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Savage.

The reason Ever hadn’t shown up at the party was painfully loud and clear to Wren.

Lord Idril was a hedonistic monster.

How could my aunt ever agree to work with him? To work with him makes the rebellion no better than Soren himself.

Her fingers curled into fists and she took a step toward the nearest child who’d been leashed like an animal.

Wren had to stop it.

She had to stop it all.

20

WREN

“Stop this.” Her voice was a hiss.

Nobody listened to her.

Wren had spoken too quietly and there was too much going on around her. But when she repeated the words, hands curled into fists at her side, Vienne caught on to what she was saying and fired Wren a warning glare.

As if that will stop me.

Her aunt pushed through the crowd, shaking her head.

Wren was past caring about Vienne. Someone who stayed silent while others were abused was not family or friend of hers.

“Stop this!” she bellowed over the masked crowd, her protest echoing off the walls of the banquet hall for all to hear. All at once, the motion around her seemed to freeze. Her skin crawled as all eyes turned to her, pinning her to the spot. She attempted to regulate her breathing even as her pulse thundered in her ears.

Lord Idril’s easy smile wavered. “What sort of ruckus are you causing in my home? I’m all for screams, but not that sort.”

The crowd laughed uneasily.

Her aunt reached Wren’s side.

“Just stay quiet,” Vienne hissed, making to grab Wren’s arm.

“No.”

She wrenched herself out of reach, pointing at the nearest slave woman being forcibly undressed by two elderly elves with ruddy faces.

“You cannot expect me to abide by this,” Wren yelled out, though it was largely aimed at her aunt. “I refuse to cooperate with you if we allowthisto happen before our very eyes! Wasn’t the whole point of what we’re doing to free—”

“It seems our guest is overwrought,” Lord Idril commented with an icy smile.

Wren snarled when his warriors converged on her. A hand clamped around her arm, then another, then another and another. Through the crowd, two of Vienne’s men joined the fray and shook off two of Idril’s men.

It was a complete betrayal. How could they let this happen?

“Let go of me!” she demanded, turning on them. Her aunt’s men didn’t dare look her in the eyes while Idril’s smirked. “You cannot be all right with this. Youcan’t,you—”

“It seems the Dragon Princess has truly been tainted by her upbringing,” Lord Idril drawled, all at once confirming—though Wren knew in her heart he had to have known—that he was aware of who she was. He waved toward the door. “Return her to her room. We can’t be having such barbaric behavior ruining the evening.”

He wouldn’t get the last word.

“The onlybarbaric behaviorI can see tainting the evening is yours, you beast,” Wren growled. Lord Idril’s smile wavered for a moment when she bared her teeth at him. “You’re disgusting.”