Page 176 of A Court of Wings and Shadows

“No,” Remy said. “I’m saying he already has.”

The words settled like dust in a crypt.

“At least until the king dies,” Remy added.

Meri cursed softly under her breath. Cade ran a hand through his hair, pacing toward the wall.

I stared at Remy. “So what happens now?”

He didn’t answer right away.

But the look in his eyes told me everything.

We had a new enemy.

Theron.

The healer’s room felt too small for the reality of what we were discussing. Meri had left us in silence, but her expressionbefore she’d gone said it all, she knew this was bigger than anything we’d faced yet.

Zander leaned against the far wall, arms crossed tightly over his chest, the band of freshly healed skin still faintly pink beneath his tunic. Cade paced behind him like a caged blade, all sharp glances and unfinished thoughts.

Remy stood near the window, half-shadowed, the light casting jagged lines across his face. I was between them all, my thoughts spinning with every possibility.

“We can’t let Theron tighten his grip on the throne,” Zander said, voice low. “Not while the king still breathes. Not while we’re still breathing.”

“He’s manipulating the court,” I added. “Twisting their fear to his advantage. They think he’s stabilizing the kingdom, but he’s orchestrating the chaos.”

“And no one sees it,” Cade muttered. “They see a son supporting a sick king. They don’t see the strings he’s pulling behind the curtain.”

Zander’s jaw clenched. “We have to expose him.”

“To who?” Remy asked sharply. “The same court that already doubts you? The same lords he’s bought off? Even Dorian is walking a knife’s edge with the other kingdoms, if you go after Theron publicly without proof, they’ll call it treason.”

“Then we find the proof,” I said. “If he’s funding or even involved with the Varnari?—”

“He is,” Cade interrupted, turning. “At least partially. One of my sources in the outer kingdoms said the new leader of the Varnari, whoever they are, rose to power just after Theron’s agents made a quiet visit to their territory. Said it was about ‘military strategy.’”

Zander’s head turned sharply. “And you didn’t mention this?”

“I didn’t know it meant this,” Cade shot back. “But if Theron is using these sects to destabilize the throne… he’s worse than a usurper. He’s a traitor.”

The silence that followed was heavy with unspoken truths.

Then I looked at Remy. The question had been sitting like a stone in my throat since the accusation on the Ascension Grounds.

“Did you tell him?” I asked softly.

Remy blinked. “What?”

“Did you tell Theron I used my blood to save Zander?”

His gaze locked onto mine.

And for a moment, just a breath, I saw something flicker behind his eyes. Guilt? Shame?

“No,” he said finally. “I didn’t have to.”

My chest tightened.