Page 12 of A Promise of Lies (Shadows of the Tenebris Court #3)

11

Kat

B uoyed by seeing Bastian, I set to work the next day. At lunch, I was my most charming, my most attentive, my most fawning with King Cyrus. Rather than trying to disappear, I laughed at his jokes and praised his stories. It was grotesque, but I found myself smothering a smirk rather than a sneer.

Because I was going to fucking destroy him and he would never see it coming.

However, as lunch went on, I noted something guarded in him, and that was enough to quell my satisfied smirk. Maybe he did suspect. Already? Was I being too perfect?

No. It was the change. Too sudden and too extreme. As far as he was concerned, I was Bastian’s and loyal to him. Of course my fawning was suspicious. I needed to convince the king that I’d turned my back on the Night Queen’s Shadow.

The question was, how? If I suddenly started making disparaging comments about him out of nowhere, it would seem even more suspicious. I needed an opportunity to show His Majesty that an insurmountable barrier stood between us, and not just because I was in one court and he in another.

And no, the irony of now wanting the king’s attention when I had so desperately tried to avoid it was not lost on me.

After lunch, I was left to my own devices, save for my constant shadow, Amandine. Feigning boredom (though it wasn’t really a lie, since I had so little to do—no friends to visit or magic to hone), I asked her to show me the library.

Like Dusk’s, this one was huge. The ceiling vaulted overhead with walkways at different levels, providing access to the higher shelves, and a maze of bookcases threading deeper into the cavernous room.

I worked my way around the shelves, which contained all sorts from thrilling adventure novels to ancient tomes of history. Amandine stationed herself near the doors, which gave me the opportunity to thread between the shelves and dip out of sight for a short while. By the time she came looking for me, I had a thick anthology of fairy tales. Just some “frivolous” reading, as my father would’ve called it—but tucked inside was a smaller book of ancient legends.

I hadn’t forgotten about the Crown of Ashes. We’d scoured Dusk’s archives, but here was a chance to see if Dawn had more information.

So I tucked myself into an armchair and read, searching for any mention of the mysterious item.

Over the following days, this became my pattern, including Cyrus remaining aloof. That problem was on my mind as I made my way to a break in this new routine. With Amandine hovering over my shoulder, we walked through the sky blue and gold corridors of Dawn, heading to the gardens where yet another celebration of great King Cyrus awaited us.

I’d spent all morning in the library and had eaten lunch at his side while he only smiled cooly at my best efforts to be winning. I needed that opportunity—the sooner, the better.

“Are you ever going to tell me where you disappeared to?” Amandine’s voice broke through my thoughts as we reached the door to the gardens and her grip locked on the handle.

I gave her a questioning look.

“When you sent me after your uncle.” Her brow tightened. “I wouldn’t mind, but I really thought you needed help, that he…” She shook her head. “But you fooled me—just another lying human.”

She looked… hurt . Like my deception was a personal affront.

Still, her question was one I couldn’t answer. “I… I know I disappeared, but I swear what I told you was true.”

“I hoped you would volunteer the answer, but it’s been days and nothing. Now I ask and you still won’t say.” She scowled and loomed over me. “If you don’t tell me, I’ll tell the king how you disappeared off somewhere.”

Shit.

Fine. She thought she could threaten me. It was time she learned I wasn’t so defenceless.

From within her shadow, I thrust out my chin and returned her glare twofold. “Please do. I’m sure His Majesty will be thrilled to know you didn’t obey his orders and keep a close eye on me.”

She rocked back on her heels, eyes round, as though she hadn’t expected me to strike back. She huffed out a breath as I threw the door open, and we went on our way in a frosty silence that was at odds with the sunny day.

Bright music accompanied the dancers and acrobats dotted through the gardens, but my attention skipped past them. With the city’s warmth enhanced by magic, roses had emerged early in a riot of pink, yellow, and white. Frivolous, like Father had called those books, and yet… I couldn’t help loving them.

