Chapter 65
65
RIORDAN
N either of us spoke until we were locked in the study, Nash posted outside to keep the hallway clear of curious eyes and ears.
As an extra layer of security, Blake wrapped the entire room in shadows, now blackness crawled across the walls and ceiling, even the floor. The effect was disorienting, like standing in the center of a thunderstorm.
“There, nobody can hear us.”
“What do you think?” I dropped into my chair, feeling like the ground was falling out from under me. “Could this be related to last night?”
“I don’t fucking believe in coincidences. She’s…” Blake blew out a shaky breath, “Possessed, maybe.”
Adrenaline spiked, leaving a metallic taste in my mouth. “I didn’t see signs of Ravok in her this morning, and I don’t know that an entity can jump from one body to another.”
“No, this is something different. Like possession, but more like…control.”
“Speaking of control, you need to see this.”
I tossed Fiona’s note to Blake, his eyes speeding over the neat, loopy handwriting, much like mine had when I’d found it, carefully folded in the center of my desk earlier this morning. I’d been debating how to approach this with Evie, when she’d stormed in, eyes on fire, deadset on picking a fight.
“Memory lapses, sleepwalking, mood changes. Now she’s trying to turn you and I against each other?” Blake crushed the paper between his fingers. “Somebody got to her, that’s obvious.”
“Nobody got to her.” I said quietly. “This is Malachi.”
“Or Aria.” Blake slid me a sideways look. “She has it out for Evie, ever since the first time she met her. I never should have taken her to Raven’s Hollow and I never should have brought that witch here to reinforce the wards.”
“Well, Fiona is fixing them, so there’s that.” I pointed out. “But I still say this is Draven.” I swallowed. “When I was possessed,” I shook my head, hardly believing those words had come out of my mouth, “Evie tried to convince me Malachi was an Ancient. I laughed in her face. But what if she was right?”
“She told me the same thing. But Draven suddenly wants the throne, after two thousand years of lurking in the background? I don’t buy it.”
“Maybe he’s tired of lurking.” I echoed. “Maybe…maybe…” My chest tightened as an awful possibility struck me. “Did you notice the way Malachi looked at Evie during that fucking dinner, the way he…said she was made for him . I figured he’d been playing his part, but what if he wasn’t? What if he wants Evie ?”
“I knew that fucker would try something, but I didn’t expect him to…” Blake’s eyes slid past me, to the portrait I should have taken out back and burned a long, long time ago. His voice dropped, “I found her in the west wing last night. In front of a painting concealing a door to the secret passageways. ”
“Was she trying to leave the castle?” I wondered aloud, my fear shifting into something darker. “We should recheck everything, every way out of here. Make sure she’s safe.”
“What about this other…problem?” Blake tossed Fiona’s rumpled note back onto my desk. “Another claim of Tyrell’s I thought was complete bullshit, but obviously…wasn’t. Evangeline has witch magic and she’s been bound.”
“Could be why Malachi wants her.” I only said it to calm Blake the fuck down, and maybe, myself. The thought of Malachi Draven pursuing our female for carnal reasons sent a jolt of ice-cold fury through me. Nobody was touching Evangeline, and if Malachi so much as looked at her sideways, I’d rip his fucking head off, I didn’t care how fucking old he was.
“Ripping his fucking head off seems like a pretty solid plan right about now.” Blake shrugged. “What can I say, I’ve been looking forward to killing him for fucking ever. We can pretend you issued a royal decree.”
“There’s more to this.” I muttered. “There has to be something we’re missing. Malachi’s never wanted the throne, yet now he’s coming after us full bore because he wants power? I don’t buy it. How much of this castle has Nash mapped out?”
“The grounds, the passageways, every wing of the castle, plus the basement and the dungeons. He’s got everything covered, Rohr, what are you thinking?”
“Nothing.” I said, feeling like I had an itch I couldn’t scratch. We were missing something. A missing link between Malachi and Evie, between his power and her locked down magic, between this castle and… fucking something I couldn’t see .
“Evangeline broke into my study. Did you know that?” I told a suddenly guilty-looking Blake. “Right before the coronation, and…it’s only now I’m wondering what she was af ter.” I turned and swung the painting away from the safe, unlocked both doors, then we stared at the mountain of shit piled up inside.
“I’m sure she took something.” I ran my fingers over the black velvet bag that had seen better days. “She would have known, since I opened the safe right in front of her. I smelled her scent all over this office.” I held up the keys. “All over these.”
“You never said anything.” Blake said flatly, but from the way his eyes shifted, his lack of surprise…he already knew.
“Ravok happened to take me over that same night, and wouldn’t you know, the last thing I was worried about was why Evie was poking around my study.” I said tartly. “But now…this is relevant. Could be what we’re missing.”
My eyes slid to Blake’s. “Evangeline is many things, but she wouldn’t steal, not unless she had a good reason.”
“Or someone forced her to.” Blake finished for me.
Blake widened his stance, like he expected me to attack. ““She took a book, Riordan. And she gave it to Malachi. The bastard manipulated her and she didn’t think she had a choice. But…everything she told you is true. He was turned by one of the Elders, and…apparently, I executed his brother, which explains his vendetta against me.”
“What book ?” My fingers tightened on the edge of the desk. “What was inside?”
“A list Tyrell kept of Malachi’s secrets. But Evie only saw a few pages. With everything going on…I figured Draven was covering his ass for his past mistakes, but what if…what if Tyrell had found some real dirt on him, something damning?”
“Where is Malachi right now?” I hissed. “We need to lock that fucker in the dungeon until we figure out what the fuck he’s up to. ”
“Or I can just kill him.” Blake suggested flatly, crossing his arms over his chest. “Don’t look at me like that. It’s not like you aren’t thinking the same goddamned thing.”
“I am. But we have to find him first. Tell Nash to recheck every security measure in this castle. I’m going to find Evangeline and see what she knows about this book.”
“She only took it because she was backed into a corner.” Blake snapped, his hackles going up.
“Don’t be an asshole. I’m not accusing her of anything, I’m trying to protect her. We need answers, Blake. Someone has blocked out her memory. If Malachi forced her to steal from me in the first place, and she can’t remember doing it, then we’ll have our answer.”
Then I’d know who was controlling the woman I loved and where to focus all my fucking rage, before anger tore me apart at the seams.
“I don’t like this, Rohr.” Blake scratched the back of his neck, a murderous glint in his eye. “This puts Evie right in the middle of a dangerous situation. Again.”
…And again and again . My eyes narrowed on the small gold ring hanging around Blake’s neck, the constant reminder of the last time we’d failed to protect someone we’d loved. Chaste, sisterly love, but love, all the same.
“This time will be different.” I murmured. I would make it so. I would move fucking heaven and hell and earth and sky to keep Evangeline safe, and once we removed these final threats, she would become my— our —queen.
She would become the bedrock upon which we’d build our new future, a kingdom we could be proud of. A life worth living. A life the three of us would build together.
A few months ago, I would have laughed at myself for such…simple dreams.
But right now, that simple future beckoned, filled with so much promise my heart ached from the sheer weight of wanting.
“This time, we’re not the ones who end up on our knees before the monster.” A slow grin crept across my face as I imagined Silas and Collum and Malachi finally gone .
“This time, we’ll be the fucking monsters.”