Chapter 45
I spent most of the day poring over letters from my spy network that Clermont had delivered earlier today. No whispers of any approaching army.
However, the soldiers who had been loyal to Warwick had been arrested and interrogated. And they were not giving up any information as to who in the Earthen Court they had been working for.
It was clear they were willing to die with their secrets.
I sighed, rubbing my eyes. I had spent the night here in the study, and the firm cushions of the sofa were not nearly as comfortable as the one in my chambers.
But I couldn’t bear to share the space with Sybelle. Not again. Not after our kiss.
If I did, I might cross a line I could never come back from.
Things would end so much more painfully if we let this continue. The curse would either claim my life or hers.
Or both.
Each of the human brides had died from giving too much blood to the ravenous shadows.
And, soon after, the kings had died, too.
It was best to put a stop to any romantic attachment now, before anyone got hurt.
I was already hiding too much from her. She would never forgive me when she found out the only way to break the curse was for her to die.
“Varius.”
I looked up to find Tislora at the open doorway, her face unusually grim. “What is it?”
“I’ve finished sweeping the queen’s chambers. I found something that might interest you.” She lifted a wrinkled and half-burned piece of parchment.
“Did you find any traces of magic? Anything Warwick left behind?”
“There was a fae scent I didn’t recognize. But no traces of magic.”
I bit back a growl of frustration and fury. A fae had been in Sybelle’s rooms. A fae who wasn’t Warwick.
Which meant I had more than one traitor lurking in my court.
“Varius,” Tislora said again.
I blinked. “What?”
“I found this in her room. You need to read it.” She strode into the room, then handed me the parchment. Her mouth was set in a hard line, her jaw tight with concern.
I had never seen her so solemn before. With dread pulsing in my gut, I accepted the parchment and read over the words. It was written in Terrish, but I understood it well enough. With each line I read, anger boiled in my veins. Shadows spread along the floor, covering the carpet in inky smoke.
My Lady,
I yearn for you. Every moment since you’ve left has been torture for me. Please send word that you are safe. I am going mad not knowing. I miss having you to hold in my arms. I miss the way our bodies fit together.
There is no one like you. And there never will be.
But that is not the only reason I write to you. I must also ask if the endeavor we discussed previously has been accomplished yet. If it has, please send word immediately. Our armies intend to cross the border and invade the kingdom if it’s clear you have been unsuccessful.
I am risking my life by sending this to you, but I would never forgive myself if something happened to you because I did not warn you. I am in love with you, my darling, and I would give anything to have you in my arms once more.
Please write back quickly. If you are close to achieving your goal, I can send word and delay the army.
All my love,
G
I read over the letter twice, and a growl vibrated through me.
“Where is she?” I bit out. I couldn’t look at Tislora. I didn’t want to see the smug satisfaction on her face.
She had warned me about this. And I hadn’t listened.
“The library,” Tislora said, her voice betraying nothing.
I crumpled the parchment in my hands, then stuffed it into my pocket. As much as I wanted to shred it to pieces with my claws, I needed it as evidence in case Sybelle tried to deny my accusations.
I stormed toward the door, shadows billowing behind me. The roaring in my ears only intensified when I reached the hall. I threw open the first door I reached. Perhaps the castle was on my side today, because it sent me directly to the library .
A fire was burning in the hearth, and my Lumen orbs cast faint glows along the shelves of books.
In the wing-backed chair— my chair—sat Sybelle, poring over a thick leather tome. On the table next to her was a massive stack of books waiting to be read.
Shadows burst forward, reaching for her. A snarl rumbled within me, and I stepped into the room, letting the door slam shut behind me.
Sybelle yelped and looked up, eyes wide. “Varius?” She frowned, clearly surprised to see me here.
My fingers curled into shaking fists, and I gritted my teeth so hard my temples throbbed. Slowly, I prowled toward her like a predator who didn’t want to startle his prey. Dark clouds churned behind me as my shadows intensified.
Sybelle’s face paled, and she jumped to her feet, her eyes fixed on the swirling shadows behind me.
I froze, only then noticing what she was wearing. It was certainly not the silky dress I had sent to her.
No, this was… this was quite different.
Thin black lace barely covered her bosom, forming intricate designs that only faintly concealed her breasts. So much was on display that I had to work around a lump in my throat to find my voice at all.
“What… are you wearing?” I rasped.
She gave a short exhale. “A dress .”
“Why are you wearing that one?”
She placed her hands on her hips. “Because I want to. Is that a problem?”
“I—you—” I grumbled a stream of curses and ran my hand through my hair. This was not why I was here. “Tell me you have not been colluding with the Earthen Court to attack my kingdom.”
Her jaw slackened, and she stared at me in horror. “ What ? No, I haven’t! Why would you think that? ”
“For starters, you are from the Earthen Court.” I drew closer to her and slammed the parchment onto the table between us, making it rattle. “And then, there’s this.”
Her eyes dropped to the crumpled letter. With a small frown, she approached it and picked it up. As she unfolded it, her hands began to shake.
Her face turned ashen.
The guilt in her expression was the most damning evidence of all.
A roar climbed up my throat, and I turned away from her before I succumbed to the urge to wrap my hands around her throat. “Our arrangement is over. I’ll have my soldiers escort you to a dungeon cell while I figure out what to do with you.”
“Varius, wait?—”
I was almost to the door. “Goodbye, Sybelle.”
“Damn it, will you let me explain?”
“Explain what ?” I snarled, whirling to face her.
