Page 20 of A Traitor Sister (Remnants of the Fallen Kingdom #2)

20

LIDIANE

A zur is standing outside his door, arms crossed, one foot on the wall, his posture deceivingly casual. He’s no longer naked, thankfully. Instead, he’s wearing a sleeveless leather tunic and trousers, perhaps to match his carefully prepared dashing, careless look. He’s also wearing his black hat again.

When he sees me, a flash of fury in his eyes betrays his true state of mind. I’m starting to wonder if he thinks it’s my fault Zorwal isn’t dead or my fault he summoned Renel. I don’t know, and I hate having to wonder.

I enter his room in silence, unsure if my greeting should be friendly or cautious.

Behind me, he closes the door, then grabs my arm and pulls me away from it.

“Stop it.” I push his hand away. “I haven’t given you the right to lay your fingers on me.”

“Oh. You had no problem holding my hand earlier.”

“To transcend? That’s different.”

“To steal my secrets. All my secrets.” He approaches me and raises a finger. “I know who you are, Lidiane, and I know who your master is.”

My name shouldn’t have led him to deduce anything, and I don’t understand why he’s talking about a master.

“Listen, not everyone’s like you. Me, for example, I don’t serve anyone.”

His laughter is sharp like a knife. “Oh, the privilege! And yet you chose to work for that creep.”

Does he mean Larjax? I haven’t seen him in such a long time, and he was never my master. “What creep?”

“Marlak.”

That’s his problem? I chuckle. “I do not work for him, nor is he my master.”

“Is that so? Astra came to the Court of Bees coronation wearing an incredible dress that was one of the talks of the ceremony.”

My chest swells with poorly-timed pride. I’m sure Azur isn’t praising my craftmanship.

He continues, “Now, who made that dress? Astra was seen coming from Serenade, and there’s only one dressmaker in that village with the skill for such a dress. Lidiane, a pretty fae with dark skin and hair like clouds before rain, just like yours.”

His comparison is terrible. “My hair’s not gray.”

“I meant black—like rain at night. And I appreciate that at least you recognize that it’s you I’m talking about. Spare me your denials and non-answers, and you’ll save us both time and patience.” His eyes lock on mine, as if expecting an excuse, a denial, or even an apology. All I can give him is defiance.

He breaks the eye contact and runs a hand through his hair. “Astra’s dress was made to measure, there’s no doubt of that, which meant you spent time with her. Now she’s here, and it’s clear you’re quite comfortable with each other.” When his eyes find mine again, the blue in them is a spark of anger. “You’re under Marlak’s orders, aren’t you?”

With his power, Azur can intimidate anyone, I suppose, but I’m not going to cower, not to him. I roll my eyes. “Marlak disappeared, in case you weren’t aware.”

“He’s always hiding. Why would you claim he disappeared?” The finger he points at me is an accusation.

“Whispers.”

“Spare me. Spare me. Do I have to remind you how many secrets of yours I hold? Do I have to threaten you? Spare me and tell me the truth. Are you Marlak’s ally?”

“Yes,” I say it clearly, with no shame, because I have none.

Azur exhales and looks down, his features downcast, as if disappointed. Wasn’t it what he was presuming?

I continue, “But I didn’t come here on his orders. I don’t know where he is. I was worried about Astra, that’s why I came. There’s no big plan, no conspiracy.”

Azur snorts. “Such hypocrisy. You seem all worried about the lower fae, then you serve Marlak.”

“I don’t serve him.”

“Making a dress for his wife counts as serving. Or what was it?”

“I’m a dressmaker. I can choose to make clothes for any client I wish. I don’t serve .”

His anger is replaced by something akin to shame. “Serving is disgusting, right? Is that what you think?”

I swallow, regretting my previous words that reached him like a splinter poking at his pride. “I think it must be uncomfortable.”

Azur bangs a hand on a wall. “What are you here for? Tell me.”

All my regrets about making him uncomfortable are gone. “To protect the human guest. It’s obvious, isn’t it?”

He waves a finger in the air. “No. Oh, no. That is not true. If you were protecting her, she would be far from the castle by now. Why is she still here?”

“Her husband disappeared. Her master’s here. Where do you think she can go?”

He sneers. “You do take me for a fool, don’t you?”

I wonder if he realized I never said she’s still here, but I’m also getting tired of his questions, his accusations. “You knew I wasn’t a castle servant, and yet you let me stay. What’s your plan?”

“I’m the one with the questions here.”

“You know my secrets, but I know yours too.”

“Don’t even try going there, Lidiane. Your secrets are far more numerous and greater than mine, and where my life is in danger, so is yours.”