As we approached a gaggle of guests admiring the dancers, I fingered the fine velvet of my dress, imagining it was the soft touch of petals. Someone from Dusk wore the deep violet colour I’d once dreamt of breeding into my roses.

Like any party, I was offered a drink, which I accepted, but I ended up drinking it alone, save for Amandine lingering at the edge of the crowd.

I was Dusk in the middle of Dawn, so none of Cyrus’s people would talk to me. The Dusk hostages kept to the cool distance they’d established on day one. And although other fae from Dusk were here, since this celebration was open to both sides, they only glanced my way with stiff nods and apologetic smiles.

We might be in the same place, but that didn’t mean we could mix. I was off-limits, spelled out harshly by the pastel pink dress I’d been forced to wear. I was running out of options that (barely) fitted.

I bit back a sigh and took the smallest possible sip of my drink. I needed to keep my head, and it was hard to gauge the strength of fae drinks.

Then I spotted something that made me want to gulp the rest of it down.

Impossibly dark hair cut through the crowd. Bastian. He looked bored, eyes half hooded as he spoke too softly for me to hear. Ella clutched his arm, leaning close.

My heart tripped and fell.

“Oh, Bastian!” Ella swatted his chest and fell into him. He caught her effortlessly, a faint smirk curling his lip. “You’re positively incorrigible!”

Eyes turned their way. Heads bowed together. Murmurs snaked after them. Glances flicked towards me.

I couldn’t blame them—Bastian and Ella were putting on an excellent show. It was only because I knew them so well, I caught the strain in Ella’s voice and the tightness of Bastian’s smirk.

I’d suggested Ella pose as Bastian’s new lover. What better way to convince everyone he didn’t care about me?

Despite that, the response in me was physical— real . It swirled the tiny amount of alcohol I’d consumed, leaving me feeling like I was one jolt away from throwing up over the nearest performer.

But that physical response at spotting them could prove useful. If I harnessed it, this just might be the opportunity I’d been searching for.

I skimmed the crowd, checking Cyrus was nearby. Yes, that golden hair and cruel crown glinted just over there. Perfect.

Breath held, I clenched my fists around the crystal glass as I stared at Bastian and Ella. I kept up that tension until it trembled through me and my pulse pressed at my throat and face. My skin must’ve flushed by now.

Remember that horrible sinking feeling , I told myself and flung the glass to the ground.

Its tinkle brought all eyes my way, and that was my cue to charge.

“How could you?” I burst at Bastian before turning to Ella. “And you ? I thought you were my friend.” I couldn’t quite summon tears, but I made my voice waver convincingly.

For a single beat, Ella blinked at me, then her eyes widened as she caught on. “How dare I? Are you truly that self-absorbed? Can you not imagine a world where he might want someone other than you ?” She laughed, lip curling in this cruel way that was wholly un-Ella. “You truly think you’re so special?”

Bastian made a faint sound of derision, but he was less helpful in this subterfuge, since he couldn’t directly lie. “Did you expect me to wait and not touch a single person while you were gone?”

“Now, now, Bastian, darling.” Ella’s voice went higher, needling. “We should be honest, my love. This isn’t new. We were just waiting for you to be out of the way.”

Oh, very good, Ella . Sticking the knife in further, making it seem they’d been fucking behind my back all along. She might be even more devious than I was.

I tried to believe it, imagined how that would feel, threw myself into its darkness. I wallowed in the frustration that I was being kept away from the people I cared about and the one time I got to see them, we had to put on this stupid pantomime.

My vision swam with tears, and I looked up at Bastian.

He froze.

“No,” I said in a stage whisper. “Say it isn’t?—”

“Stay away from him,” Ella growled, and the next thing I knew, I was flying through the air, her arms wrapped around me.

Bloody hells, I didn’t realise this was going to be a contact sport.

The gasps surrounding us were certainly the effect I’d hoped for, but I wasn’t supposed to be on the floor with Ella on top of me.

“Sorry about this,” she whispered as we rolled around. “You’ll never touch him again,” she cried out before lowering her voice again. “I’ve hidden the lock picks. Thought I could use this to get close enough to tell you.”