Shadows spilled along the floor and up the walls, creeping forward until they blotted out the light from my Lumen.
Only the fire remained, bathing everything in a hazy orange glow.
“How you are corresponding with your Earthen Court lover? How you had a plan with him to destroy my kingdom? Or how you knew the Earthen Court was sending an army to invade my lands?”
“None of that is true!” she shouted, surging toward me, her face full of panic. “I did not expect him to write to me, Varius. Things between us were over the moment I left my kingdom. And I already told you what my plan was: to locate the source of the Necro Shadows and destroy it.”
“So you did not intend to kill me?” I asked, my voice full of doubt.
Her lips thinned. And it was all the answer I needed.
Rage coursed through me with violent fervor. If I didn’t leave this room soon, I would tear it to shreds.
I would tear her to shreds .
I turned away, but she cried out again, stopping me.
“I did not know you then, Varius! All I knew was the stories that had been told to me of the terrible Wraith King and the poisonous shadows he used to attack my people. Everything I had been taught about you was a lie. I did not realize that until I came here.”
I shook my head, unconvinced. “And the armies?”
She took another step toward me. “I wrote back to Gerard. I told him I was close, and to persuade my father to hold off on the armies. I thought he had listened! I thought I had bought us more time!”
Gerard. Hearing the bastard’s name on her lips made me want to shove my fist through a wall.
And she wrote back to him… What else had she said in that letter? How much she yearned for him, too?
“I told you before, and I will say it again,” she said, drawing even closer. “I have taken no lovers since we were wed. Not even through correspondence.”
I sneered at her. “You think that’s what I’m worried about? This pathetic human lover? I’m concerned for my people , Sybelle. Take whatever damn fool you want to your bed.”
The words tasted like ash in my mouth. Just the idea of another man in her bed filled my blood with fire.
But I forced myself to say, “How long did you know about the armies?”
She sucked in a breath. A beat of silence passed before she answered in a timid voice. “I received the letter a few days after the wedding.”
A rumbling snarl worked up my throat. “And you decided to keep this information to yourself?”
“I was still searching for the source of the shadows! You weren’t telling me anything! If you had just been honest with me?—”
“Oh, so this is my doing? I was supposed to share my deepest secrets with the human I had just met?”
“No, but you could have damn well told me why I was here in the first place!”
“You know I couldn’t!” I roared, the firelight flickering as my shadows thickened. “I could not tell you any of it, Sybelle!”
She stepped closer to me. “You could have told me you needed me to protect your people from the shadows. You could have told me you needed human blood . You could have given me some information, Varius. But you’ve been lying from the beginning.
Ever since that contract between our kingdoms was created. ”
“I didn’t write the contract.”
“No, but you carried it on. You kept up the ruse. I may have deceived you, but you deceived me, too.”
She had closed the distance between us, our bodies now only inches apart as she glared up at me. I knew I needed to step back before I lashed out and hurt her.
Before I could move, however, she said, “Cut me, and I will swear it.”
I blinked. “What?”
“Use my dagger to cut my hand. I will swear on my fae blood that I’m not lying. That I’m no longer loyal to my court. I am loyal to you , Varius.”
I could only stare at her, shocked by her words. A vow with fae blood was sacred and unbreakable. Even if she could lie as a human, she would not be able to fabricate something like that.
As if to prove how serious she was, she reached to her thigh and unsheathed the dagger hidden there. She pressed it into my hand.
“You—You would swear such things?” I whispered.
“Yes.”
Her gaze was steady as she held mine. She did not flinch. She did not waver .
“I will not cut you.” I thrust the hilt of the dagger back into her grasp.
Her lips thinned. “Fine. Then I’ll do it.”
“Sybelle—”
But she had already pressed the tip of her blade into her palm.
Crimson blood beaded from the wound. She lifted her hand, her expression fierce, and said, “I, Sybelle of the Earthen Court, swear by my fae blood that I am no longer loyal to the Earthen Court, but to my husband and the Shadow Court. I swear that I did not collude with the Earthen Court to invade the Shadow Court.”
My breath caught in my throat as the air hummed with power, proof that her vow was magically binding.
Mother of Shade, she’d actually done it.
She was loyal to me. To my people.
Except…
“What of your human lover?” I spat the words before I could stop myself.
Her eyes shuttered, and she drew back a step. Her nostrils flared. “This again? I’m tired of this, Varius. Just tell me you want me all to yourself and let’s be done with it.”
I bared my teeth at her. “That is not ?—”
“How dare you? First, you ignore me as if our kiss never happened. Then, you command me to wear a dress of your choosing as if I’m your pet.
And now, you’re accusing me of harboring secret lovers.
” She laughed without humor as she returned her dagger to the sheath at her thigh.
“Make up your damn mind. Will you claim me as your wife in earnest? Or will you continue to hide from this like a coward, only to be brought out by your petty jealousy at the thought of me seeking affection elsewhere?”
I growled, the sound low and feral, as I strode toward her until I was towering over her slight form. Despite our height difference, she still stared up at me with anger and determination, unfazed by my intimidating stature.
“I am the King of Shadows,” I said. “And I claim what’s mine.”
“Prove it,” she said. “Make me yours, Varius.”
I stared down at her, conflict roiling within me. I couldn’t see clearly; the rage and lust and heat churning in my body were too intense to sift through. All I knew was the pounding need that flooded my body, the desire quaking in my bones.
I bent over her, framing her face in my hands and drawing her closer. “You are mine, Sybelle.”
My shadows danced around us as I brought her mouth to mine.