A beat of silence passed in the room, the theories of ancient, unheard of magics pressing down on us.
“Those files your father found on Annellius said he died of blood loss, correct?” Rina asked of the first Chosen of the Angels. A pang went through my heart at the mention of my father.Jezzie’s hand clasped mine under the table, and I nodded. “Maybe it was from using Angelblood on the emblems.”
Tolek stiffened, ready to dissuade any more use of the Angel tokens if it risked my life, but I spoke up. “That could be, but it feels…wrong. I’msupposedto use the emblems—to unite them—so how could doing that have killed him and effectively stopped his efforts?” I held the shard of Damien’s power hanging on my necklace. “No, I think Annellius did something hewasn’tsupposed to do in hiding them. And I think that led to his downfall.”
“Greedy, greedy warrior,” Erista said thoughtfully, watching my Angellight wind over the table.
Was he? Did that legacy ring true, or was there more buried beneath the histories?
As the thought itched deeper beneath my skin and the others returned to their leisurely plans, my fingers twitched against the side of my cup. The whirling light sped with my agitation.
“Excuse me,” I said, popping out of my seat and wandering into the living room. I didn’t stop until I stood in front of the window that took up most of the front wall, looking out over the small, rain-soaked garden and the ambling path beyond.
“Feeling crowded in there?” Tolek asked, wrapping his arms around my waist. I leaned my head back against his shoulder and inhaled the citrus and spice scent that calmed my nerves.
“A bit.”
“We’ve been here a while,” Tolek began.
I sighed. “I don’t know how much longer I can do this.” Spinning out of his grasp, I pressed a hand to the glass, watching raindrops I couldn’t touch slip down. “I feel trapped. Stifled. These rules—I’m ready to tell Ritalia where she can put them.”
Tolek huffed a laugh. Clasping his hands behind his back, he leaned against the wall beside the window. “Though I’d love to see you take on the fae queen—and while I’m certain youcould win—we’ve made it this long. Let’s keep planning, keep searching for hints of the emblems and your magic. Your sister is back, and when the rain stops, you can see Sapphire.”
My warrior horse—pegasus—did always calm me. Flying with her secretly, under the cover of night these weeks, had been one of the few reliefs bringing me joy.
I took a deep breath, searching for the reasons I knew Tolek’s suggestions were correct as I watched the empty road out front. “Remain docile here to appease the bargain, welcome the queen, receive our information, get her out quickly, and return to what’s important.”
“One correction,” he said, voice rough. And he took a slow, tempting step toward me. My eyes flashed to his, those amber specks burning. Tol dropped his head, and his lips brushed my ear as he whispered, “Not too docile.”
I sucked in a breath as he tugged my robe open, his hand dropping to skim the hem of my nightgown. As his calloused fingers brushed my thighs and heat pooled in my core, I didn’t care that there were others in the cottage, that we were up against the glass, shutters thrown wide. My head rolled back as he kissed along my neck, every breath a rasp that absorbed my worries.
All I cared about now was the unsettled, restless creature inside of me and how Tolek could tame it, soothe it, give me an outlet to let all that wild energy peak?—
A knock sounded on the front door, crashing through every indecent, lustful plan I was concocting. Based on Tolek’s sigh as he stepped back and the way he adjusted himself, I thought he might have had his own plans brewing.
I followed him lazily toward the foyer, admiring the way his powerful back cut against his thin shirt. But when he opened the door and every one of those defined muscles stiffened, myown body tightened. Magic hummed in my veins, ready to be wielded.
Hurrying to Tol, I ducked beneath his arm and met two pairs of dark eyes. Canines flashed in the male’s pointed smile, conveying every reason he was here without saying a word. And when he tugged his hood back, pointed ears peeked through his rain-soaked hair. At his side, his sister grinned fiercely.
“Ophelia?” Jezebel called from the kitchen. “Who is it?”
A scrape of chairs and a chorus of padding footsteps told me they were all coming to see.
“Plans are off for the week,” I said without looking over my shoulder. And I matched Lancaster’s and Mora’s feral grins, curious magic riling beneath my skin. “Her Highness is finally ready to meet.”
Chapter Three
Malakai
“The public will not accept—”
“We have been through this time and time again, Nassik,” Barrett nearly groaned, but he maintained hisprincelydemeanor and scratched his wolf, Rebel, behind the ears where he sat beside the prince at the head of the table.
“And yet you continue to be irrational,” Nassik said, fingers clenching atop the onyx stone. It was cold and uninviting, much like most of the Engrossian Valley Palace, devoid of staff and comforts.
As one of the members of the former queen’s dwindling council, Nassik Langswoll had been pressing Barrett on this matter and that matter every waking moment since the war ended. Evenmyhead was aching from it.
At least the three remaining council members were all against Kakias and not entirely opposed to Barrett’s rule.
