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A s Cora and Teryn left the armory, their clothing haphazardly replaced, Cora wondered if maybe they had been too loud after all. Not that the guards gave any indication as the king and queen emerged from the armory hall, but they were well-trained in keeping their composure. It was the silence of the sleeping castle that brought heat to Cora’s cheeks, strikingly still and quiet as they strode up the steps to the keep. Even their footsteps were too loud.

That was also when the mood between Cora and Teryn began to change. It wasn’t awkwardness. Teryn held her hand with the same warmth and attention he’d given her body in the armory, and his posture was easy. Instead, the strain came from an inevitable fall back to reality in the wake of their euphoria.

Teryn was the first to voice it, leaning in close and lowering his voice to the quietest of whispers. “King Darius made his first direct contact with us today.”

She nearly stumbled up the next step, but Teryn’s grip on her hand helped her regain her balance. “He did?”

“He issued a demand for our surrender and detailed the forces that await us should we decline.” He relayed those numbers now, told her about the meeting Darius had set at the Khero-Vinias border, and the legion of reinforcements already heading their way.

Cora’s head swam at those numbers, but before her dread could grow, Teryn handed her a slip of paper. They reached the top of the staircase, and she read the sparse words scrawled across the paper, illuminated by the dim lamps lining the halls of the keep. It was a short, coded message, but…

“Does this mean what I think it means?”

Teryn gave a nod, and she returned the paper to him. Hope filled her chest as she analyzed the words in her head again and again. It could only mean one thing. The rebellion in Norun was set to strike soon. Darius wouldn’t likely get those reinforcements.

Teryn’s secrecy made her wonder who else knew. Perhaps no one.

Good. That meant it was truly an advantage.

“There’s a traitor in the castle,” Teryn whispered. “The Norunian spy you’d imprisoned was murdered after he divulged the information about the naval fleet. At least, that’s how it was supposed to seem. In truth, the dead man that was left in the cell was someone else entirely. I know because…because I spoke to the corpse’s spirit.”

“You spoke to a spirit?” She went to great lengths to keep her voice down despite her shock. She knew about his ability to see spirits and that he could communicate with Emylia, but speaking to the ghost of a dead stranger…well, that was only half as alarming as what he said next.

“I learned that I can aid a spirit’s progression to the otherlife through touch.” Teryn’s expression turned wary, as if he hadn’t fully come to terms with this new information either. “I spoke to the spirit. He remembered nothing after heading home from a tavern in Greenfair Village. After he told me what he could, he grew hysterical. He begged me to send him on, so I did.”

Her mind reeled. And not just over Teryn’s strange new power. Setting that shocking revelation aside, she pored over what he’d said before that. The prisoner was found dead in his cell after making his confession. But the body—and its spirit—had belonged to a stranger.

Her pulse quickened. “Someone helped the prisoner escape and left a decoy corpse in his place?”

“Yes. It was supposed to look like he’d been silenced on purpose as punishment for divulging key information. Larylis believes it was all a ruse to get us to separate our forces.”

Damn. If he was right, they’d played right into that scheme.

They turned down the hall toward their suite.

“Any leads on who may have helped the prisoner escape?” Cora asked.

Teryn shook his head. “None.”

She cast her gaze around the dark halls with fresh eyes, seeing sinister shadows and imagining hidden enemies. Even so, this was probably the safest place to talk—while walking, when there was no one close enough to hear their words, no way for someone to lie in wait and overhear their secrets. Even the guards trailed too far behind to hear them. That was some comfort at least.

They reached their suite, and the guards took their posts on each side of the door. The sitting room held a chill as they entered, but their bedroom boasted the embers of the hearth fire. Teryn retrieved a fresh nightshirt from his dresser and pulled it over his head before he went to stoke the flames. Cora freshened up with the ewer of wash water—cold, unfortunately—and changed into a chemise and thick velvet robe.

With the fire roaring and the room growing toasty, Cora wanted nothing more than to crawl into bed. She was about to do just that when Teryn’s snort of laughter had her gaze flying to him.

His eyes crinkled at the corners. “Your hair, my love. Bring me your brush.”

Her cheeks heated. After their time in the armory, her hair was probably a disaster. She did as asked, and when she returned to the bed, she found him seated upon it, his back propped against the pillows. His hair had come loose from its tie during their…activities…and now hung around his jaw, a few wayward strands strewn over his forehead. How the hell did he look so dashing with mussed hair?

