Chapter 20
Lore
Back in our room, Moira and Calista waited by the hearth. Their welcoming smiles dimmed when they caught a glance of Reyla.
Sweat beaded on Reyla’s brow, but chills wracked her frame. I wanted to kill whoever was frightening her. Naveer would do quite nicely.
“My lady,” Calista cried out, rushing to my wife with Moira trailing behind her. “Are you unwell?”
“I’m fine,” Reyla said, but she allowed them to help her to the sofa and sit.
Moira snapped her finger and a throw blanket appeared in her hand. She draped it across Reyla’s lap, studying her face. “I’m here. Everything will be alright. You can trust me to keep you safe.”
Reyla nodded, her gaze on the table in front of the sofa.
Dorion watched Calista and Moira with a frown that soon smoothed. He shook his head and directed his attention to me.
I gestured toward the door. “Calista. Moira. Please go to the kitchen for bread, cheese, and a few unopened bottles of wine. Plus whatever you find that’s not…” Tainted, though I couldn’t say that. “Simple things will do.” Reyla had eaten almost nothing at dinner.
Once they’d returned and placed the food and drink on the table in front of the sofa, I dismissed them and sat with Reyla, renewing my wards to keep others from spying on our conversation.
Dorion stood near the fire, warming his backside. Farris had laid down on the sofa on Reyla’s other side and rested his chin on her thigh. He stared at her with a soulful expression.
Reyla explained about the portrait, the skulls weeping wax, and how a drop had burned her.
I quickly healed her wound, snarling to see she was hurt.
The idea that something in this castle had attacked her, marked her, made violence sing through my veins.
I traced the spot where the burn had been, soothing it.
She curled her finger my way, and when I leaned close, she kissed my jaw.
“Could Prager have done it?” Dorion sat across from us. He leaned over the tray and took a slice of bread he layered with cheese. He’d already poured the wine and placed his glass on the table.
“If she’s decided to drive me out of my mind instead of outright kill me, then sure, it could be her,” Reyla said. She told Dorion about what happened in our room after we arrived.
He glanced over his shoulder at the mirror and shifted to another chair, out of the mirror’s path if Prager should weaponize it again.
“So what the fuck do we think was going on down there?” I asked, raking my hand through my hair before laying that arm across Reyla’s shoulders.
“That was some weird chant,” Dorion said.
Reyla whispered it to us. “Honor those who walked before. Their sacrifice opens every door. By choice they gave what could not be taken. So future paths might yet awaken. Time bends back for those who serve. The willing heart gets what they deserve.”
Silence stretched between us as we absorbed the words.
Reyla looked up at me. “What do you think it means?”
I shook my head.
After scooping up a slice of cheese from the platter to nibble on, she leaned closer. “Maybe it’s a tradition at Irridain Court.”
“It felt less like tradition and more like a warning to me,” I said.
“I agree. This was my first dining experience at Irridain,” Dorion said. “I’ve only been on the grounds a few times before.”
“The willing heart gets what they deserve sounds ominous.” Reyla shivered, and I tightened my arm around her shoulders. “Let’s not be too willing when Naveer makes demands.”
“Wise, Wildfire. Very wise.”
Swallowing a bite, Reyla watched Dorion closely. “You and Laphira were…”
Unease flickered across his face. “We met at a fair.” He stared down at his now empty hands. “Neither of us knew who the other was. Since we’d both snuck out of our courts and weren’t supposed to be there, we used fake names.”
The corner of his mouth twitched up in a half-smile that held sadness more than anything else.
“We spent the evening together and after, I asked to see her again. She…was everything.” His penetrating gaze met mine; he knew I understood.
“Funny and always laughing. She loved to dance, and she dragged me over to where musicians played, and I spun her around until she was dizzy. We met up other times after that. I still didn’t know who she was, or I would’ve stayed away.
” He shrugged. “Maybe. It’s hard to do that when you’re falling in love. ”
“Do you think she felt the same?” Sympathy came through in Wildfire’s voice.
“She told me she did.” With a sigh, he drank some wine, returning the glass to the table.
I took bread and cheese and ate, washing bites down with sips of wine.
After feeding Farris a piece of bread, Reyla stroked his cheeks, not looking Dorion’s way, though I could tell she was observing him from the corner of her eye.
She watched him with that careful attention she reserved for potential threats.
Smart woman. He'd concealed things from us inside the labyrinth.
I had the advantage of history with him, though I trusted him only as much as anyone could trust the heir of a rival court.
“We met almost daily for months,” he said.
“Autumn afternoons in an orchard where the leaves turned gold around us.
Winter evenings in an abandoned keep where we'd build a fire and sit beside it, talking until dawn.” His voice roughened.
“I thought I'd found my future. But one day, she stopped coming. I didn’t know why, and it ripped me apart.”
He stared at the floor, lost in the memories.
