Page 10 of A Promise of Lies (Shadows of the Tenebris Court #3)

9

Kat

A couple of days after the announcements on the royal balcony, I had dinner with the other guests from Dusk, as well as Cyrus and his favourites from Dawn. Much to their annoyance, he placed me at his side, like I was a prize he wanted to show off. The Shadow’s human, stolen out from under his nose.

But he still wasn’t used to his new limitations as the Day King. It was only when Adra came and reminded him of the time, just as he called for dessert, that he realised the sun was about to set. Cursing, he hurried away.

I suspected he didn’t want to fall into his enchanted Sleep in front of us—that would be an unacceptable display of weakness.

After, Amandine and I made our way through the palace without a soul in sight. Until, that was, I turned into the corridor leading to my suite.

For once, I spotted him before he cornered me. Red hair, tall—for a human. Heart lurching, I stopped dead and ducked out of sight, causing Amandine to give me an odd look.

Uncle Rufus, hanging around near my rooms. Whatever reason he wanted me alone couldn’t be good.

“I need you to keep him away,” I told her. “He’s… dangerous. To me, at least.”

She cocked her head, eyes narrowing.

“ Please ,” I whispered, throat clenching around the word.

She surveyed me with a frown and eventually inclined her head. “I see.” With that, she marched on ahead.

Sagging with relief, I backed away from the corner, unable to stand the sound of my uncle’s voice as she caught up to him.

Amandine coming to my rescue. It was quite the contrast with this morning when she’d stopped me leaving the palace to take Vespera for a ride—one that would take me past Kaliban’s house and Ariadne’s atelier… perhaps even somewhere I could bump into Bastian.

The thought of him was a constant barb. Or perhaps the place where a barb had once been and now was only the tear where it had been pulled out.

I had to turn from that longing, since my attempts to leave the palace had been foiled. I couldn’t even leave Dawn’s side of the palace. Amandine had blocked me from the grand hall lodestone, stating with a smirk, “King’s orders.”

I’d hoped Cyrus would at least pretend I was a guest and allow me?—

A hand clamped over my mouth. Sharp nails dug in to my cheek as I tried to cry out, but their grip was tight. Pulse pounding, I reached for my magic, but there was nothing.

That fucking bracelet.

When I tried to twist away, something dug into my back, perfectly placed just below my ribcage. I froze.

“There,” a feminine voice breathed in my ear. “You understand now. Silence. Obedience. That’s all I want from you.”

Those two words made my whole body leap to obey. They were etched on my bones.

“ Urgh .” The form behind me shuddered.“Iron.” There was a faint rustle, then darkness fell over my eyes. The point of a weapon still against my back, she gripped my arm and compelled me onward.

Had Cyrus sent someone after me? Did he know? If I was killed by an intruder, he could claim innocence—the perfect way to get rid of me.

We walked for several minutes. I strained to listen, but there was no sign of another person or hint of where we were, just the muffled pad of my feet on carpeted floors.

The threat of panic lingered in my throat, a lump I couldn’t swallow down.

I tugged on the bracelet, but it held fast.

Definitely no magic.

And no weapons. I yearned for my pistol or bow, for the moth-hilted dagger. We’d had our weapons taken upon entry into Dawn, and Bastian’s orrery along with them. The best I could do was some hairpins—they’d cause some damage if I could get a good shot at her eye or throat. The soft bits, as Faolán would say. I had to wait for the right moment.

If she took me somewhere quiet and cut my throat, the knowledge that Cyrus was behind the fake Hydra Ascendant would die with me.

We stopped and there was a faint grinding sound, then cool air wafted over me.

Outside. She was going to kill me in the gardens—neutral territory, less blame on Dawn.

As soon as she took this hood off, I’d grab my hairpins and?—

Soft golden light revealed a courtyard I knew well, and as I reached for my makeshift weapons, I froze, because that light touched a face I knew even better.

Charging forward, I made a sound that was trapped between a laugh and a sob. “Bastian.”

Eyebrows peaked together like he didn’t dare hope I was real, he met me halfway and swept me up. I caressed his cheeks—warm, spiked with stubble, exactly the shape I’d held a hundred times before—his neck, his shoulders. I buried my face in them and clung more tightly to him than I’d ever clung to anything.

I soaked him up. The scent of cedar and bergamot and work. The warmth that seeped through my clothes. The gasping rise and fall of his chest as he crushed me against it.

It felt like an age and yet still not long enough by the time we eased apart.

His gaze skimmed over me. “Are you all right? Have they?—?”

“I’m fine.” I nodded, smiling even though my eyes burned with unshed tears. “Are you?—?”

“Infinitely better for seeing you.” He let out a shaky breath, like some part of it had been held for a long time, before kissing my brow and squeezing me close again. At least a few of my tears soaked into his shirt. “Wait.” Shuddering, he pulled back. “What’s?—”

His gaze snapped to the bracelet. “Iron. And he’s locked it on you.” A growl edged his words, reverberating into me.

I held the sensation in my chest, something I could keep when we were parted again.

Straightening, he looked past me. “Did the guard see you?”

“She was distracted by the uncle,” my abductor stated. “I’ll give you some privacy.”

There was something familiar about the feminine voice, but when I turned, the speaker had disappeared behind Dawn’s door.

“Who is that?”

“My spy in Dawn. She’ll escort you back, too, though probably with the hood.” His mouth skewed to one side as he watched the door shut. “Better for her and you that you don’t know her identity.”

That practicality kick-started my mind. I needed to tell him about Cyrus. The possibility of an alliance with Sepher and Zita. The fact I wasn’t allowed to leave?—

“I have a plan to get you home.”

I blinked up at him, a hundred words caught in my throat. A plan. Home . With him and Ella and our other friends. Escape from Dawn and Cyrus. Thank the gods.

Thank the fucking gods .

Every muscle in me sagged and I would’ve fallen if he hadn’t caught my shoulders.

“The taboo worked against us for long enough, but now we can use it to our benefit.” A smile threatened on his lips as his gaze skipped between my eyes. His throat rose and fell, long and slow, then he took a deep breath and dropped to his knees.

“Katherine Ferrers.” He said it like my name was a complete sentence—a complete story in its own right. Silvery eyes piercing me, he held my hips. “Marry me.”