“Shouldn’t you be worrying about that? About whoever summoned your master?”

He waves a hand. “I’ll soon find out. I want to know who you are first.”

“Fair. Want to know? I was raised by a dressmaker, a lower fae. Difficult childhood, even more difficult because of my status. My dream was to become the biggest, most famous dressmaker in the kingdom, and yet it makes no sense to try to do that, to try to keep fighting just for a small, tiny chance. It makes no sense to create beauty when everything around me is ugly. I want a better world for the lower fae, and for a moment, when I was with you, on that tower, looking at the Jewel City, I thought you wanted it too, but it’s not true. You were just following your master’s orders.”

He stares at me, mouth open, eyes wide. I’m thinking he’s about to stop his questioning, but then he goes back to his accusing mode. “What part of bound guardian don’t you understand?”

“The part where you pretend to care about the fae your master oppresses. Were you trying to trick me?”

“No.” He looks down. “When everything happened…” He closes his eyes. “And then everything after that. I regretted bringing you. I wanted to see your magic, wanted to see who you were, that was all. I thought it would be an easy, straightforward task. That was why I brought you along. I was wrong, and I regret it.”

“You didn’t even ask my name.”

He shakes his head. “If I recognized it, and depending on who you were, I’d need to tell Renel. In fact, I’ll have to tell him. What I don’t understand is how you thought you could just saunter into the Crystal Castle, stay here and spy on us, and not be discovered. It sounds either dumb, naive, or else you counted on my help.” He frowns. “Perhaps… manipulated me.”

“The true answer is that I trusted destiny. Sometimes you trust, let go, and the flow of life takes you where you need.”

He rolls his eyes. “Naive, then. But I just want to know one thing: why would you be Marlak’s ally? Marlak, of all people?”

“Why not? A lot of lower fae like him.”

Azur laughs. “It’s absolutely ridiculous. Marlak has no love for lower fae, or for anyone he considers beneath him.”

“So you know him?”

“Have you met his beloved sister?”

“You’re going to slander the dead now?”

“Not my plan, no. I stick to truths. Take the most degenerate villain you can imagine, and you still won’t come close to Mirella.”

I can’t believe what he’s saying. “Are you really accusing a child of being evil? A dead child?”

“She was thirteen when the family deaths happened. Evil people show signs early.”

“Well, I don’t commune with spirits, so I’m not her ally.”

“But you support her dear brother, who stood by her when she mocked and intimidated anyone she could. You may not like Renel, but I assure you, he’s a saint compared to his siblings, and I’m not saying that because I’m bound.”

“Lower fae are being enslaved under Renel’s rule, and you think he’s great?”

“I didn’t say that. What I mean is that Marlak’s horrible.”

“He was a child when his sister was alive.”

“A child who chose to align with the powerful people around him, who chose to align with his horrible stepfather, with his vile stepsister. A child who ignored his brother.”

“The keyword here is child , Azur. I met Marlak before the accident, and he was already kind and has shown nothing but kindness since. Still, I don’t work for him on a regular basis other than maybe a favor here and there. I’m not following his orders or enacting any plan for him. I’m just trying to protect the human girl.”

“Because she’s his wife, isn’t it?”

“No.” It can’t be, since I’m talking about Tarlia, who’s not his wife.

Azur frowns. “Does he love her?”

“Most definitely no.”

He pauses, takes a deep breath, then looks up, thinking. “Something here isn’t right. If you wanted to protect Astra, you’d get her out of the castle as soon as you could. I saw her trying to escape, so don’t come up with that story that she has nowhere to go. Perhaps she doesn’t, but she was risking her life trying to get out of here.” He stares at me. “What changed?”

“I came.”

He frowns. “And convinced her to stay?”

“I wouldn’t say that.”

His stare is deep and piercing, and then he breaks into laughter. “Did Astra leave the castle?”

Oh, no. I think he’s catching on. Still, I shrug. “Yes, obviously. You were there when we came to the festival.”

“The old fae trick of unrelated sentences. You won’t fool me, Lidiane. Did Astra come to the festival?”

There’s a chill at the tip of my fingers moving to my body. I don’t know if I can still save this, but I can try. “You brought us. You saw who was there.”

“I’m asking. Was Astra there? Did I transcend Marlak’s wife to the festival? Or was it an impostor?”

I try to come up with an answer, but I take too long.

Before I have a chance to reply, he says, “Your silence is quite persuasive—and damning. Your main magic is glamours, isn’t it? It makes total sense.” He laughs. “An impostor. Can’t believe it. I’d say the plan is ingenious, if it wasn’t so frail. So Astra escaped, perhaps already met Marlak. Why is the impostor still here, risking getting caught? What’s the point?”

