Page 106 of As Above, So Below

“Eve will be here before you know it,” she says, her blue eyes locking with mine. “I know during my shit days if I don’t wanna talk about it, I drown it in whiskey. And if you’re running around in a glamour… you’re having a shit day. This will help with all those pesky emotions and thoughts.”

Well, she’s not exactlywrong.

Camille snags the bottle, pulling it close.

“Does this work both ways?” I ask, laughing. “Do I get to ask you questions?”

“If you want to,” Camille replies with a shrug. “But you’ll lose if you play against me.” Her smile becomes playful. “I’m a champion at this,” she teases and I laugh.

“How did you remember my scent?” I fold my hands on the bar and lean forward, unable to keep the smile from my face.

“There are things you learn to remember as the owner of a tavern,” she answers, filling the two glasses yet again. “A fae’s face, a fae’s name, and a fae’s scent. And if you’re good at the job, their drink order.” She pauses, lifting her eyes from the glasses as she sets the bottle aside.

A fair enough answer.

“My turn.” She gives me a roguish smirk. “While your scent isverydistinct, you carry the scent of the Sovereign King. If I were to wager a guess, he’s the one you’re running from.”

What in the nine hells kind of witchcraft or mindreading is Camille capable of? Within the same heartbeat, my thoughts go from disbelief, to surprise, to confusion.

“I can assure you, I’ve never been close enough to the Sovereign King to acquire his scent.” While I say the words confidently, they sound strangely to my ears. “But yes, he is the reason you see melike this.” I present myself with a sarcastic flourish of my hands.

Camille gives me a once-over, dragging her eyes over my form. “Are you sure about that, Ves? I’ve had this place for nearly two hundred years, and I’ve never been wrong when it comes to scents. His is a smoky, saffron, and leather-like mixture—”

She stops abruptly as I sit upright, eyes wide.

Ryc.

She’s describing Ryc’s scent.

The scent that leaves me dizzy, drunk.

“No,” I say slowly, shaking my head as pieces fall together.

While I have not been close enough to pick up the Sovereign King’s scent, I have been close enough to Ryc. Taking my hand, pressing myself into him—that alone would be enough to pick up his scent for a short time.Mind whirling, small details from the last week begin to fittoo neatlytogether.

Lilith streaking through the hall, Ryc in her wake.

Lilith’s smile outside Ember and Ashes, Ryc watching from the shop.

The silver embroidery on Ryc’s cuff and the silver glint I’d seen when the Sovereign King moved his hand.

Ryc isn’t Lilith’s guard.

He’s the fucking Sovereign King.

“Impossible,” I breathe, disbelief washing over me like a cold rain.

Not once did I consider Lilith to keep the company of the Sovereign King. Andtechnicallyhe didn’t lie. He does protect her…

Because he protectsevery fucking mortal in this gods damned country.

I could scream.

Ifoolishlyassumed him to be a recluse based on Cora’s details, not the kind interested in attending something like a Moon Temple initiation or spending mornings in the Twilight Mire.

With a knowing smirk, Camille slides the shot of whiskey closer to me.

Heaving a defeated sigh, I grab it, lifting it to my lips. Slinging it back, my throat burns once again and I swallow, grimacing. The burning sensation pales in comparison to the chaotic hellfiretearing through my mind. My entire world has become ash in a matter of seconds.