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Chapter twenty-eight

Being Seen

Zayne

Ayla would have her lesson.

It would be easy to sulk in the shadows, frustrated by the way she smiled at him and he doted on her, but that wouldn’t help. She was sure this was her best way forward, and her confidence was something I was eager to nurture.

Presumably this was still a manipulation—the Starlit King did nothing for altruism—but whatever it was, we could handle it. She could handle it. And for the first session of the trade assembly, I would have to trust her implicitly while I focused on my immediate mission: steal Lord Tallus’s shard.

The mer fae had still not made an appearance in the throne room, but Rhett had assured me that Tallus was reliably late. So I waited, watching from the shadows.

Iona entered the room, her arms filled with a stack of parchment. Upon seeing her daughter, Calindra stood and raised her voice. “We have copies of the first proposal, please take a seat, and we’ll begin shortly.”

Promptly, Iona wandered the tables, delivering parchments to each group.

In response, the attendees quieted, each settling at their respective tables, and I wandered to a nearby table where Reina, the dragon fae queen of Wisp, spread the document on the table.

When she, her mate, and their trusted advisors hunched over it, I leaned closer and listened.

“It’s a better deal than we expected,” Reina said.

One of her councilors nodded their agreement, the dragon scales that graced their collarbones flashing in the light. “Wisp, a center of commerce, once more. How times have changed.”

Except her mate whispered warily. “It’s too good. I suspect they want to resolve this assembly quickly.”

Reina looked up at him and held his gaze for several long seconds. “Agreed.” She didn’t say another word, but I could have sworn they were having an entire silent conversation.

Cautiously, I approached the Starlit King next. He reviewed the document with his secretary, nodding along with each line. Nothing about the parchment seemed to catch them by surprise.

Finally, I returned to Ayla, where she leaned close to Rhett, brow furrowed as she reviewed the proposal as well. It was endearing, the way she was thinking so loudly I could hear the gears turning in her head.

I love her.

I couldn’t wait until this was over.

She glanced nervously at Iona, who was still passing out the last few copies when Tallus entered. Just as Rhett had promised, the lord arrived at the last minute.

Iona handed him the final copy, and Calindra looked up at her daughter. “That will be all, Iona, you may go.”

Despite the embarrassingly public dismissal, Iona’s smile didn’t drop as she stepped away. Many in the pavilion tittered and whispered at her exit, some glancing not-so-subtly at Rhett.

But at least, everyone was distracted and Lord Tallus had finally arrived.

I used the tether to assure Ayla I’d soon return, and shadow-stepped from the throne room. The tether thinned as the distance grew between us, and I winced at the ache of our separation.

Eager to return to her side, I focused on my destination. The eerie glow of Lord Tallus’s shard drew me closer to the royal wing.

Quickly, I reached the courtyard, the splash of fountains from the central pool the only sound as I jumped closer to the door to Lord Tallus’s suite. I prepared to shadow-step again but hesitated at the patter of footsteps behind me.

I turned, expecting to see guards, but it was only Iona.

My stomach tightened, debating her allegiances. Rhett might be trustworthy, but his former lover was Calindra’s daughter. Was it all an act? And even if Iona had the purest of motivations, we had enough problems without inviting Calindra’s wrath by way of her daughter.

Iona searched the courtyard, eyes squinting, and then her shoulders relaxed. Her gaze locked on me.

I checked my shadows, confident I was hidden.

Except her stare didn’t leave my position. Soon I could not pretend otherwise; she was looking right at me. Her lips drew taut like she was making up her mind.

I braced, preparing to shadow-step.

“Don’t go,” she whispered, stepping closer. “We should talk, whoever you are.”

Glancing around, confirming we were alone, I allowed my voice to rise above the shadows. “You can see me?”

“In a way.” She tilted her head. “It’s more like I can sense the connection you have to Aida. You were in the suite with us this morning, weren’t you?”

I paused.

“I sense magical bonds.”

“I’ve never heard of that ability.”

She shrugged. “Neither have I, but my father is a siren and perhaps that’s why. Regardless, you should be honored I told you. I’ve never told another, and not even Rhett knows.”

My skin tightened. “And why are you telling me?” It could be a desperate ploy to win my approval.

She pointed toward the lower corner of my cape, where the black diamond shards were hidden.