“We want to make sure Astra’s safe, and Marlak as well, that’s all.”

He narrows his eyes. “Is that all? Or are you perhaps hoping to dig some secrets or even dig into Renel’s skull?”

“I don’t plan to kill him.”

“What of the girl?”

“I don’t think she wants to kill him.”

“Think.” Azur snorts and shakes his head, then points at me. “You deceived me.”

“Did I? What did you think I was?”

“Not Marlak’s ally.” His anger has dissipated, and he’s thoughtful now.

I don’t know what he plans to do to me, but if he’s smart, he’ll kill me—and get rid of the only person who knows what he did to that council leader.

I consider my options, but soon realize there are none; I have no chance to win a fight against him, and I can’t escape the fae who’s likely the most powerful transcender in the world.

He’s calmer when he asks, “Do you want to protect the human impostor?”

“Yes.”

He raises an eyebrow. “Do you care about your life?”

I stare at him, unsure if he’s threatening me.

“I’ll take it as a yes,” he says. “You’re going to escape this castle. Go. Nobody watches the servants who leave, and you can use your glamour. Take the impostor. Or don’t take her. I don’t care. After sunset, if I find out you’re still here, I’ll tell Renel who you are. I don’t think you’ll like it. Oh, and do not try to use glamor to evade me. I can see you. I can sense you anywhere you go. So leave.”

“Am I supposed to believe you’ll let me walk away and face no consequences?”

“You want a deal? Leave now, and I promise I won’t tell Renel you’re Marlak’s ally, unless I don’t have a choice, but at that point, you’ll be far away, and you’ll face no consequences for that.”

“Why?”

“Why?” He chuckles. “This castle’s a dangerous place, and I don’t mean just Renel. There’s Zorwal or whoever is impersonating him. You talk of destiny, but the flow of life sometimes throws you against a boulder.”

“I mean why are you letting me walk away like that? Facing no consequences?”

He blinks. “I’m not going to state the obvious. Now go.”

Nothing’s obvious, but there’s no point trying to understand his motivations. I approach the door but turn around before I reach it, as I still have a question hanging on my mind. “Who do you think summoned Renel?”

“I don’t know.”

“Do you think… it was someone else pretending to be him at the Jewel?”

Azur shakes his head, his face grim. “His magic’s quite unique, in the way he can extract information and break bonds, break minds. I’m sure it was him.” In a lower voice, he adds, “I’m also sure he was dead when we left that prison. I’ve seen people dying before, and I know what I saw.”

“So who summoned Renel?”

“I don’t know. It’s one more reason you should leave while you have time. Go away, hide, and don’t come back. You’re free to leave, and freedom is a treasure not to be squandered.”

A treasure he doesn’t have.

I wonder what kind of person he could have been if he had never been bound, then realize there’s no point in wondering what could have been. I nod, and he reaches for the doorknob.

There’s a knock right before he opens it.

A guard stands in the hallway.

“Sir, His Highness Renel summons you.” He glances at me. “And lady Lidiane.”

Azur looks at me and grimaces, then turns to the guard. “I’ll be in his quarters in a moment.”

“Not his quarters, sir; the council chamber. He’s with Zorwal.”

Zorwal.

I guess life’s about to throw me against a boulder.

RENEL

Z orwal’s summoning me. Of course he is. Of course he’s alive, and most definitely not dead, like Azur thought. Who even dies from hitting their head? Fine, some fae and humans do, but not Zorwal, obviously.

Azur must have sent him a soft puff, pushed him, and for some bizarre reason decided he was dead.

Great.

Got my hopes up for no reason, and now I’m falling face down toward reality. Zorwal has helped me, and for a long time, I appreciated his support, except that now the hand that guided me has gotten tighter and tighter, and it’s strangling me—but I don’t know how to escape.

The relief I felt when hearing Zorwal was dead caught me by surprise, but the more I think about it, the more it makes sense; he makes me feel trapped, and if he were dead, I would be free. The issue is how to kill him when his magic is so strong.

This will be the worst audience with him ever, now that I worry about whether Azur was spotted, and how it will implicate me. All because I didn’t want five random fae to die. They’d die because of me, though. Saving them was the right thing to do—right, but risky.

The guard opens the door leading to the council chamber and I walk in, keeping my demeanor calm, my face relaxed, even if my mind is about to catch fire.

Zorwal stands by the high chair, facing the back of the room, and I take a long look at his head. No bandage, no wound, nothing. I make a mental list with a few profanities to tell Azur when I see him next.

