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“Fine,” Samuel said, though he pulled away. Isaac let him. “You know. Great.”

“And we’ll get the power of yours under control, I promise.” He leaned in his chair. “But there is your reputation to think of as well.”

“Oh?”

“Yes,” Isaac said. “Did His Majesty tell you about the ball tomorrow?”

Samuel swallowed hard. “Yes, he did. I’m not entirely sure it’s necessary—”

“Please, Samuel,” Isaac interrupted. “The rumors of you are already spreading fast, and we have to get ahead of them.”

“You sound like Shan,” Samuel muttered. It always came back to this, didn’t it? Image. Reputation. Power.

“Ah, yes,” Isaac said, glancing away. “Shan LeClaire. I suppose I should warn you of her as well.”

“Shan?”

Isaac nodded. “Yes, Shan.” He raked his fingers through his hair. “I’m sure you’ve noticed that she’s very clever, but you need to be careful. She could do amazing things for you—she’s going to be a very powerful player. And yet…”

He drifted off, and Samuel leaned closer. “And yet?”

“You don’t want her as an enemy, Samuel,” Isaac said, sadly. “Once you lose her trust, I don’t know if you can get it back.”

Samuel studied him closely—Isaac wouldn’t quite meet his eye. “Speaking from experience?”

“It’s complicated.” Isaac stood, cutting off the conversation. “Just be careful with her.”

“For my sake or hers?”

Isaac hesitated, then, “Both?”

Samuel wanted to push—he knew that he could get the full story out of him, if he wanted. If he just gave into the lure of his power. But Isaac seemed so sure of his goodness that the impulse died as soon as it bloomed. He believed in him, and Samuel might not know much, but he knew that he couldn’t just throw that away.

“Okay,” Samuel said, and Isaac relaxed.

“Let’s get these books checked out for you, and I’ll call you a hack.” He held up his hand, stopping Samuel straight out. “You are not carrying all this on your own.”

Samuel laughed. “Oh, fine.”

“Good. You go home and enjoy your ill-gotten gains.” His lips curved into a too-tempting smile. “Read a bit. I’ll stop by tonight with other books, and I’ll give you the rest of the details about the party.”

“You really don’t have to—”

“I insist,” Isaac said. “But I promise that I won’t take up too much of your time. Now come on, let’s get you over to Charlotte.” Taking half the stack, he made his way back towards the entrance, the ward shattering around him as he passed through.

Chapter Sixteen

Shan

Shan stood off to the side, nursing a glass of vintage wine and watching the couples move around the dance floor. She had to give Isaac credit—he sure knew how to throw a party. He had taken the ballroom of the Royal Palace, rarely used despite its regal design, and transformed it into the party of the year. All the best people of Dameral were here. The musicians were exquisite. The food simply divine.

Though she was here as Isaac’s particular guest—it seemed he was indeed sincere in his attempts to woo her back to his side—he was off performing his duties as host. He had given her the first dance, the most important dance, then begged off to see about something. Whatever it was, he didn’t do it simply because his duty demanded it. She had seen real excitement in him.

And she was nearly certain that the task had something to do with Samuel. The King had demanded that this was to be his introduction to society, and though he didn’t attend functions such as this, it only made sense for the introductions to come through Isaac. The Royal Blood Worker. His right-hand man. She was only mad that she couldn’t have been the one to do it herself, but he was the King’s now, and they were running out of time. Despite their attempts to keep this from getting out, rumors were already spreading about the sudden reopening of the Aberforth home and the stranger who had moved in.

So she waited in the shadows, taking shallow sips of her wine to keep intoxication at bay. Tonight the nobility of Aeravin would be completely upended and she wanted to be sharp enough to take it all in.

The whispers started suddenly, moving from one end of the room to the other, spreading fast and furious as fire. There! Isaac was showing Samuel in, and already the vultures were starting to flock. Even from her hiding spot, she could hear some of the things that were being said, caution thrown aside in the desperation to be the first to know.