He nodded.
I reread the first sentence. “I see Isbeth never stopped with that tainted-bloodline bullshit.”
“No, she didn’t. It was one of her favorite phrases.”
A muscle ticked in my jaw. “Are you familiar with this Ashwood?”
“Familiar enough,” Malik said. “Only a handful of Ascended were a part of Isbeth’s inner circle. Eldric was…” Malik trailed off and looked away briefly. The tart taste of unease formed. “He was one of those Isbeth sent away shortly before we left for Oak Ambler.”
“Why was he sent to Pensdurth? Wasn’t there already a Duke overseeing the city?”
“There was—oris. Goffry Beric.”
I watched him closely. “You didn’t know why he was sent there? Or where the others were sent?”
“Not until this letter showed,” he answered. “Like you, I figured she was sending them to secure the other cities or to back up those already in ruling positions there. But I couldn’t be sure.”
Since the letter came from Ashwood instead of Beric, it seemed to me that Beric was no longer in charge of Pensdurth.
“And before you ask, Millie didn’t know either. Isbeth’s trust in me only went so far,” Malik continued. “And the same could be said for Millie.”
The mention of Poppy’s sister caused my jaw to tighten. I’d been wary of her from the start but was even more so now that I knew Kolis could hijack the minds of the Ascended and Revenants.
Who’s to say he hadn’t already?
“I find it hard to believe she wasn’t privy to her mother’s plans,” I said finally.
“And how would you know what Millie was or wasn’t privy to?” Malik’s amber eyes turned cool as he held my stare. “You don’t know her. You don’t know shit about what she—” He cut himself off, his mouth clamping shut as he took a step back. “There was a time when Isbeth trusted Millie, but she wasn’t a fool, and there was only so much Millie was willing to do to prove her loyalty.”
I stiffened, having a good idea what Isbeth would’ve demanded of her daughter as proof of her allegiance.
What she would’ve demanded of him.
Malik held my stare for several more moments. “We knew about Penellaphe’s prophecy, and what Isbeth believed it meant. That’s it.”
As Poppy always said, reading emotions wasn’t a lie detector, but I believed he spoke the truth. However, I could still taste his unease. There was something he wasn’t saying.
“And how did Isbeth learn about the prophecy? Malec?”
“Callum.”
My lips flattened at the mention of the golden Rev. “I assume he’s still missing?”
“Unfortunately.” Malik sighed. “If anyone knows anything about Kolis, it’s him. The fucker is old. And he…”
“What?”
He ran his hand over his head. “It seemed like he was more puppeteer than servant to Isbeth.”
“I have a hard time imagining the bitch being okay with that.”
“I don’t think she noticed, to be honest. Isbeth enjoyed her flattery, and Callum made ass-kissing an art form.”
I was going to make an art form of ripping off the fucker’s head. “When did Callum show up, by the way?”
“Honestly?” He cocked his head. “Several hundred years ago.”
My brows rose. “Really? I never saw him when I was there.”