“My mother doesn’t tell me much—I’m too softhearted for her taste—but I know she had hidden something in our home, something that you took.

It’s bound to… more. I’m not sure what, but it’s big, whatever it is .

And I know there’s a similar object in Lord Tallus’s rooms, which is why, I presume, you’re here. ”

If she spoke the truth, she didn’t even know what the black diamond shards were.

I hesitated.

She continued, “Lord Tallus is a far more capable mer than my mother, and his protections will be stronger. Fortunately for you, I’m quite proficient in mer magic. I’ll help, if you’ll allow it.”

“Why should I trust you?”

Her gaze shifted uncomfortably as she searched for a way to make eye contact with a shadow.

“I owe my mother and her schemes nothing, but Rhett regards you enough that he hasn’t spoken a word about you to me.

I meant what I said earlier: Whatever scheme Rhett has caught himself in, I trust that it’s better than my mother’s. ”

“If things with her are as bad as you say, why haven’t you ran away before?”

The question made her pause, and I waited, searching her expression for the truth and only finding embarrassment. Finally, she looked away. “Maybe you’ll think I’m a coward, but I didn’t know where to go. I’ve lived my whole life in the palace and…” She shook her head. “I wasn’t brave enough.”

Throat constricting, I remembered a time when Eleanor and I hadn’t run away from the Starlit Isle either.

Regardless, she risked being a complication in our plan.

The thumping of boots from beyond the courtyard matched the pounding of my heart. A guard approached, and I had to make a decision. Now.

“Fine.” Rudely, I grabbed her shoulder and shadow-stepped us into Lord Tallus’s rooms together.

She flinched at my sudden movement, and once we reached the other side, she staggered, bending over from the shock of the jump. “Quite a way of getting around,” she gasped.

I shrugged unapologetically. “The sooner I have what we want and leave, the better.”

Quickly, I snuck deeper into the apartment, confirming it was empty before dropping my shadows slightly, just enough that she could see me as a figure while obscuring the details of my appearance.

Still, Iona stared at me. “You’re a shadow fae, aren’t you?”

I nodded, hating how much this still gave away. Even if I wasn’t the Shadow Prince, there weren’t many shadow fae remaining.

“But I thought the wards would stop shadow-stepping—”

“Most would be stopped, yes, but not me,” I answered, reluctant to expose more than necessary.

She didn’t question me further, but her lips pursed as if deep in thought. Her gaze flickered over me before homing in on the pocket with the shards.

Wary, I watched her closely as we walked to the back of the suite and neared the writing desk concealing Tallus’s shard.

The desk itself was an overwrought design with carved whirls, embedded mirrors, and countless drawers.

Sinking into the Underworld, I confirmed that the black diamond shard remained on the left side of the desk.

I lowered, opening the drawer in question.

“You can see it too?” she asked.

“It’s shadow magic, in a way,” I explained.

I pulled the drawer wide, but the shard didn’t move with it, so I opened the one above, only to have the same result. Annoyed, I stared at the mirror panel fastened between the drawers.

“It’s in the desk itself,” Iona observed.

“Agreed. A false wall, perhaps.”

“No, it’s more than that.”

I didn’t understand what she meant, but before I could pry further, my attention was snagged by the parchment upon the desk. The ink still glistened as if it had just been written. Appendix A: Port Fees for Mer at the Starlit Isle.

Odd.

“Special fees for Mer weren’t in this morning’s proposal,” Iona muttered from behind me. “Everyone has the same rates.”

I stepped back, giving her easier access to the document. “What do you make of it?”

She looked it over, scanning lines that broke down port fees for specific types of goods . “These numbers are just a little lower than the public ones, except…” She frowned, pointing to a line at the bottom. “Weapons weren’t mentioned at all.”

And if I read this right, weapons from Mer would travel for free. A shudder coursed through me. “Let’s find what we came here for and leave.”

Still unsure what I was looking for, I reached into the drawer beneath the shard and tapped the top of the inside panel. It resounded like solid wood. I frowned.

“I can help,” Iona reminded me.

“Some sort of mer magic?”

“Yes.” She crouched before the drawer and reached for the front of the desk, where the mirror panel filled the space between the two drawers.

