Page 34 of Tales of a Deadly Devotion (Tales of a Monstrous Heart, #2)

I suppose it was a mercy to be found by William and Alma. I didn’t think my ears could take the exclamations from Gideon.

‘I hope you’re feeling better,’ I called back, still worried after last night – but her devious smile as she turned the corner put me a little at ease. At least she seemed more herself.

The hinges of the door squeaked like a demented mouse’s laugh next to us.

Emrys shut it with more force than necessary. A curse slipping through his lips, frustrated annoyance on his face as he pinched the bridge of his nose and pulled in a deep breath.

I couldn’t stop the laugh that escaped my lips at the ridiculousness of it. Emrys pulled his hand away from his face, those eyes pitch-black as they looked down at me.

‘You should probably put a shirt on.’ I smiled, pressing my palm against the hard muscle of his chest. Especially if we needed to hunt Gideon down before he came to find us.

His hands were suddenly on my hips, as he headed me back against the closed door.

‘Emrys.’ Anticipation swooped through me as he ducked his head.

‘In a moment, Croinn,’ he answered, lips brushing the curve of my cheekbone before they found my own.

Moments later – once the house had allowed Emrys to find his shirt – we found ourselves downstairs, Emrys taking my hand to pull me into a room I’d never seen before.

Large bay windows let the morning light stream in, the space dominated by a grand mahogany table with high-backed chairs.

Walls decorated in navy and gold wallpaper of ancient flowers and patterns.

The chandelier had small crystal birds perched next to the candles.

Gideon slapped the pages of The Crow’s Foot shut before letting it fall to the table where he sat at the head. A pot of tea steamed next to him with a selection of breakfast scones.

‘Here I was fearing you’d slept in,’ he greeted, voice far too cheery considering his greeting glare as his gaze ran over his brother’s dishevelled appearance. ‘I hope William didn’t interrupt anything.’

‘William is scandalised.’ Emrys’s words were cold with anger.

Gideon let out a small amused huff, his eyes falling back onto the pages of The Crow’s Foot with boredom as he brought his teacup to his lips. ‘Good. It’s payback for what I caught him doing with the messenger boy.’

Surprise jolted through me as Emrys looked to the ceiling with a wince. Clearly this wasn’t the first time the little deviant had been caught.

‘There isn’t anything wrong with that,’ I objected. William could do as he pleased with who he pleased. My protective words were met with a further glare from Gideon as I took a seat at the table.

‘I’m not opposed to the act. I’m actually quite fond of it. However … I’d rather not witness it in the stables before I’ve had my coffee,’ Gideon added.

I found myself shocked there were stables.

‘What were you doing by the stables?’ Emrys frowned, seeming genuinely confused by the prospect of his brother doing anything so mundane.

‘I tried going for a walk .’ Gideon grimaced at the word as if it were something foul. ‘Since you’ve forbade me from indulging in my usual thrilling activities, I don’t have a choice.’

Emrys took the seat next to me, forming a blockade between me and his brother. ‘I didn’t forbid you.’

Gideon scowled over his teacup. ‘I’m pretty certain there was an implication of bodily harm.’

Ignoring the brothers’ prickly exchange, I dug into the breakfast that covered the table.

Suddenly ravenous as I moved the sliced ham, cheese and a pastry onto my plate.

Emrys poured me a lemon tea before I realised I needed one.

Then added another pastry to my plate as the brothers continued to bicker mildly.

Only it seemed the drama of the morning wasn’t over just yet.

‘Isn’t this cosy?’ Thean greeted as they entered the room wearing breeches that left little to the imagination. A corset sinched over a large white shirt that made their waist appear miniscule and forced their breasts up. Displaying a summoning rune on the curve of their bosom.

‘What do you want?’ Gideon scowled. Much to Thean’s delight.

‘I wouldn’t mind a crumpet,’ they grinned, sitting down next to Gideon, taking two crumpets off the plate and reaching for the butter.

It was only then I realised their familiarity. Gideon knew Thean just as well as Emrys did. Of course – Thean had known Emmaline too.

I was disturbed from that line of thought as William entered the room with a rattle of the tea tray, catching my attention, still flushed.

‘Good morning, William. I thought I heard a racket upstairs.’ Thean smirked.

‘Poor William walked in on Kat dressing,’ Alma added sharply as she followed behind him, giving the voyav a look that could have flayed skin.

‘A locking charm wouldn’t have gone amiss,’ William grumbled, taking a teacup off the tray and holding it out to me. ‘Here, Kat, I made a new nettle healing tea.’

