Page 11

“Aldrich,” Talon snapped. “Where is Thane? Where is my brother?”

“Go play,” Aldrich said over his shoulder.

“They tried to murder him,” Layala called. “Left him for dead in that haunted forest. Please find him, Talon. Find Thane!”

Aldrich squeezed her arm until his nails pierced through her skin and Layala yelped. “Stop. You’re hurting me.”

“That’s the point. Now keep your mouth shut before my father hears you and you’ll have much worse than a split lip and broken fingers.”

When he brought her back to her room, the door creaked open, and he gestured for her to go inside. Why was she here? The king said to bring her to the tower. As much as she wanted to go dive onto the soft bed she knew awaited, her feet wouldn’t go forward.

“Go. The king can’t let his cruelty get in the way of reason. Mathekis specifically said not to hurt you.”

“I don’t understand you.”

“I’m not cruel, Laya. I don’t want you to be hurt, but I made my decision and now this is the path we both must walk.”

“Not cruel? You betrayed your friend—yourbrother—for a chance at the throne. What would you call that?”

“Ambition.”

She turned away, unable to look at him for another moment without wanting to claw his eyes out. “Ugh, you disgust me. You’re worse than Tenebris. At least he never pretended to be something he wasn’t. Thane will never forgive you.”

“He’s dead. I don’t need his forgiveness.”

That statement momentarily stole the breath from her lungs. “You and Tenebris keep saying that because you’re afraid. Afraid of what he will do to you.”

Aldrich grabbed her arm and dragged her inside the room. With both hands wrapped around her arms, he pinned her against the wall, chest heaving up and down. His fingers dug in and a fiery temper she’d never seen in his eyes blazed. “Even if Thane is alive, he can’t win. The people, the army won’t turn on their true king. He will be seen as the enemy. You get that right?” Droplets of his spit hit Layala’s cheek. “Thane can’t beat him. He is nothing but a fallen prince with no land and nowife.”

Layala rammed her knee hard into Aldrich’s groin, then shoved him in the chest. “Get your hands off me. I may have had a weak moment back in that dining hall, but it won’t happen again.”

Clutching between his legs, Aldrich moaned and stumbled back a few steps. “Damn it, Layala. I’m trying to help you. Can’t you see that? Or are you so blind by your loss that you can’t see reason?”

“If that were true, you’d help me escape. The only one of us blind is you. For a crown, you’d trade in the freedom of all.”

His stare was full of hurt and chaotic storms as if he was unsure of everything. “You’re wrong. I will bring magic back to the elves of Palenor and they will love me for it.” On his way out, he looked back once then slammed the door behind him.

Layala groaned as the pain from Aldrich’s tight grip, her crushed bloody hand, and her throbbing lip set in. She made her way over to the bed and fell onto the soft, silky fabric. At least she wasn’t back in the tower. There were only a few minutes to relax before a quiet knock sounded and the door popped open. Reina stepped inside, patting her hands down her apron, and then dipped into a bow.

As she lay on the bed, Reina cleaned and wrapped Layala’s bloody, broken fingers and dabbed healing balm on her split lip. “I’m so sorry, my dear.”

Layala simply closed her eyes, her mind lost in the conversation at the dining table. Why would Mathekis or the Black Mage care how she was treated? And he’d been gone for four hundred years but they still followed his orders like he was here. If she was his lifeline, it made perfect sense they’d want her protected. The Black Mage was what gave them purpose. And what was time for them? Varlett had been alive for thousands of years. A few hundred wouldn’t seem so long to her.

They’d waited for her to be born and then waited again for her to resurface. Varlett spoke of seeing her mother give over the willow tree necklace, which meant she allowed Evalyn to take her away. Had the dragon known where she was the entire time? Was she simply waiting for something? And why make a deal with Tenebris if she knew? Or was it only Mathekis who made the deal? That would mean that Varlett never told him where Layala was. Either the three of them didn’t trust each other or some piece of this puzzle was missing.

Her maid pulled the lavender silk cover over her torso and stepped back, folding her hands in front of her. “Is there anything else I can get you?”

With her belly full, too full to the point she thought she might be sick, and her injuries attended to, aside from an escape plan… “No but thank you for asking.”

Reina curtsied and started for the exit.

“Wait,” Layala said. Even if her mind and body were tired and hurt, her instincts kept firing. That core drive of self-preservation screamed at her. “I need a knife.”

“You can’t be thinking of doing anything, Lady. You’re in no condition and you’re outnumbered two hundred to one.”

Even if she didn’t get the chance to use it, she wanted it.Neededsomething to feel safe again. “Get me a knife. One that I can conceal in my dress. Please.”

Chapter5