I killed him, I’m sure.

Right. Unless an impostor was in the prison. Maybe I can hope?

The door closes behind me and I flinch, waiting for the blasts to come.

Zorwal turns, his eyes narrowed like slits. “What exactly were you and your guardian doing?”

I pretend not to notice his tone and smile, keeping my voice relaxed and casual. “We went to the Summer End Festival in Caraneya. It was a little slow at this time?—”

“Quiet,” he hisses.

I don’t feel any cut, as I was expecting. No cut at all. Far from relieved, I’m terrified of what he’ll do next, and struggling to keep all that fear buried deep where it cannot come to my face.

Zorwal steps from the dais and stands in front of me, so close that if I were just a little more foolish, I could try to strike him.

He asks, “Why would a king go to a peasants’ festival?”

“Isn’t it a good idea to commune with my subjects? Show them I’m like them?”

“Idiot.” This time, I feel a cut in my arm. “Are you like them?”

“High fae also go—” A cut on the back of my hand makes me want to scream.

“Foolish child. You don’t want to look like them . Your subjects need to see you as their ruler, as better than them.”

I lower my head. “That makes sense.”

“Makes sense,” he mocks me. “You talk like a bird, knowing nothing of what you’re repeating. Listen to me, Renel. Is it the plebs you need to please? Are they the ones keeping you in power?”

“Your advice, Your Grace, is that it’s the powerful families that keep me where I am, that if they were to oppose me, I’d topple like a rotten tree. I know that.”

“Then why sully yourself in a festival like that? Why would you go anywhere with your bound guardian as if he were your friend? Your bound guardian should serve you, not make a fool of himself.”

Even though Zorwal is angry, I’m relieved that he hasn’t mentioned the escaped prisoners yet. “You’re wise, Your Grace.”

He lays a finger on my face as if examining me. I close my eyes, wondering if he’ll inflict some new type of torture.

“And who were the females accompanying you?” Malice and threat lace his gentle voice.

I don’t want him paying attention to Astra, or realizing what she is. Why did I have to bring her to that festival?

“Pretty girls.” I shrug.

“Hmmm.” He wrinkles his nose, and I brace myself for the worst. “There’s something else; the Desert Keep guards. Have you heard anything about them?”

All my silly hopes to be spared of that subject evaporate in a second, but I manage to hide my worry and say, “I sentenced them to death this morning.”

“And that’s all you know?”

“After the council meeting, I soon went to Caraneya. Is there anything else you’d like to inform me?”

“They escaped.”

I frown, as if confused. “I thought they were held in the Jewel City.”

“They were.”

“It’s the safest city in the kingdom, walled and protected on our sides. If someone steps out of a prison, they’ll still be in the city. Haven’t they been found?”

“Alas, no. Do you know anything about it?”

I pretend to think, then say, “It could be related to whatever happened at the Desert Keep. Giants could help them escape, but they wouldn’t?—”

“Nitwit. No giants would come so far south.”

“Fair. What about the guards keeping the prisoners in the Jewel City? If they weren’t enchanted, they would have seen what happened. Were they questioned?”

Zorwal exhales. “What do you think?”

“I’m wondering what they said, what they saw.” Yes, I’m most definitely wondering about that.

“Nothing out of the ordinary. Nothing. It’s as if the prisoners vanished.”

I blink. “Is that possible?”

“Apparently it is.”

“What if there’s a secret passage in the inquiry house? That could be a good explanation.”

“Hmmm. I will investigate.” He waves a hand over me, healing my cuts. “Now, I’d like to have a word with your companions. I haven’t spoken to your guardian in a long time, and I’m eager to meet the girls who caused your foolishness. Summon them, please.”

It’s sheer will that keeps me from trembling. While it’s possible that Zorwal hasn’t connected the prison breach with my trip, there’s a chance he’s aware that something’s wrong. Now, if I protest or refuse to summon them, it will only make things worse.

“Of course. I’ll bring them here.”

I’m heading to the door when I hear, “Stop.”

I turn and see Zorwal smiling at me, a friendly, jovial smile that now chills my blood. “I want you to stay and wait for them. Just tell a guard to summon them right away, on your orders.”

My orders—which Azur cannot refuse. And Zorwal wants me to wait here, so we won’t even have time to agree on a story.

“Of course.”

I do as he said, and tell the guard to summon Astra, Azur, and Lidiane.

If Zorwal finds out Azur can transcend like he does, we’re doomed. If he finds out Astra is Tiurian, I don’t know what will happen.

I’ll have to think fast—and hope Azur and the girls understand what I mean.