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He’d wanted to be seen.

Wanted to get to me.

There had to be more, for the King and Queen of the Blood Court would not enlist the Red Assassins and send only one killer to seek their revenge and murder Neve. How many more roamed the streets of Avaldenn?

My throat tightened and, needing to move, to dosomething, I stomped over to where the rebels huddled together against the wind and snow.

“None of you saw a vampire?” I demanded. Theentire group had slept through the night in Rall Row. Judging by the trail of corpses we’d found; the vampires had hunted in the same area.

“Course not,” the same mouthy faerie spat as he pushed his chest out. He was going for intimidating but missed the mark so widely that it was almost laughable.

And yet, a vague sense of pity arose in me when I looked at the rebel. He was much too thin to strike fear in any heart.

“We were holed up in that shack,” the youngling sneered and spat at my feet. “Didn’t see much in there besides each other, did we?”

“Unfortunately for you, that trend will continue.” I turned to my soldiers, having had enough of this rebel. “Let’s take them to the castle.”

“Sounds good to us,” the same young male rebel jeered. “Maybe then I can ask the king when he plans to do something about winter killing so many in the country.”

“You’ll be heading straight to the dungeons,” I replied. “An improvement on your latest accommodations.”

The male glared. “So you don’t care! Winter will soon seize the city too. No one can push back the true cold when it comes for you!”

“Gag him,” I instructed Soldier Barisia. The last thing I wanted to do was hear that rebel, or any of them for that matter, spout off about how my family had failed them.

It wasn’t like we were blind to the changes in the kingdom. Or that the cold truly came in harder and faster than ever before.

These past days, I’d allowed myself to become distracted. Mostly with Neve but also with my friends and the few good days we’ve had. And while I didn’t regret the time spent with them, particularly not the night before with Neve, in the tub, in my bed, with her lips wrapped around my cock, I needed to do better.

I needed to remember why the nobles of the court were here in the first place, for I had played a large part in bringing them here.

If one of the noble houses had, indeed, taken the Ice Scepter during the aftermath of the White Bear’s rebellion, the chances that they were here and brought the Scepter with them were high.

But so far, none of the soldiers we’d put in place at the beginning of the Festivals had seen anything of note. Nor the spies Lord Riis assured us were looking for fae of unusual power or those lurking in the libraries or around the Crown Drassil tree.

Of course, not even Lord Riis knew exactlywhyhe was monitoring these people. It would help if he did, but with Father now suspecting his own spymaster, I didn’t think that would happen. Not unless I convinced him otherwise.

I didn’t believe for a moment that Lord Riis possessed the Scepter, but while Father wanted me to spy on Luccan, I could not. He and the rest of the Riis brothers were my dear friends. Lord Riis kept a dangerous secret for me.

I wouldn’t throw them under my sword. Not when they’d done so much. Even if I held otherquestions in regard to Lord Riis and my mother, where the Scepter was concerned, none of them applied.

I’d try again to convince my father of their innocence too, right after I told him we needed to send more guards out into the city to hunt for vampires.

Chapter 29

NEVE

Asmile broke on the old human’s face. “When you fell, your hair covered your features. I thought you were a visiting noble or even the Aaberg princess. If I’d known it was you, I wouldn’t have run.” She shook her head and tears streamed down her cheeks. “Butit’s you.”

“Who isyou?”

She blinked once. Twice. Then let out a soft, incredulous laugh. “You’re not a rebel then?”

“No, I’m a . . .”

What in the world would I say? An ex-blood slave? Not a chance I’d admit that to someone I didn’t trust.

“Who doyouthink I am? You seem to have recognized me twice. The first time, I believed you had made a mistake, but now I’m not so sure. You know who I am. Or you think you do.” My hand drifted to my scar. “Why do you keep fixating on my scar?”