A hand cupped my cheek, and he guided my face toward him. His lips touched mine and I forgot all my doubts. We were a pair no matter how much Ailpein tried to keep us apart. I opened my arms, and even though our bond was incomplete, it hummed with revitalizing energy.
I allowed myself to indulge in the fantasy of this being our new normal, but then yielded to the tiny voice that was pecking to be heard.
We leaned back slightly but didn’t break our physical connection. His hands lingered against my chest as though he was afraid I’d vanish if he let go.
“You look tired,” he said, the faint quirk of his lips shadowed by the burden we carried. “You aren’t sleeping enough.”
He’d told me he renewed himself the day before, and I had no doubts he’d display the same weariness had he not been a phoenix. “Rest is a luxury we can’t afford.”
I didn’t need to elaborate. Ailpein’s heavy hand loomed over this castle like a shadow no light could banish.
“Don’t let him pull the fire from us,” he said, quieter but no less firm. His hand brushed my cheek. “We’re stronger than he’ll ever know.”
He kissed me again. It wasn’t forceful or fleeting, but a perfect show of affection we’d avoided to appease his grandfather. When it ended, I pressed my forehead gently against his. Even that felt like too much.
“We have to be more careful,” I said. “He’s watching you.”
A defiant grin tugged at his lips. “Not now he isn’t. Grandfather is occupied.”
I wanted to believe we could steal these moments hidden, but the king had watched us intensely since he figured out our relationship. If he caught us, he’d keep Cinaed locked up and never let us be together again. “He seems to be able to follow you even when otherwise distracted.”
“Right now, he’s meeting with your Inquisitor General who has made a surprise visit to work out Grandfather’s concerns.”
It took me a moment to process what I’d heard. There was no chance the statement was accurate. “Inquisitor General Hoffman? He’s here?”
“That’s what Father told me.” Cinaed’s expression turned wary. “Is something wrong?”
I wondered for a split second if my fears were influencing Cinaed, but we didn’t share a link. Any effect I had on him came from my words and my body language. “Yes. Lucius Hoffman is in Philadelphia.”
“Father said it was a surprise. Maybe your father sent him after Otto failed to persuade Grandfather.”
My father wouldn’t have forgotten to tell us about him suddenly sending Lucius to negotiate with the king. “No. He wouldn’t undermine Otto like that. And if for some strangereason he’d send Lucius—something he’s never done—he’d have at least told us it was going to happen.”
Dread settled its cold, unshakable grip along my spine. My pulse quickened as I put my hand on my mage stone. Pushing out my consciousness, I sent a message.
“Dad! No matter what you’re doing, take my call. The Great Ward is in grave danger!”
The answer was almost instantaneous.“Roderick? What’s wrong?”
I had no right to make demands of my father, even if he wasn’t mage chancellor, but I didn’t have time for niceties. “Where’s Lucius Hoffman?”
“What?”
“Dad, please. Don’t ask questions, just answer and I’ll explain.”
Most parents would push back, but my father had trusted me for decades and knew I wasn’t playing a game. His immediate response reinforced his faith in me.“He’s right in front of me. Now, what’s going on?”
Only a lifetime of training prevented me from devolving into utter panic. I took a settling breath and let it out. Looking Cinaed in the eye, I said, “Tell your father the king has been compromised. The mage he’s meeting with is not Lucius Hoffman.”
I prayed he trusted me enough not to ask questions because I still needed to answer my father.“Someone claiming to be Lucius contacted the king and told Ailpein they were coming to Scotland to help resolve any concerns Ailpein had. The king is meeting with that being right now. I fear the worst. I’ll keep my call open, but I need to find the king.”
“I told him,” Cinaed said. “He wants to know the source of your information.”
We didn’t have time for distrust. Even now it was probably too late to save the king. “We can explain on our way to wherever the king was meeting this impostor.”
Thankfully, Cinaed kept his head in a crisis and led us on a mad dash through the palace while he answered his father’s questions. I’d managed to get Otto and Bart into the link with Dad and they were headed to join us.
Malachy advised us the king had agreed to meet the purported inquisitor general in a private study just off the throne room. Although the crown prince was shocked and disappointed he hadn’t been invited to the meeting, he’d witnessed his father’s recent erratic behavior and dropped the matter.
