody who he was, that would open more questions about how I knew, and those weren’t questions I could afford to answer.

And now that I’d decided not to tell Raphael about the grimoire passage I’d translated, I was keeping even more secrets.

So, yes, I was naïve to think Titus would simply leave me be. And perhaps alittle bit stupid.

Amalthea had offered—more like insisted—we go out to the second level and visit some of her favorite shops. She had offered to meet me at my rooms, but I offered to meet her closer to the tunnel that led to the lower level so she wouldn’t need to trek all the way from court to my chambers.

“Waiting for someone?”

I swung around, expecting to see Titus. Instead, the only thing I saw was an empty hallway.

“You’re a hard woman to get to these days, Samara Koisemi.”

Titus’s voice came from my left this time. Still, nothing. Disguise magic, then. The most potent disguise magic would allow the caster to become entirely invisible. As the king’s spymaster, Titus would have access to all the best cards.

Titus was a witch. Likely a powerful one— could have risen to power in the Storm-blooded King’s court. But what kind of magic he had, I couldn’t be sure. Likely not disguise magic, since otherwise he would have used it more liberally. Not knowing a witch’s magic was dangerous, especially when that witch was threatening you.

“Amalthea will be here any minute,” I said. “You should go. I have nothing to say to you, except I’m not a threat to your mission.” Whatever it was.

“Oh, Samara. And here I thought you’d be interested in hearing the king’soffer to pardon you.”

I was unable to stop myself from flinching at his words. “What?”

“Oh, did that get your attention?” Titus said coyly. “Home, Samara. Pardoned, with enough money to start your own household in Ulryne. You could gohome.”

He was suddenly very, very close. I couldn’t see him, but I could smell his breath. I wrinkled my nose.

“Why would the king do that?” He’d been the one who sentenced me as a child.

“Yes, what could make up for treason on two counts? What service could you give the Crown that would let His Majesty overlook the fact you helped a vampire break out of Greymere?”

I could give Titus the Black Grimoire. I’d have to escape after, but giving Titus that tool could be enough to earn a pardon.

It would be a betrayal, however. And as much as Titus might technically serve the Crown, I didn’t trust him. Not with that.

The pardon though? There was a very strong possibility it was a real offer. A tempting one.

“Righting that wrong would be a start,” Titus finally said when it became clear I wouldn’t answer. “Destroying the scourge of our kingdom. You’d be hailed as ahero, Koisemi. Your family name would be known for centuries for your bravery. You wouldn’t just be pardoned, you’d bewelcomedin court.”

I wavered. For the briefest second, I considered what it would mean to be allowed to return home. Not surrounded by dangerous creatures who could kill me in a heartbeat. Ones who would maim children to get what they wanted. Instead, I could be among my own kind, living out of exile. Not a shameful life, but one I could live proudly in court, like my mother had always wanted.

It cost me something to give that up and say, “I’m not interested. I’ve made a new life here.” I had no intention of telling Titus my true plans were to go west of the kingdom.

“Look how keen you are to defend that life, even when it could be what kills you,” Titus purred.

My spine stiffened. “Are you threatening me?”

“Me?” The spymaster made a sound of indignation. “How quick you are to forget that any of them would kill you in a heartbeat. Isn’t that what nearly happened in the library just a few weeks ago?”

How did he know?Then again, he was a spy for a reason.

“The vampire was crazy.” That’s what Raphael had said—sometimes the old ones went insane.

“Do you really believe that?” Titus’s laugh was cruel. “Or is that what you want to believe, because otherwise you betrayed your country for no reason? You’re kept as a pet, a blood bag for their bastard king. You love being kept on a leash in a dark room.”

Vampires couldn’t lie. If Raphael said it, it must be true. Yet had he said the librarian had gone crazy? Or just that it happened sometimes? I tried to recall the exact wording.