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I stood off to the side, uneasy. Not that I disliked humans, more like I rarely thought about them and knew little about them. They were often out of my sight, and overall, rare. Once, bringing human slaves into this kingdom had been far more common, but not for many centuries. Now, most of the humans in Winter’s Realm were all born here. They did not belong in their world, wouldn’t fit in, but fae didn’t see them as equals. We gave them only one option—living and serving in the three pillars of society: the noble houses, the House of Wisdom, or the Tower of the Living and the Dead. In turn, each noble home or foundational institution fed, housed, and protected the slaves.

I wasn’t alone in thinking that the exchange of freedom and everything one might dream of in that life was not a fair exchange for food, shelter, and protection. I was, however, in the minority. It was an uncomfortable circumstance that I did not like to think about.

However, Neve was at ease around them, likely because she’d grown up with many humans. Seen them brought over from their world even, for the laws of Winter’s Realm did not exist in the Vampire Kingdom.

The pair broke apart. Emilia stuck her head outside again and proclaimed the coast clear.

I slipped my hand down to find Neve’s, but she pulled away.

“We need to keep our hands ready to fight,” she said, not meeting my eyes.

“Of course,” I said, though I’d rather connect with her, feel her skin on mine as we ran for our lives.

“Good luck.” Emilia cast another smile at Neve and nodded to me before we stepped outside, closing the door behind us and bracing against a great gale of wind that about blew me over.

I reached out and steadied Neve as she stumbled back into the castle wall, which had reverted to sheer stone.

“Stars!” Neve breathed, teeth chattering already and eyes blinking as snow whipped into her face. “It’s absolutely freezing out here.”

“And windy. That will hinder flight,” I murmured, already reassessing how we’d have to flee. “If there aren’t breaks in the wind, we’ll have to run through the city.”

Neve’s eyes widened. “Maybe we should go back inside and wait? See if the winds die down? It will be difficult to see through such thickly falling snow.”

“Remember what Vishku Sindri said? That the coming winter storms would be the worst we’ve seen in many turns?” Snowflakes melted on my skin as I waved my hand through the air. “This must be what she meant. Who knows how long it will last?”

Neve rubbed her hands together. “I suppose the windmight blow our scent away, but it might also blow it to them. Those vampires in your suite will remember it.”

“Yes, but they might still be inside and, anyway, they don’t know the city like I do,” I said.

For a moment, she looked like she wanted to argue but ended up giving a single nod. “You’re right. I think it’s time for me to leave, anyway.”

My mouth fell open, and my stomach dropped to my knees. It had always been the plan for her to leave. Now that it might actually happen, I wished to tell her the truth: that Ineverwanted her to leave.

But since we’d taken our relationship to a physical level, Neve had pulled back—maybe exactly because she was leaving. I didn’t know. All I knew was that she wasn’t interested in staying here. Staying with me.

“So what do you say we make a run for it?” Neve pointed to the closest part of the castle wall, visible through the snow-filled wind. “Fly over that wall? Even with the winds, that short of a flight should be doable, and I don’t remember guards being near there. Actually, the thick snow in the air might help in that regard. No guards will see us.”

Not that it mattered. Calpurnia already had. Still, I nodded. “Let’s go.”

We raced for the wall, my most recent injury tugging slightly and my ankle weaker than normal. I might have underestimated the injuries, but I pushed through, relieved for one thing: that Neve was correct in thinking that the snow was doing us a service. Though soldiers manned thewalls, it was unlikely that they’d be able to spot us this far away, anyway.

But vampires could see very long distances. Did they wait out here somewhere? Biding their time until we fled?

Or did the assassins believe we’d remain hidden in the palace? It was anyone’s guess. I only hoped that wherever the other assassins were, it was far away from the palace and Lordling Lane.

We reached the wall and wasted no time leaping into the air. No longer pressed down against my back, my wings caught the wicked winter winds, and I shuddered.

Up we went, and as we descended, fighting the wind as we did so, I searched the street. My heart pounded, expecting a vampire to leap out at us at any moment. Not any vampire either, a Red Assassin. Prince Gervais had been difficult enough to kill, but if the stories about the Red Assassins were true, they’d be ten times more difficult.

My fear was for naught, though.

As far as I could see, which, thanks to the snow, was not as far as I would like, no one roamed the street. Considering how dark and cold it was, few would be out tonight. That would both help us spy vampires and make us a potential target.

“Stay close,” I said to Neve as we landed. “Keep your hand on your stake. Wings ready to fly if we need a quick escape.”

She shifted the sword she’d taken from that lavish room in the hidden palace. I didn’t know whose room it was, though it had to have been someone important—being so near the one that had clearly been Queen Revna’s suite.

I didn’t need to ask if the book was the diary she’d mentioned. The diary interested me too. My mother had been Queen Revna’s lady-in-waiting, and Queen Revna had written about my mother and Lord Riis. Though I’d decided to trust the Lord of Tongues, that didn’t mean I did not want to learn more about his past. About if he’d been more than a friend to my mother—if once, they’d loved one another.