Her fingers met the looking glass and slid through as if the surface was liquid. It rippled around her hand as she slowly drove it further within.

“Mirror magic,” she explained as sweat gathered on her brow. “And don’t you dare try it. This can slice your hand right off.”

I frowned, certain Rhett wouldn’t be pleased when he learned of the risk she had taken.

But there was no stopping her now. Her hand extended deeper, and I watched as the shard shifted, and gradually, slowly, her hand eased back out of the mirror’s depths.

Soon, the shard was halfway out, her fingers remaining within.

There was the sound of someone at the door. It opened with a creak

“Quickly,” I urged.

“Nearly there.”

My ears strained, gauging the weight of footsteps that now crossed the entry threshold. They were in a rush.

“Got it,” she whispered, the black diamond shard secured in her grasp.

“Let’s go.” Following the shadows, I jumped us to the nearby apartment Iona shared with her mother. Despite the distance of our journey, the countless wards that had to be crossed, the shadows obeyed my lightest touch.

“Are you okay?” I asked.

She shoved the shard into my hands. “Give me a moment.”

Nodding, I accepted, my fingers aching as I tucked the shard into the pocket with the others. It wasn’t just this shard buzzing with energy—they all were. I swallowed, understanding how much easier the shadows were to manipulate in their presence.

Three more to go.

Straightening, I eyed Iona, relieved to see her breathing had settled. “Thank you.”

She glanced away. “I assume you’ll be leaving as soon as you take the ones from the Starlit King?”

Her question was loaded. Of course, she knew about the Starlit King’s shards, and moreover, the pleading look in her eyes made it clear that despite everything she’d just seen, she still wanted to leave with us.

Pausing, I weighed my options, realizing how I would have struggled to retrieve this shard without her help. After all this, I’d be hard-pressed to leave her behind, and while I couldn’t be sure, I didn’t think hers was an act. At some point, I had to take a leap of faith.

“Yes, that’s the plan,” I replied, making up my mind. “We’re leaving as soon as we have them all. You and Rhett may come with us, if you want.”

She sagged with relief. “Thank Teyr.”

“Be discreet. Draw no attention to yourself.”

She nodded. “I’ll pack light and say I’m spending the day at the beach. No one will notice.”

“Good. Find the Umbral Star, and when you board, if Vanessa asks any questions, tell her Zayne invited you.”

“Zayne,” she echoed my name. “The Shadow Prince?”

“Indeed.”

She didn’t quite meet my gaze. “The necromancer?”

“Perhaps.”

She stilled, taking that in, and then all at once, she shot to her feet. “I’ll meet you there.” She didn’t waste another moment, vanishing into her bedroom.

Satisfied all was secure, I turned my attention toward the tether.

Ayla…

The once-taut bond had relaxed, growing comfortable with the space between us. Still, she echoed of apprehension and excitement.

Maybe a twinge of fear.

Eager to return to her side, I shadow-stepped to the throne room, taking it as one flowing run, barely stopping between the steps as I weaved through the palace’s shadows, silent and speedy.

The throne room was bustling, and judging from the way Calindra was huddled with another merchant, they were taking a break. As I watched, Lord Tallus returned from the royal wing, a familiar parchment in his hands. Out of breath, he brought it to Calindra.

Meanwhile, Ayla stayed near Rhett, glancing nervously at the Starlit King, who was wrapping up a conversation with his secretary.

Had anyone noticed the theft of the shard? Judging from Tallus’s relaxed posture, relieved he had just finished a sprint back to his rooms, it seemed not. He was laughing, muttering to another mer who shared his table.

Ayla glanced in my direction, a genuine smile on her lips as tension eased from her shoulders. She probed my mind, almost like a question, and I assured her.

Everything’s going according to plan.

Iona was a surprise, but one I hoped Ayla would appreciate. For Rhett’s sake.

We both held our breath in anticipation as the Starlit King said a few more words to his secretary. Finally, he stood up and approached Ayla. She smiled bravely and stepped to his side.

Together, they left the hall. The Starlit King dismissed the courtiers who idly followed him, but when Rhett stayed by Ayla’s elbow, making it clear he wouldn’t leave, the king didn’t object. He even smiled at Rimu, trailing at Rhett’s heel.

Together, they left.

And cloaked by darkness, I followed.