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An unfortunately accurate assessment.

Ber tore open the seal and opened the folded scrap of paper tucked inside. Tes leaned against his shoulder as he held it between them. Peaceful, had the contents not held such danger.

I felt my brother’s departure most acutely, though I’m told he’ll return from the city soon enough. But I worry. It is a mantle of greatest weight that falls upon me now, one that must cause my retreat. As such, I do hope you will pass along my regrets to your father for missing tonight’s dinner. I fear that by the morrow, all will await word of my brother after hiscareless trek into the darkest parts of the realm. Maintaining a vigil is my duty.

Regards—S.

He read the letter again—then several times more. Had the lady truly hidden so many layers within her words, or was he overthinking? Selesta couldn’t have felt her brother’s death, could she?I’m told he’ll return.The tone implied that she didn’t believe those words. And that mention of a mantle. Did she refer to the weight of her worry…or to something deeper?

“The dukedom must have passed to her,” Tes whispered.

His gaze darted to his wife’s face. “What do you mean?”

“Think of how Llyalia works. The power passes to the next in line. Or at least…” She pressed her lips together, clearly unwilling to say more. “At least that’s how I’ve always understood the Llyalian throne to work. Some of our older noble families use similar magic. The transfer simply happens, the power passing to the next closest. Aony must be one of those.”

Ber reread the letter with that in mind, his heart dropping with every word. If Tes was correct, that mantle was authority, not sadness. One Selesta claimed would cause her retreat. Did the lady intend to flee the castle? She had to know that the king would hunt her relentlessly. There was no way she could just…disappear.

Abruptly, Tes stood and marched toward the door. “I’ll sneak through the tunnels and talk to her. If that’s still possible, of course.”

Now? She wants to risk the tunnels now?

Fear squeezed Ber’s chest until he could barely breathe. What if her father lingered in the passages? He clearly had no compunction about killing someone there, and their people already believed Tes dead. There was too much danger, especially so soon. The thought propelled him after her.

He caught her wrist a few paces from the tunnel entrance and swung her around to face him. “No. No, my love.”

Her eyes flashed. “Stop it. We both know the risk. We always have.”

“It’s too much.”

“We need to know the full meaning of that message,” Tes argued.

His heartbeat pounded in his ears as she glared up at him. Lady Selesta could do what she willed. He couldn’t bear the possibility of his wife disappearing the way Aony had. Incinerated. Gone. Dust swept into the forgotten recesses of the centuries’ old tunnels. The thought really was too much beyond bearing.

He leaned one hand against the wall, forcing her back with his presence. “We don’t. Not tonight.”

“What has gotten into you?” Tes demanded. “Our next actions are vital.”

“Youare vital.” He gave the stubborn jut of her lip a quick nip, and her answering sigh filled his mouth. “There’s too much danger. Perhaps during dinner, it will be safer.”

She sagged against the wall. “Is this a new thing for you? Shoving me against walls to get your way?”

The mental image of claiming her while she held a knife at his back flickered through his mind, and his lips lifted of their own accord. “Possibly.”

Tes poked his chest. “I don’t like it.”

He shifted closer. “Maybe I should return to my previous method of convincing. The one I used last time we were in this position.”

He couldn’t help but savor the little catch in her breath.

“What were you trying to convince me of then?” she muttered. “I rather thought you lost control when I nibbled on your ear.”

“I wanted you to anger you into killing me.” His smile widened. “I suppose it wasn’t very effective.”

This time, though, he couldn’t fail to sway her to his way of thinking. He had to keep her out of those tunnels at any cost.

Even if it earned him her anger.

Tes’s brows drew together.What was Ber’s problem? Nothing about this situation had been safe, least of all her ventures in the tunnels. Was it Aony’s death? Part of her could understand the worry that must have caused, but death was a possibility for them at any time. One wrong move in this game couldalwaysbring the end.