Page 41 of A Promise of Lies (Shadows of the Tenebris Court #3)

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Bastian

B oth parts of me came together to bury Sura. I chose that same hilltop where I’d burned myself a month ago. She’d loved her city, and this spot gave her a view of it with the sunset beyond.

By the time I got back to the palace, it was a perfect midpoint between Braea leaving me in the gardens and the coming sunrise. I forced myself to her quarters. There were too many questions that needed answers and I wasn’t sure I could function until I got them.

Her assistant, Ennet, showed me into the bathing chamber with its sunken bath. Pink tinged the foamy water and the washcloths hanging over the side.

“You have a report for me?” She glanced up from pulling a wide-toothed comb through her tight curls, distributing a thick cream.

Like this was any other night and not whatever the fuck this had been.

“You killed Sura.”

“And you didn’t.” She arched one eyebrow. “I have to wonder if that was deliberate.”

I took a half step forward, the movement a burst I didn’t intend. Pull yourself together . The Serpent didn’t lose balance, didn’t react. He was calm, even when Bastian Marwood was hurting.

“You saw me that night. You know I gave everything, did everything I could to save you. I thought I’d killed her, and I was proud to do so— for you .”

She held my gaze a long time, comb falling still. “You did. And I am grateful for it every day. I suppose a changeling could explain her survival.”

“And what about tonight? What happened?”

“Hmph.” It was a dark sound that rippled across the bath’s surface. “She came here to set in motion her plan to get rid of me. Thankfully, I was able to defend myself.”

“Braea.” Her name echoed around the chamber, blunt. “I know she was cuffed in iron. Powerless.”

“Does it matter what she was in that moment? She’d come here to take my throne. She’d already tried once before and apparently dying wasn’t enough to deter her, so here she came, back again. I simply did what needed to be done.”

Was that how she thought of my mother’s death too?

She showed no remorse. She didn’t even seem remotely distressed by the fact Sura was dead or that she’d been forced to take her life.

Kat was right about Amaya. If Braea found out about her…

Braea cleared her throat. “No one can know.”

My head snapped up. “What?”

She frowned like it was obvious. “About Sura. What happened tonight or that she was still alive in the first place. I worry what they might think of… of you . People will make all sorts of parallels between one death and another. After Kaliban’s arrest, they might wonder if you were part of the coup all along.”

All sorts of parallels .

What she really meant was, if they knew she’d killed Sura tonight, they’d start to wonder about Nyx’s death, too. And Nyx had been beloved by Dusk Court and a sizeable portion of Dawn. She had no coup to count against her. The mourning had lasted months, with little shrines popping up all over the city.

Or so my fathers had told me. I’d thought it odd that they should share that story all of a sudden, but now it made perfect sense.

There were other things they’d said over the years that now hit differently. They’d told me about Nyx, how wonderful a queen she would’ve made, how clever she was, how determined. Sharp with a retort, but kind as well.

What parts of her did Braea see in me? How much did she see the daughter she’d loved so much, right up until the moment love hadn’t been enough and keeping her had become more important?

“Bastian?”

I yanked myself back from the drowning thoughts and inclined my head, calm like the Bastard who was only here because he had a job to do. “We will keep this information close to our chests.”

But one other thing my athair had said pricked my thoughts like a burr. That infernal book of hers . Kaliban’s words, then tonight Amaya had mentioned infernal magic.

“There was one more thing. Something my— Kaliban said before the end. He mentioned a book you had. It sounded like it contained powerful magic.” I trod carefully. “I thought it might help us, especially since I saw the Wild Hunt on the palace’s island.”

Her eyes widened for a second, just like they had when she’d seen me tonight shrouded in shadows. “A book? Really?” She scoffed and raked the comb through her hair viciously. “You know his mind wasn’t what it once was. Did you hear he was found on the street shouting nonsense at people? No wonder his neighbours reported him.”

She made it sound like he’d lost his mind, but he’d been entirely rational.

Hitting a knot, she scowled and attacked it, ripping out as much hair as she untangled. “You know, I always wondered why he didn’t leave after Sylen’s death. Now I suppose I have my answer. He stayed so he could help with another coup attempt. I would not pay any attention to anything he might have said.”

“I see.” Taking a stiff step back, I excused myself.

“Pay him no mind at all,” she called after me.

I did see. Too well.

Braea could not be trusted.