Page 140 of Brimstone

“One of these days, I’m going to stop feeling like I’m on the back foot, here,” Carrion grumbled. “Why are you blushing, Saeris?You do not blush.”

“Never mind that. Just . . . I can blush if I want to, okay?” I exhaled, slow and steady. “Tal, the door to the tomb was barred, and those two idiots from your tavern were there waiting for us.”

“You have atavern?” Tal had just risen even higher in Carrion’s estimation.

My maker ignored the remark. “Yes. I told them to do it. I heard from Lorreth that Belikon’s advisor and a handful of his guards slipped through the silver while you were in the tomb last. I can’t have Belikon’s guards—oranyone, for that matter—just showing up in Ammontraíeth. It made sense to lock the door and post Anterrin and Khol there. I had to find something for them to do, didn’t I, since Lorrethmaimedone of them.”

“And that was supposed to keep magic users out? A locked door?”

“No, obviously not. It was supposed to give Anterrin and Khol enough time to alert me as to what was happening, so I could deal with the situation in a manner I saw fit.”

“Shouldn’tIbe dealing with any issues that come through the quicksilver?”

“Yes, Saeris, you should. But since you keep disappearing off with your mate and not telling me where you’re going, I have to be ready to take matters into my own hands, don’t I?” There was no malice to his words. No ire. He flashed me a beatific smile and started walking toward the door to his chambers. “I foundthiswhen I went to inspect the tomb for structural damage first thing this evening.” He reached the side table by the entrance tohis chambers and used a black silk scarf to pick up the weapon sitting on the polished wood.

It was one of the blades Belikon’s men had been carrying the other day. I had barely been able to affect them. They possessed unnatural properties—it had made my temples pound to eventryto read the metals with my power. Everything about the weapons had felt wrong. Even now, this one pulled at the light and leached the air from the room.

“I do not like this dagger. Touching it nearly put me in the ground for good. It made me . . .” He pondered the ceiling, frowning. “It made me want to peel out of my skin and throw myself into a burning lake of fire. It’s evil, and I do not want it in my chambers any longer.”

He thrust it out at me, gesturing for me to take it. I hadn’t felt the way he’d described when I’d fought Belikon’s guards, but then again, I hadn’t touched any of their daggers with my bare hands. It probably wasn’t wise to do so now, either, just in case. Maybe it was like a god sword. Maybe only its owner was supposed to touch it like that. I accepted the dagger from Tal, using the silk scarf to protect my hand the same way he had.

“Whatisit?” he asked.

“I don’t know what it is. Orious called it a null blade.”

“Never heard the term,” Tal said. “It doesn’t really matter what it is, I suppose, just so long as it isn’thereanymore. You need to throw it into a very deep pit or something.”

“And where might I find one ofthose?”

“Beyond the western ridge. Ride for thirty minutes in that direction and you’ll find plenty of holes in the ground.”

There was a knock at the door. Tal opened it, and a bone-thin female with razor-sharp cheekbones and eyes as black as coal stood on the other side of it. She wasn’t Fae. Wasn’t a high blood, either. There were strange, frilled gills at her elongated neck; however, it looked as though they had been sewn shut.Her straight black hair hung like a sheet of silk to her shoulders, hiding her mutilated gills for the most part. She bowed her head, surprise flashing over her face when she registered my presence. She was halfway to the ground when I reached out and caught her by the elbow.

“Please don’t do that,” I told her. “Not right now.” I’d well and truly had enough of all the kneeling for one day.

The female’s eyes widened, but she didn’t protest. “My apologies, Your Highness. Lord, I’m sorry to disturb you. I came to tell you that I had as yet been unsuccessful in tracking down the venerable queen for her fitting, but it appears that the fates smile upon me tonight. I’ve found her here with you.” The female placed her hand on her chest and bowed slightly, and the light caught on her metallic, talon-like fingernails. Her fingers were twice as long as mine and half as thin. There was something unnervingly spiderlike about them.

“Myfitting?” I asked.

“Yes. For the ball tomorrow night. Come in, Yanica. You can take her measurements while she’s here. She’s bound to slip away otherwise. You should measurehimup, too.” He gestured to Carrion.

I smiled distractedly at the female as she floated into the room. Once she was inside and had begun unraveling a black roll full of sewing implements, I turned on Tal. “I’m sorry, whatball?”

“The Evenlight Ball, of course. Don’t you celebrate that in Zilvaren?”

I was about to say no, of course we don’t, but I wasn’t able to. “We do, actually. But it’s a festival, not a ball,” I admitted.

“Madra stands on a dais and addresses the whole city for an hour,” Carrion added. “Ranting and raving about the dangers of magic and how mythical Fae monsters are trying to infiltrate thecity to corrupt us and steal our children.” He grinned, waggling his fingers.

I rolled my eyes at him. “After that, she gives everyone a double ration of water and a bowl of greasy stew, and then there’s music. It’s the only day of the year when people don’t have to work.”

“Soundsdelightful,” Tal said dryly. “It’s a little more fun here. Food. Wine. Dancing. Sex. Historically, there have been no grand speeches. You could change that if you’re feeling homesick, but I wouldn’t recommend it. You’re already pretty unpopular.”

“I can’t attend a ball right now, Tal. I don’t havetime.”

“You’re mistaken. You don’t have achoice. The Evenlight Ball is nonnegotiable. The ruler of the Blood Court presides over the evening and must officially open the celebrations. The party cannot begin without their official say-so. If you don’t attend, you will be openly shirking your position as queen here and letting everyone know exactly what you think of Sanasroth and the Blood Court. It wouldn’t be a good look. And even if all of that wasn’t the case, it is even more vital that you attend this year’s festivities, since the Evenlight Ball is now doubling as a selection evening.”

“Selection evening?”