Page 105 of Ascendant King

With my hand, I indicated the direction of my office. Nia strode down the hallway in the opposite direction. Rhys looked after her, their expression conflicted.

Then they turned, walking toward my office with graceful steps, as finessed as a catwalk model. As we approached the door, Rhys lowered their voice. “How was she?”

“Worried.” I looked down, observing how strained Rhys looked when their features relaxed. Fine lines framed their eyes, and the wrinkles that could have been smile lines emphasized their frown. “Why were you out of touch for so long?”

“I’ll explain inside.” Rhys looked around, moving quickly into the office.

I exchanged a glance with Cade, and he shook his head, the confusion evident in his wide eyes and drawn brows.

As we got settled on the couches around a coffee table in the other half of the office, the door opened again, and Nia came in with a plate heavy with breakfast food. She unceremoniously placed it in front of Rhys, then handed them a fork.

“Thank you, sweetheart. I have noideawhat I would do without you.” Rhys leaned up, pressing a kiss to her cheek.

Nia held stiff for a second before settling down next to them, leaning against them so they touched from shoulder to knee.

“What’s going on with the other houses?” Cade asked.

“Well.” Rhys stabbed at a fluffy piece of egg, green flecks of kale mixed in. After swallowing, they said, “They were all affected by Thorn. It’s worse than we thought. All the houses have been suffering from decreased magic, the same as House Bartlett. But no one wanted to admit it.”

“Because admitting it would be weakness?” I asked, trying to see the shape of the politics.

“Yes. Also because there’s a long history of secrecy between the houses. It’s considered ill-mannered toshareany information. That doesn’t stop them fromacquiringinformation about other houses.” Rhys selected a bright strawberry, nibbling on it for a second. They glanced significantly at Cade.

“So they didn’t assume you were there as my envoy; they assumed you were there looking for a new house in light of House Bartlett’s civil war.” Cade nodded. “A smart decision. But how were the houses affected? Wolves have been going out of fashion for a while, and even if they weren’t, you just said that the houses have decreased in magic, meaning they wouldn’t even need consorts.”

Rhys spread their fingers wide. “As far as I can tell, each house had one or two strong mages left, like us. But you’re right. We might have beentellingeach other that wolves were unfashionable, but the reality is there are fewer consorts because fewer mages need them. And somehow, Leon got his drug to the consorts left. Creating… chaos.”

“Suddenly, a trusted friend, a companion, or someone that a mage was used to being subservient was acting like they had three doses of Reaper.” I blew out a sharp breath of air. “It went badly?”

“I don’t even think some of the houses noticed the loss of magic because they were left in so much chaos after the wolves rampaged.” Rhys rubbed their eyes. “One thing all the houseshavenoticed, though, is that House Morrison doesn’t seem affected. According toallof the gossip—and all the spies I got very well acquainted with—Morrison has acquired more power than any other house.”

“‘Acquired’ is one word for kidnapping mages and stripping them of their magic,” I muttered. “Did you see any evidence of their ley lines being poisoned?”

“Their what now?” Rhys’s eyes went wide, and first, they looked at Nia before swinging their gaze back to us. “Did you say theirley lines were poisoned?”

“We have evidence that the poison that affected House Bartlett was more widespread than we first believed.” Cade looked down, and I rested a hand on his back, feeling the heavy thump of his heart in his chest. He inhaled, leaning back into my hand. “With that in mind, I severed House Bartlett’s ties to our ley lines.”

“Where’s my water?” Rhys flapped a hand, and Nia started to get up. “I need to do a spit take.”

With an annoyed expression, Nia sat down. But the way she leaned against them, curling her fingers over their thigh, indicated she wasn’t actually irritated.

Cade outlined what had happened over the past few weeks. Rhys listened with rapt attention, only moving to take another bite of food. When Cade was done, they shook their head.

“Well, that’s something.” They shook their head again.

“If all the houses are weak, and they’re all still suffering from the aftermath of their consorts attacking them, then we need to find an in with the only house he could have gone to for allies.” I stroked my hand down Cade’s back, starting to pull back before he reached out, snagging my palm between his.

Rhys and Nia followed the motion with interest. Nia looked slightly amused, while Rhys looked absolutely delighted, going so far as to clap their hands before squeezing them between their knees.

Cade rolled his eyes, a high pink blush rising on his cheekbones. “House Morrison won’t be easy to speak with. I doubt Phelan will be as open as their last king.”

I wanted to rub my eyes, but I didn’t want to let go of Cade’s hands, so I settled for slouching back, staring up at the blank white ceiling. “I guess we need to talk to Miss Lizzie.”

Chapter

Thirty-Five

The guard outside Elizabeth’s room straightened when he saw us coming down the hall.