Page 20 of A Promise of Lies (Shadows of the Tenebris Court #3)

19

Kat

I nside I found Zita and Celestine, pale-faced. Celestine was a tall fae with the kind of willowy figure my Dawn clothes had been designed for. She and Sepher had been close since childhood, but otherwise I knew little about her. She tended to look a little sickly, but not normally this ashen.

I frowned from them to Sepher. “What’s wrong?”

Zita straightened, lips pressed together. “It’s Adra—Cyrus’s assistant, and my father’s before that.”

Celestine’s eyebrows pulled together as her eyes went bright, while Sepher dropped into a chair and gestured for me to do the same.

From Celestine’s reaction, I had a horrible feeling I knew what was coming before Zita’s next words. “She’s dead.”

“What happened? I only saw her yesterday.”

Celestine sat forward. “She…” Her voice cracked as her lip trembled, and she shook her head, unable to go on.

Sepher’s large hand dwarfed her delicate shoulder as he comforted her. At my querying look, he cleared his throat. “When we were children, she was the one my father would send to summon us. She always had sweets in her pocket that she’d sneak to us, even if we were in trouble.”

“How did she…?” I didn’t want to upset Celestine, but the question gnawed at me.

The faint smile that had stolen over Sepher’s face as he’d described his childhood memory of Adra faded. “An accident. Apparently.”

Still stroking Celestine’s back, Zita scowled. “She fell down the stairs and broke her neck.”

“What?” I stared from her to Sepher, then back. “That can’t be true. When have you ever seen a fae so much as stumble?”

Zita bared her teeth. The ferocity suited her, since her canines were elongated like a fae’s—the mark of her fae-touched magic. “ Exactly .” She glanced at the door. It was closed. “She was found at the bottom of a staircase with a broken neck, but I don’t believe she fell for a fucking second.”

Aconite, fae-worked weapons, a broken neck. I added another cause of death to the ones I knew worked on fae.

“It’s obviously murder.” Sepher scowled into the distance, rubbing his lower lip. “But who and why?”

Remember the price…

Cyrus had threatened her not twenty-four hours ago. She’d been working for him before Lucius’s death: it was conceivable she knew something about the assassination plan or had grown suspicious. Cyrus absolutely would have someone murdered to keep his secret. Had he ordered one of his personal guard to kill her or done the deed himself?

And he’d announced Krae’s guilt, ensuring they would find no peace and be arrested or even killed on sight.

He was tying up loose ends. Anyone who could spill his secret.

And that included me.

For several seconds, I couldn’t breathe.

Cyrus could never find out that I knew he’d assassinated his father. He couldn’t even have the slightest inkling. He was not above killing me, just in case .

“Kat?” Zita touched my knee. “Are you all right? You’ve gone an odd colour.”

“It was Cyrus.” I swallowed and nodded, trying to shake off the fear that threatened to suffocate me. “I can’t tell you why, but I’m sure of it.”

Celestine made a soft, dark sound, like she’d kill Cyrus with her bare hands if he was here. Zita held my gaze a long while as if trying to read my thoughts.

“My brother, of course,” Sepher muttered. He gave a long-suffering sigh, then raised an eyebrow at me. “Bad news aside, do you have something for me?”

“You’re the one who delivered the news. But yes, I do.”

His eyes narrowed as he glanced down at my empty hands. “And, of course, humans never lie. How do I know you really have it?”

“You two have been trying to help me ever since I arrived here. Blocking my uncle just now and on my first day here. Getting rid of Cyrus in the gardens.”

Sepher’s face remained impassive, but it was Zita who gave him away by straightening and glancing at him.

“ Why ? You don’t get this until you tell me.” I fished the pen from my pocket and dangled it in the air so there would be no doubts that I’d followed through on my side of the hastily struck bargain.

In a blink, Sepher was standing before me. I’d never seen someone so big move so fast, not even Faolán. He bent over me, hands planted on the back of my chair, teeth bared in a vicious smile. “Or I could just take it from you.”

But I didn’t sit idly. I’d practised so I could work the lock on my bracelet by touch alone. In a moment, it clunked to the floor. “Oops. How clumsy of me. But at least it allows me to do this.” I flashed my teeth back at Sepher as I lifted my hand and let the purple poison creep over my fingers. Magic tingled through me, like the blood flowing back in after pins and needles.

With a snarl, Sepher took a step out of arm’s reach.