Two birds, one stone.

Well, we couldn’t leave our audience with a bad performance. I used my weight to swing on top of her. “You think I want to touch him now I know where he’s been?”

Ella flashed a short sharp grin, then grabbed for my hair. She took a good handful, and I followed where she lead as she brought my ear close to her mouth. “Bench by the great trees, under a mossy stone, six inches wide.”

I gasped and reared back like she’d whispered the worst insult imaginable in my ear, then pulled my arm back for a slap.

Before I had to work out how to deliver a convincing strike without hurting her, a strong hand wrapped around my wrist. I blink up at the face cast in shadow, backlit by the sun. He gave a gentle squeeze, and I understood who it was before I could see clearly. Bastian.

It had been almost a week since we’d last touched, though it felt more like months.

“I won’t have anyone harming what’s mine,” he said, a growl edging his words as he hauled me to my feet with ease. And for a moment, barely the blink of an eye, there was this desperate tightness to his features that told me how much he meant it. He meant one thing, while everyone else heard something different.

To them, he was saying he wouldn’t have me hurt Ella.

But the truth was something else entirely.

No matter the distance between us—even a different plane of existence. No matter whose domain I lived in. No matter the dangers. He would do anything to keep me safe.

Including pushing me away, which he did now. His thumb rubbed over the soft skin of my wrist for a fraction of a second before he let go.

It was the safest I’d felt in so long, and I held on to it like a drowning man to a lifeline. Behind me there was the sound of someone else helping Ella up as I glared up at Bastian like he really had replaced me.

He towered over me, glaring. “I think it’s time you accept the truth about my feelings, Katherine. Ella is at my side now and you embarrass yourself.”

I clenched my jaw, chin wobbling, then huffed, spun on my heel, and flounced out of sight towards the Great Yew and the Great Oak.

It had all been a lie, a ridiculous performance, but my heart pounded like every word had been true.

I fixed my gaze on the two trees. They dominated the sky—the oak’s new foliage emerging yellow green and the yew’s constant needles a cooler blue-green.

The Great Yew stood for Dusk Court. Its trunk had split in two centuries ago, struck by lightning as Ari had once told me, but instead of dying, it had grown tall and wide.

At its side, Dawn Court’s Great Oak seemed fresher and more vigorous, its single trunk thick and unblemished. The newness was merely a trick of the bright spring leaves unfurling.

Nearby stood a bench. Perhaps because the trees were sacred, no performers had set themselves up here. It worked for me—I had the area to myself, and I was out of sight of the other partygoers.

I spared a glance back. Amandine. Damn. Not entirely alone. I needed to be subtle. Never thought I’d find myself longing for wide skirts, but they certainly would help hide what I was doing as I retrieved the lock picks.

When I turned towards the bench, I found myself face-to-face with Cyrus.

I gasped and clutched my chest, drawing attention to my cleavage. Fae women tended to have more slender figures, and I’d caught plenty of fae eyeing my curves. Exotic. Enticing. Tools I could use.

“Your Majesty!”

As I bowed my head, I bit back a curse. Amandine keeping an eye on me and Cyrus blocking my way. I would have to come back for the lock picks.

Slowly, Cyrus smirked. “Katherine.” His eyes flicked to one side. “You’re dismissed.” He waved his hand, shooing Amandine away. “What an interesting party this is proving to be.”

My heart tripped over itself. Did he know what I was up to? If his fae hearing had picked up Ella’s whisper…

Eyelashes fluttering, I cocked my head like I had no idea what he could be referring to—certainly not the lock picks that were mere feet away.

“The exchange between you and the Serpent and his new human.”

I huffed out a breath, gaze dipping away so he wouldn’t see the flash of relief. Instead, I frowned, letting him think my harsh sigh was over Bastian and Ella.

When I dared look up after long seconds of silence, he was watching me, his attention sharp enough to cut. The glint in his eye made me want to squirm, but it gave him away.

