Page 4 of A Promise of Lies (Shadows of the Tenebris Court #3)

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Bastian

I whirled, glass cracking under my boots, and found Faolán in the doorway. Rose, Ella, and Perry peered around him, and I spotted the dark gleam of Asher’s hair in the antechamber beyond.

I dragged in a breath, calming myself, and used my shadows to sweep the worst of the destruction to the edges of the room so my friends could enter.

“What’s the plan, then?” Faolán asked, like it was that simple.

Rose gripped her hands together and nodded with fierce determination, despite her eyes gleaming like she was fighting tears. “Whatever you need—I’ll help.”

I blinked from one to the other. “You mean… a rescue?”

“Of course.” Faolán raised one shoulder as if it was obvious. “We march in and get her. You have secret passages and other spy stuff, don’t you? What’s the point in all that if you can’t use it in a moment like this?”

“Bastian.” Asher picked through the fine debris left on the carpet, sparing Faolán a pointed look. “Remember who you are. You know better than this. We have to be more subtle. We’ll spirit her away the moment she’s in a lodestone.”

At his shoulder, Perry gave a soft, sad smile, brow crinkling. “I know it’s hard to wait, but it gives you plausible deniability. We can make it look like a kidnapping.”

“And how long do we have to wait for that?” Faolán’s tanned face bunched up in a glower that would’ve made a weaker person piss themselves. But, to his credit, Asher stood firm, even as the shapechanger took a step closer and growled, “We can’t leave her there.”

As their argument went on, Ella remained silent, arms folded. Although she was half Faolán’s size, it was her glare that forced me to look away. It was something that had been honed to a fine point—the kind that could find a gap in even the strongest armour.

At that moment, she hated me.

And it was deserved. She understood what had dawned on me during my conversation with the Night Queen. She knew I was responsible for her friend’s current position.

What I was about to say just might make her hate me more. But it was the best thing we could do for Kat right now.

I drew a long breath like I was about to dive deep, deep underwater and maybe never surface. “No.”

Faolán whirled. “What?”

“There will be no rescue attempt.”

“ What ? You can’t be serious.”

Rose paled, but a muscle in her jaw solidified.

Asher sighed, nodding. “It isn’t easy, but it’s the right decision. If we wait until the perfect moment, we can form a plan that?—”

“No.” I cut him off. “There won’t be any sneaky kidnapping, either.”

His dark eyes went wide, but it was Perry who spoke. “Then… what do we do?”

“Play the game,” Ella’s voice cut through the quiet. Her gaze still bored into me as though the others didn’t exist. “Whispers. Subtlety. Stick to the rules, but twist them so they’re barely recognisable. Isn’t that what fae do?”

She made it sound like something sordid, though it was just what we were. Bargains ran through our veins, each with laws to define them.

I bowed my head. “It is.”

“Good.” She bit out the word. “Because if you don’t play the game, Kat will pay the price. And you’ve done a shit job so far.”

“Ella!” Rose took a step forward. “That’s a bit harsh on Bastian. He?—”

Ella cut her off with a look. “It’s true, though, isn’t it? Especially after that little show in the throne room this afternoon. I may be relatively new here, but one thing holds true across human and fae courts— never reveal your heart .”

I flinched: my own words used back at me were a punch to the gut.

She stalked closer, apparently unconcerned that I dwarfed her as she pointed a finger in my face. “ Your queen let him take her. Hells, for all we know, she volunteered Kat.”

“No. She told me Cyrus wanted her.”

But Ella snorted. “And you don’t think she could’ve twisted the truth?”

“She wouldn’t.” That was more Sura’s style—she’d made it sound like Braea had killed Nyx, deceiving Kat without uttering a lie. I shut my eyes and drew a breath, shoving those thoughts aside.

When I looked again, Asher was frowning, gaze distant and troubled. Faolán stared at Ella, mouth open. Rose worried her lip and wrung her hands. At least some of them thought Ella’s accusations might be true.

Finally I inclined my head, thoughts under control, body no longer humming with anger. Instead, a buzzing ache settled behind my eyes. “You’re right. Not about the queen, but I do need to play the game.”

Remember who you are . I’d spent years building the persona of the Bastard of Tenebris. Now I had to use it to keep Kat safe.

“Though I’ll need your help—all of you.”

They leant in with murmurs of agreement.

“We’ll pretend she was just warming my bed. She’s of less value to my enemies if they believe I don’t care about her.”

Ella scoffed, though she was no longer pointing at me. “You think you’re that good an actor?”

“I swear to you”—I held her shoulders—“I will do everything in my power to keep Kat safe. I swear .”

Normally she looked away from my gaze, unnerved by the glow, but this time she held it. Finally, she inclined her head. “Don’t make me have to go mining for that hunk of iron, Marwood.”

Once before, she’d threatened to forge her own iron blade and use it to hunt me down if I ever hurt Kat. I didn’t doubt she’d follow through on that promise.

“I wouldn’t dream of it.” I squeezed her shoulders before releasing her and taking in the whole group. “Help me spread those rumours. We need to use any allies we can in Dawn—not that there are many.” I had my spy, possibly Elthea, though it was hard to tell what side she was on in any given situation. I suspected she cared only for her experiments.

Asher tapped his lower lip. “What about Caelus?”

I couldn’t help wrinkling my nose.

“Yes, you dislike him.” His eyelids fluttered like he resisted rolling his eyes. “But he seems to like Kat, and he’s never been a fan of Cyrus. He has an interest in keeping her safe, even if it’s because he thinks it might earn him some… gratitude.”

Dislike wasn’t quite the word for Caelus. He didn’t seem like a bad person, but… “I’m not sure we can trust him.”

“Not with our lives, perhaps,” Perry added. “But with Kat’s? I think we can.”

Asher took a step closer to her, perhaps unaware he was doing it. “At least consider it.”

I grumbled and pinched the bridge of my nose as the pounding in my head grew. “Fine. I’ll think about it. But for now, can you all get out so I can go to bed?”

Rose chuckled as though relieved at the tension deflating. “Subtle hint taken.” She gave me a quick, hard hug before leaving. The others clapped me on the shoulder or squeezed my arm as they made for the door until there was only Faolán and me left.

“Even if it’s not a rescue, we’ll get her back,” he said, voice more gruff than usual, as though he was having to force it. Jaw and lips tight, he nodded, then pulled me into the kind of enveloping hug only he could give. “Trust her,” he muttered in my ear. “She’s strong. She can survive this.”

I squeezed him, eyes burning. I didn’t trust myself to answer, so just nodded against his shoulder.

He slapped my back and pulled away. “Get some sleep, Bastian. You look like shit.” But he tempered it with one of his half smiles before heading to the door.

“I love you too, Faolán,” I called after him.

He dipped his chin, then left.

I trudged to my bedroom, scrubbing my hands over my face. I was going to have to tidy as best I could tomorrow, then formulate a major apology to the cleaning staff. Gifts, a bonus, an extra day off—nothing quite seemed enough.

When I dropped into bed, those thoughts drifted away, and I called for the lights to fade.

In the darkness, I reached for the other side of the bed, but there was nothing.