Celestine gasped, eyes wide on my hand. “Aconite,” she murmured, expression creasing into a glower.

Sepher’s tail swished left to right, and although he’d backed off, he still towered above me, body taut with readiness. The moment I lowered my hands or quelled my poison, he would take the pen and maybe even my life.

But I’d had enough of being threatened by men who were twice my size and thought their strength meant they could do and take whatever they wanted.

I held his gaze, even though his slitted pupils unnerved me.

After long moments of crackling tension, Zita sighed. “Sepher, darling, don’t be a dick. You threatened her first. Sit down.”

He shot her a sharp look, then me an even sharper one, but eventually plopped onto his chair, arms folded.

Celestine eased back into her seat, nodding her approval. “I think you can admit the truth to our new friend here.” She threw me a brief, wary smile.

Sepher made a low, grumbling sound. “I have my own reasons to be… less than pleased with my brother. He made too many years of my childhood… unpleasant, and now he’s fucking up my adulthood by making me fill in his stupid book and stay in his palace.” His gaze flicked to Zita and lingered. “I wouldn’t be angry if he were to become more acquainted with justice.”

Celestine watched as though expecting him to go on, but he said nothing more.

Maybe they knew Cyrus had killed Lucius but weren’t sure if I did. Under fae law, since Sepher was so closely related to the victim, it was his right to take Cyrus’s life. The problem was the evidence. If Cyrus’s guilt wasn’t proven, the rest of the world would consider it murder rather than a just execution.

Eventually, he shrugged. “I assumed you were under his charm. It was the only way I could explain you going anywhere near him. But it seems I was wrong. And I don’t know exactly what game you’re playing, Kat, but if someone’s toying with my brother, you can bet I’m going to help. If he’s going to keep me confined to the palace, it’s only fair he deals with the consequences.”

That didn’t sound like he wanted Cyrus dead for the assassination. He didn’t know.

Still, I chuckled at what Sepher had said and held out the pen. “May he reap the rewards of all his actions.”

“It’s all right. You can keep it.” He stood, making no move to take the prize. “I didn’t really need it. Asking you was just a test.”

“ What ? You sent me there just for a test ?”

“I got my answer about whether you were really for or against my brother. And I’m sure you found some answers of your own.”

Zita rose and squeezed his arm. “What my husband is trying to say is, we would welcome an alliance with you, Katherine Ferrers. Us against him.”

He made a thoughtful sound, tail finally calming. “Do you accept?”

An alliance with a fae prince? That had to come with all sorts of unexpected strings attached. “I’ll think about it.”

Zita flashed a grin. “I understand.” As Celestine stood, Zita started for the door, Sepher at her side, though his long-legged stride slowed as he scented the air with a frown.

It was only when I turned to watch them leave and felt the air prickle that I realised my gaze kept skipping over an area by the door.

Orpha, the half wraith operative who worked for Bastian. I’d met her in passing leaving Bastian’s offices, introduced by his assistant. Now, she lounged against the wall, clearly waiting for the others to leave. Her wraith blood made her hard to see. Not exactly invisible, but she could pass unnoticed.

I smothered any further reaction, and Zita and Sepher walked right past her and out into the hall.

“Oh.” Celestine made the soft sound as she drew level with me, and Orpha froze. Celestine was staring right at her, lips parted, eyes wide. A pink flush blossomed on her pale cheeks.

Orpha shot me a look that said “Oh shit” and slammed the door. She took three strides forward before I realised her weapon was drawn.

“It’s all right,” I blurted, stepping between them.

“No one can know I’m here,” Orpha gritted out between her pointed teeth. “It breaks all the agreements between Dusk and Dawn.”

“Celestine can be trusted. Can’t you?” I threw a desperate look over my shoulder and found her still staring at Orpha.

She blinked, swallowed, then nodded. “Oh. Yes. Of course.” The corner of her mouth curled as she stepped out from behind me. “No one will learn of this visit from me.”

Orpha paused, dagger turning in her hand as she eyed Celestine from head to toe, lingering on the embroidered hem of her gown. “Fine.” She returned the weapon to its sheath and jerked her chin at me. “If she breathes a word, you deal with her.”

I didn’t exactly want to poison Celestine, but I nodded, praying it wouldn’t come to that.

“I suppose I should excuse you two.” Celestine gave a self-conscious laugh and circled around Orpha, not taking her eyes off her. At the doorway, she paused. “Celestine. My name, that is.”