‘Thank you.’ I swallowed my mouthful of breakfast and took the cup from him. Anything to make him forget what he’d seen.

I took a tentative sip; the taste of soil hit my tongue and I almost retched.

Bloody ancestors.

I painfully swallowed the sour gritty chunks. William’s hazel eyes were watching me cautiously.

‘Perfect.’ I smiled painfully, hoping the mixture wasn’t smeared on my teeth. William let out a relieved huff, starting to plate up his own breakfast.

Emrys’s fingers slipped around mine as he raised the cup to his own lips, blowing gently for a moment before taking a sip. The strange intimacy of it made my cheeks burn as those dark eyes never left my own.

‘Is there mud on my teeth?’ I whispered quickly while William was distracted asking Thean for a scone.

‘No Croinn.’ His eyes were soft with some amusement as he pulled away.

Giving me the teacup back, ignoring the chill across my fingers with the absence of his touch.

I looked down to see the liquid less murky.

I took another sip, this time it was sweeter and I could taste other, more pleasant herbs in the mix.

‘How did you do that?’ I asked as he leant back, draping his arm across the back of my chair.

‘Witchcraft.’ He smiled. ‘Drink it, Kat.’

Puzzled at what incantation he’d used and annoyed he wouldn’t share, I drank the healing tea.

‘Well now, you’re here. We need to start correspondence with the lords that held loyalty to this house.’ Gideon pulled an envelope from his jacket pocket and tossed it onto Emrys’s empty breakfast plate. ‘I’ve written down the ones still alive, and the others barely clinging to sanity.’

William choked. Emrys went still and Thean let out a short breathless laugh.

The lords. The lords from the houses that formed the uprising against the King almost two decades ago.

‘I see you’ve chosen violence this morning, dearest Gideon.’ The voyav dropped a lump of sugar into their tea.

‘They haven’t cared before,’ William added around a mouthful of scone.

‘Indeed. Let’s summon them so they can sit idly back once more?’ Emrys’s voice held a warning edge.

‘Their souls are on the line, Emrys,’ Gideon offered. ‘Your bargains to keep them from being possessed by the promises they made to that darkness are void if Montagor has a relic.’

‘I’m aware,’ Emrys’s response was terse, a darkness rippling beneath his skin before his hand tensed and it ceased.

‘How can you stop them being possessed?’ I frowned, setting my teacup back on the table.

‘Verr are territorial, darling. Didn’t your ancestors teach you that?’ Thean mocked. ‘They submit very quickly to a creature far more powerful than themselves. A simple summoned demon wouldn’t stand a chance against our dear Emrys’s wrath.’

Serus, even. Why the Council had cowed under Emrys’s mere presence. Why that gobrite had. They needed him, because without him to keep those demons after their souls at bay – they’d become the dark creatures they worshipped.

‘The lords came together in the end,’ Gideon added. They’d come together for the uprising, at the end of all things.

‘Father saw to that,’ Emrys challenged.

‘Then you’d better channel the bastard and make them remember why they did it in the first place,’ Gideon fired back, undeterred by the shortness of his brother’s temper, or how many shadows had crept into the room.

‘Those lords probably think I blew up the fucking Council.’ Emrys drained the cup of tea before him in one irritated swallow.

‘So? You should claim you murdered those lords in the outer territory too,’ Gideon added, something like amusement dancing in his eyes. ‘Fear might make them all more cooperative.’

The murder of Lord Septimus and Lord Huntington that had been reported in The Crow’s Foot before Fairfax. The memory of it seemed to prod me.

‘What use would I have for a lord’s blood?’ Emrys answered with barely contained irritation.

Gideon shrugged, stirring his tea once again. ‘Drink it? I don’t know. Be creative.’

Emrys glowered at his brother.

Blood , a hissed distant voice mocked in the back of my mind. A sharp flash came from the wishing stone. Like a phantom, prodding finger, insistent to get my attention.

Just like it had in the Council chamber. Warning me.

Blood. That’s what the creature in the pit had been after.

My blood. But it had started long before that.

Finneaus with that book in the Fifth Library.

How desperate the book was to be opened.

The cloudy, fearful confusion in his gaze.

Why Finnaeus would be working with Montagor. Why he’d need that boy’s blood .

The compendiums.

I stood so suddenly my chair toppled over behind me.

‘Kat.’ William leapt to his feet, worry carving deep into his features, knocking over the stack of crumpets. Probably fearful I’d lost my mind once again. I couldn’t blame him. I felt like I had.

‘Where are those copies of The Crow’s Foot ?’ I demanded, unable to steady my breath. Too many thoughts pressing too tightly against my temples.