He’d enjoyed our little show. He’d liked seeing the supposed rift between us and the way everyone had stared.

I wondered how deep his enjoyment went. Time to test it.

I made my chin wobble. The poor human, so affected, so close to tears.

Almost imperceptibly, he leaned closer and one corner of his mouth rose.

He’d enjoyed our show, but he loved seeing me upset and weak.

Good to know.

That lift at the corner of his mouth twisted. “Missing the dashing Night Queen’s Shadow?” His mocking lilt raised my hackles, and I channeled the feeling into my performance.

“Not anymore.” I looked away, shaking my head.

“Oh?”

“It’s so strange, even before all that, I… now I’m away from him, I feel… different.” Hopefully that would cast my recent behaviour in a different light. If he thought Bastian had charmed me, it would help explain my sudden change of heart.

He made a thoughtful sound. “Almost as if you were… compelled. Did he ever?—?”

“My kingly brother, there you are.” The first thing I saw when I looked up was Sepher’s broad smile, showing off his sharp, sharp canines.

Zita sauntered up next to him, glancing my way with the briefest nod.

“Sepher,” Cyrus said with a sigh. “What a… Well, I was going to call it a delight, but the word just won’t come out of my mouth. Here you are —that’s true enough for me to say.”

“I’m so glad we feel the same.” Sepher’s gaze skewered his brother, and the promise of violence made me want to shrink away. “I have a bone to pick with Your Majesty.”

“Your guards won’t let us leave the palace.” Zita’s voice was no less dangerous than her husband’s look.

Cyrus’s face screwed up. “That was a week ago. Why are you bothering me with this now?”

I hated to agree, but he had a point.

Sepher took a step closer, towering above Cyrus—he was tall enough to tower over Bastian and might’ve even stood taller than Faolán, though he wasn’t as broad. “Because if I’d seen you that day, I would’ve ripped your pretty little head off your shoulders with your crown still intact.”

“Of course”—Zita gave a smile as sweet and sharp as a poisoned lemon tart—“if you’d prefer not to talk about it with Katherine present, I’m sure I can persuade my husband to take this somewhere more private.”

I held my breath and tried to look nonchalant. If they went elsewhere, I’d be free to go after the lock picks.

Cyrus huffed. “I can see you’re determined to have this discussion now. Just don’t expect me to thank you for not ripping my head off. Remember who’s king, Sepher.” He flashed his teeth in a sneering smile. “Lovely Lady Katherine, I must apologise that our conversation has been cut short just as it was getting interesting. You’ll excuse me.”

“Of course, Your Majesty.” I bowed my head, humble and demure… and definitely not excited to get on with my mission.

Cyrus angled closer, crowding in. “I look forward to the next time I have you to myself.” With that, he turned and swaggered away, calling for his brother to follow.

Sepher squared his shoulders and took a deep breath. “Hmm?” He scented the air, nostrils flaring, nose wrinkling as he searched for something. At last, he spotted the iron bracelet. The disgust was plain on his striking features as he made a low sound before stalking after his brother.

Even though it was silver plated, he’d scented the iron. Faolán’s sense of smell was even stronger than most fae’s—the same had to be true of Sepher as a fellow shapechanger. Perhaps I could use the fae’s distaste for iron to my advantage. Worth noting for the future.

Zita laughed softly, shaking her head. “I can’t believe he’s done that to you. The coward.”

“I’ve put up with worse.”

“I bet you have.” She said it like she knew—truly knew what it was like. And though I’d only had a handful of conversations with the woman, for that moment we shared something.

“You have the place to yourself.” With a nod, she backed away, and I could’ve sworn she winked as she did so.

Amandine was nowhere to be seen, so I ran to the bench, flipped over the stone Ella had described, and retrieved a small roll of black velvet.

As I tucked it away under my gown, I had to wonder whether Sepher and Zita’s distraction was a coincidence that happened to benefit me or a deliberate ploy to help.

Whether they were allies or just had good timing, I would use whatever opportunities came my way.