Orpha barely glanced over her shoulder and shrugged. “Great. Good bye, Celestine.”

Nose wrinkled, she waited for the door to click shut before speaking again. “I never had you down as someone with such… princessy friends.”

I winced at the casual dismissal of another woman. And for someone who said “princessy” like an insult, Orpha was eyeing the jewelled details of my gown very closely.

I didn’t really know Celestine, but she hadn’t done anything to merit my dislike nor Orpha’s. If anything, she seemed more friendly towards Orpha than she’d ever been to me. Offering your name was meaningful in Elfhame. “She’s also rather friendly and beautiful. Did you notice that?”

A furrow scored between Orpha’s eyebrows. “I came to deliver a message, not comment on the beauty of the women I encounter. Bastian’s had no joy looking for Krae in Dusk. Faolán and Rose tried to track their scent using the dagger used to stab Cyrus. There was no sign of them on the bridge, so…”

“They’re probably still in the palace.”

“That’s the suspicion. He’s still searching the secret passages on our side, but there’s a lot to get through.”

“And he can’t come to Dawn’s side without risking?—”

“A lot of shit.” She nodded, pale eyes wide. “There was so much chaos that day, Krae could be hidden somewhere in Dawn. He wants you to find an entrance to the passages and search on this side, but only if it’s safe.”

I laughed a little. It still felt like a novelty having someone else as worried about my safety as I was, when it had been solely my obsession for so long. “I already have a way in. I’ll begin searching today.”

Carefully , I thought, picturing the pit I’d almost fallen down.

She eyed the door, clearly ready to leave, but I caught her arm as she went to turn. Her gasp was so sharp, I flinched, worried I’d hurt her.

“Sorry, I?—”

“It’s fine.” She rubbed her arm, eyebrows bunched together. “Not many fae want to touch someone with any wraith blood. I’m not used to it. Is something wrong?”

I gave an apologetic smile. “Can you tell me anything else? I don’t get much information about the outside world here. My friends, are they all right?”

She blinked at me as though my questions were as alien to her as affection, and my heart squeezed in empathy. Not so long ago, I’d been starved of touch. Now here I was missing it, because it was something I’d grown accustomed to.

“Rose has been a little sick, but it doesn’t seem like anything serious. I hear humans get ill quite frequently. The rest are fine. I think the blond one misses you most.”

“Ella.” The back of my throat ached suddenly, and I had to swallow past it. “And beyond the city walls? Bastian’s work— our work?”

Her lips pressed together. “I’m not sure I should share business matters so openly.”

Good gods, I was trapped in Dawn because of the machinations of fae courts—this was my business.

I bit my tongue. What had Bastian told me about Orpha? He’d once grumbled about having to pay her an extortionate bonus for lugging a large quantity of books back from some ruins for him, so she had a mercenary streak.

“I could make it worth your while.”

Her gaze panned from the door to me. “How worth my while?”

“I’ll give you my next booking with Ariadne.” That was something money couldn’t buy and, to a fae, worth more than anything else I possessed. Besides, it wasn’t like I could go and see her at the moment.

Orpha’s eyelids twitched. Tempted, but not quite enough.

“ And I’ll foot the bill.” Bastian had paid me and aside from sending money to Morag and Horwich back at the estate, I didn’t have much to spend it on.

She grinned, showing off her full mouth of sharp teeth. “You have a deal. Bastian’s had a few of us checking on Hydra Ascendant’s activity… but there’s been little. No signs of large groups mobilising.” Her mouth twisted to one side.

“And? There’s something else.”

“They seem too quiet, if you ask me. I don’t think they’re planning a full scale invasion, but they’re up to something .”

“Of course they are.” I sighed and thanked her, before giving her the time and date for my next appointment with Ari so she could take advantage of it, but my mind was tangled up in Sura and what she might have planned.

What had she planted in my mind and then locked? She’d told me it would save Bastian’s life, but there could be more to it—something that might help us now… or something dangerous.

But the blank space in my mind remained, a spot my thoughts slipped around when I tried to remember.

I hoped it wasn’t a deal I’d live to regret.

Whatever Hydra Ascendant was up to, I couldn’t help uncover it—I had a king to deal with.

I’d once read an old story that included a curse I hadn’t understood in childhood.

May you live in interesting times .

Now I understood it all too well.