Page 47 of A Crown of Tears and Treason (The Curse of Silver Secrets and Cruel Shadows #1)
Chapter
Forty-Seven
EVIE
“ A nd then, when she announced you will protect us,” Leesa cooed as we headed back to our home, the streets now empty. The Capital had its curiosity sated, the torches had been snuffed out, the gates had been closed, and Phoenix Peak was silent once more.
I’d stood on those temple steps, shoulder to shoulder with Zandyr, watching over them as they hurried back to their houses safely.
We had to keep a cold distance between us as the advisors stalked our every move, but this strange connection we had allowed us to feel each other. Faintly, but there was something there, at the edges of my mind, that I hadn’t sensed before.
The sensation was…daunting, yes. But I liked the weight of it against me.
I enjoyed the idea of him there . It made me feel like we would be facing all of this together.
The pressure of leading. The schemes of the advisors who’d sent a pair of sickly-sweet smiles my way as they left.
“Such a show.” Banu had tilted his head in a mock bow.
I deigned to look at him from the corner of my eye. “Was it everything you’d hoped it would be?”
Banu’s smile widened, sharp teeth on display, as if he wanted to take a bite out of me. “Very revealing.”
I’d suppressed a tremble. What had he seen?
“It was pointless, Banu,” Zandyr had said with all the boredom in the world. But rage pulsed through him so hard, it heated up the side of my body closest to him. “We all know what’s going to happen, Oracle or not.”
How could Banu’s grin turn even more sinister? “Clans decisions always benefit from reassurance, Your Highness. Especially when we have just dealt with a breach in our sacred Archives.”
I didn’t move a muscle, though my face wanted to twitch in a victorious grin.
“Such a shame that.” Valuta slid up to Banu, Kaya trailing behind with her head down, the perfect pious daughter. “What mindless, selfish being would cause such a ruckus?”
“Someone who could.” I’d clenched my jaw. They either didn’t know the scrolls were missing or had discovered their absence and were hiding it. What for? “It’s a miracle no other heinous thing happened.”
Like dying as the vines impaled me. I’d covered my sudden tremble with a warm smile toward Kaya.
“Hey,” I’d said gently.
“Hello,” she’d replied, not raising her eyes. She’d looked like a strong gust of wind would knock her down. A damn miracle the Oracle’s magic hadn’t–or messed up her hair, which still looked shiny and perfect and tall.
“Our daughter is feeling the stress of the past weeks.” Valuta had cooed, encasing Kaya’s shoulders with her bony fingers. “She needs her beauty sleep, we shall retire.”
“Of course, children are the most important,” Zavoya had said with all the might of a true queen and the compassion of someone who should have raised her own son better. “Which reminds me–Zandyr, may we have a word?”
Another bolt of fury speared the connection between us. “If the king and queen demand it.”
“Your parents are asking ,” Zavoya had said gently.
He hesitated, tugging on the invisible rope that somehow tied us.
At the bottom of the steps, Leesa, Goose, and Adara waited. I nodded imperceptibly at Zandyr. We would see each other later, away from prying eyes.
As our little group walked back to the house, my mind raced with too many questions in the stillness surrounding us.
“What’s going on with Kaya?” I whispered to Adara, who strode next to me with that calm confidence of hers.
“She has a lot of pressure on her,” Adara said, though her voice had a weird chill in it. “She does what she thinks she can. Hard to have a conscience in that family.”
“I’m worried about her.” Kaya had looked depleted. If she was that ill, why drag her to such a public event?
“Worry about yourself.” Adara gave me a knowing look. “Kaya doesn’t have a target on her back.”
A bigger target, as of tonight.
“They’ve missed me so far,” I said with a courage I didn’t feel.
“All it takes is one good strike.”
“Don’t worry, Your Grace. We’ll get to the bottom of this.” Leesa puffed up her chest. “Goose and I will decipher the scrolls. I can unwrap them, but he’s better at old tongues.”
“I’m sure Goose is very adept at tongues. He just needs to practice more,” Adara said.
I covered my laugh with a cough as Goose went absolutely red in the face.
Leesa frowned her small blonde eyebrows up at him. “What does that mean? I can help you practice your ancient languages if you want.”
Adara huffed a laugh; it was good to see her more relaxed. She’d been wound up tight for weeks. “Oh, he does, trust me.”
“I’m really grateful to you both for helping,” I interjected before I started laughing so hard I couldn’t stop; the hectic energy from meeting the Oracle still coursed through me, begging to be released. Poor Goose had just stopped stuttering when Leesa was around him. “I’m sure you’ll do an excellent job, especially together. Goose has helped me out in ways I couldn’t have imagined.”
“I heard,” Adara grumbled beside me.
Goose cleared his throat. “It was my pleasure, Your Grace.”
“You were very brave,” I said to Goose and looked pointedly at Adara. “ And the only one who knew how the Archives worked. No point in risking more lives.”
Adara tightened her lips, but said nothing further. I didn’t either. There was still a gap between us that needed to be stitched, but things were calmer.
Tonight, no guards waited at my fence. A rush of excitement raced through me. Excitement?
“That’s trouble,” Adara whispered, right hand already reaching for her knives.
“No, that’s a message.” Zandyr’s velvet voice echoed from behind.
I turned around as if pulled by that same invisible string. Now I understood the sudden thrill pulsing inside. Zandyr hadn’t been there a second before. Fast as the wind, this one.
He leaned against one of the statues, one leg bent and arms crossed in front of his chest, the perfect image of power and grace. But his face–it radiated victory. Whatever had happened tonight filled him with the cool confidence of a conqueror.
He pushed himself away from the statue and the shadows, prowling toward me. There was a message in his darkening gaze, too. A hunger, completely honed on me.
“Forgive the interruption.” He stopped in front of me, inhaling deeply, as if he wanted to imprint my scent into his brain. Heat rose up in my cheeks; I must’ve been as red as Goose now. “I came to steal you away.”
Not taking his eyes off me, he nodded at the others. Adara shuffled away with Leesa and Goose, leaving the two of us alone with this delicious tension.
My heart pattered. Gods, the air around us had heated up fast. “Again?”
“Worked out well the first time, didn’t it, menace?” His voice was molten desire, drawing me closer.
“I haven’t decided yet.”
“Then I need to be on my best behavior,” he said playfully. He was in the best mood I’d ever seen him in. “Wouldn’t want you having second thoughts so close to the wedding.”
“Do you?” I’d meant it as a joke, but as I waited for his answer, I realized I truly wanted to know. We’d started out so rough, a mere hollow transaction we’d both been forced into. Despite the talks of fated mates, doubts lingered.
“About you? None.” He tilted his head to the side, watching me in a way that made me feel completely naked, even with the layers upon layers of fabric on me. “Though we could do with fewer flowers. My mother has probably cut down all the fields east of the Capital to make the Phoenix Peak bloom with our new love .”
A giggle escaped my lips. I couldn’t help it. His playfulness was intoxicating. “That’s actually nice of her. I’m glad she’s tackling all the wedding organizing.”
“She’s been dreaming about it since before I left the cradle. But enough talk of the current queen.” He offered me his arm, a devious glint in his eyes. “The streets are empty, you are mesmerizing, and I have a surprise. Will the true Queen do me the honor of her company tonight?”