He patted the space on the bed before him, and she crawled upon the mattress and settled between his legs. She handed him the brush.

“Tell me if this hurts,” he said, bringing the bristles to the ends of her hair. His tone and hands were so gentle, a contrast to the firm grip he’d had on her hips, the way he’d palmed her body as she’d ridden him.

That sent a tingle of heat low in her belly, and it took no small amount of self-control not to turn around and initiate an encore. Instead, she kept perfectly still. There was pleasure enough in simply feeling him run the brush through her hair. It was a strangely intimate situation, even though maids brushed her hair daily. Having Teryn do it while they were alone in their shared bed was entirely different.

“What about you?” he asked, his voice deep and rumbling. “What happened in El’Ara? Do we have an alliance with the Elvyn?”

“The beginnings of one. They haven’t offered anything concrete, but by now they will have stationed soldiers within the tear on the fae side of the Veil. They want us to provide two thousand soldiers to guard the human side. We would have to be discreet, otherwise we’ll draw attention straight to the tear’s location.”

“We could close the roads on either side,” Teryn said. “Feign a landslide and guard a wide perimeter around the area.”

“The tear is at the edge of a cliff, so a landslide would stand to reason. And we could hide our forces in the woods. Still…two thousand men. They’ve said nothing about how they intend to help us in exchange.”

“And that’s half our military. We need those soldiers with us when we meet Darius in three weeks. If we can gain Elvyn soldiers to bolster our numbers and face him with just his force of five thousand, we have a chance at winning.”

Cora agreed. So long as the rebellion began as planned, they could isolate Darius with his current soldiers.

“It would benefit the Elvyn too,” Teryn said. “If we defeat Darius at the Khero-Vinias border, we won’t need to guard the tear. Keeping Darius from setting foot in Lela should be our priority.”

“I’m supposed to return soon with our requests for the terms of the alliance,” Cora said. “I can demand they provide forces for our confrontation with Darius. We can make a plan with the Elvyn to defeat him.” She remembered the collar, how Ailan had called it their one chance to defeat her brother. “In the meantime, I can offer a smaller force to guard the human side of the tear, as a show of good faith until the terms have been finalized.”

“Larylis can do that,” Teryn said. “He’s on a ship patrolling Khero’s west coast now.”

Cora angled her head to meet his eyes. “He’s on a ship? Not in Vera?”

Teryn paused brushing. “After he suspected that the naval fleet threat was a ruse, he left on an unmarked schooner with fifty soldiers to investigate by sea. More than that, I think he wanted to be close to Mareleau. She wasn’t quite as discreet as you were in her letter.”

With a roll of her eyes, she faced forward again. “Of course she wasn’t.” She meant to say it in good humor, but it came out with a bitter edge. What was wrong with her lately?

“He and I communicate daily through Berol,” Teryn said as he resumed brushing. “He left his generals in charge of watching Vera’s shores in case the naval fleet threat was real, but he’ll come to our aid in allying with El’Ara. I’m certain he’d prefer to oversee the soldiers stationed there.”

Cora pursed her lips. It was a bit reckless of Larylis to leave Vera at a time like this, but she understood too. He’d never truly wanted to be king. He’d only wanted to be with Mareleau.

Of course he did. Everyone loves Mareleau. Your own husband wanted to be with her at one time. Remember?

Her hands curled into fists at the bitter words. The last part wasn’t even true. Stop it! Stop thinking like that. Mareleau is my friend. These feelings aren’t mine .

“When will you need to return?” Teryn asked. “If we’re going to march Elvyn soldiers from where I imagine the tear is…”

Cora still hadn’t dared state its location out loud. She would save that for the council meeting they’d have tomorrow. When they could post guards around the room and destroy evidence afterward. Even though they continued to whisper, Cora couldn’t shake the fear of having a traitor in the castle.

“I’ll need to leave soon,” she said. “It will take at least two weeks to march soldiers to the border.”

There was still so much more to discuss. Most could wait for the council meeting, but there was something she wanted to get off her chest. Something that filled her with a hollow dread. She wasn’t sure she could share it with anyone but Teryn.

As if sensing her turmoil, Teryn paused his ministrations and set the brush on the bed beside them.

She angled herself around to face him. “The worst part about allying with the Elvyn…” The words dried on her tongue. She swallowed hard and tried again. “Is that we’ll be fighting for our eventual exile from Lela.”

Teryn paled. He opened his mouth, but it wasn’t he who spoke next.

“Not if you ally with me.”