“When I heard the Irridain princess was going to marry, I thought nothing of it. But my father was sent an invitation to the wedding. I’m sure it was a formality.
It wasn’t like our courts were friendly, though we weren’t bitter rivals like with Evergorne.
He didn’t want to go and sent me in his place.
Imagine my surprise when I saw the woman I loved walk down the aisle to join her life to someone else. ”
“I’m sorry,” Reyla said softly. “Do you think she married him willingly?”
“She seemed happy enough to do it.” He sighed. “I left during the vows. Couldn't bear to watch her promise herself to someone else when she'd already given me her heart.” He stared at the food. “Or so I thought.”
Turning toward the hearth, he flicked his hand and wood appeared on top of the burning-down coals.
Flames licked greedily around the dry tinder that snapped and popped.
Facing us again, he shook his head. “Laphira was supposed to take the crown after her father’s death, but her mother has been reluctant to hand it to her.
From what I heard recently, Naveer keeps saying that Laphira’s not quite ready.
The court seems happy enough with her on the throne. ”
He grunted. “Laphira was sitting beside me at dinner, but only her exterior. It was like the inside of her, the woman I love, was gone.”
“She could be putting on an act. With Naveer as a mother, I would too.” Reyla scooted forward to grab a slice of cheese. She bit into the slice, chewing.
“There’s something odd about everything here.” He let out a breath. “I don’t know what to make of it.” He looked between us, including Farris in the gesture. “I need to figure out what’s happening to her and why.”
“Did you tell her who you are tonight?” I asked.
“I couldn’t.” He sounded completely devastated. “I can't risk exposing you two.” His hands clenched. “But I'm dying inside watching her like this.”
I felt bad for him. If this was Reyla, I’d be ripping this place apart to find out what was happening. The thought of losing her, of watching her become an empty shell like Laphira, made my blood run cold.
Dorion sent us a pleading look. “What do we think could be wrong with her?”
I shook my head. “We can ask questions, see if we can discover what’s going on.”
Reyla nodded. “Moira and Calista will help.” She glanced up at me. “How does what I saw tie into the chandelier and Laphira’s behavior, if it does at all?”
“Hard to tell without more information.”
“I didn't imagine the whispers or the change in the chandelier.” Steel edged her voice, the tone she used when someone questioned her abilities.
I tugged on a strand of her hair. “I believe you.”
“Thank you.” She pressed her face into my side before turning to Dorion.
“What’s Queen Naveer’s skill? That might give us a clue to all this.
Of anyone, I’d suspect her the most of doing something like this to her daughter, though I can’t figure out what she might gain other than holding onto the crown. ”
“She has two skills. Willbinding is one,” Dorion said. “She can influence people's choices, making them believe their decisions are entirely their own. It's subtle. Victims never realize they're being manipulated. They think they're acting on their own desires.”
“That explains a lot about this place,” I muttered. A skill like that would make everyone here potential puppets. “I’d read her skill was deathsense.”
Dorion nodded. “That’s the other.”
“She can feel when someone dies and absorb the energy released at the moment of death,” I explained to Reyla.
“The stronger the person's magic, the more power they gain.
It's a rare enough skill that most don't understand how it works.
My ancestors researched all the rival courts' abilities.” I met Dorion's curious gaze. “Standard precaution.”
Dorion paused as he was lifting food toward his mouth. “What did your ancestors discover about Halendor?” He bit down hard and chewed.
I grinned, and I supposed it did come out a touch feral. “That’s confidential.”
Wildfire poked my side. “You can tell me later. Whisper it in my ear.”
I brushed my lips against her cheek. “Tonight, I'll share all of Evergorne's secrets with you.”
“Don’t drag Halendor into that,” Dorion grumbled.
Reyla's expression grew grim. “Willbinding and deathsense together explains why she runs deadly trials.”
“Exactly. She influences people to compete willingly, then feeds off their deaths when they lose.” Dorion's jaw clenched. “Which goes along with the last bit of that chant. No wonder Laphira seems so empty. She's probably been forced to watch years of willing sacrifices.”
Reyla fed Farris a piece of cheese. He was enjoying our meal as much as us. “We‘ll ask Calista and Moira to investigate carefully. They’re right that they’ll be able to move around the castle easier than us.” She sucked in a breath and released it. “Any idea what the competitions will entail?”
“Nothing cute or fun,” Dorion said. “After that lovely chant at dinner, it’ll be wise to watch your back.”
“And get out of here as fast as we can,” Reyla said.
My only goal was to obtain the talisman and leave. If I could do it tonight, I would. I had no interest in competing in whatever “games” Naveer might dream up, especially when they put my wife at risk.
Dorion drained the rest of his wine and brushed crumbs off the front of his tunic before rising. “I’m going to look around.”
“Don’t get caught,” Reyla said.
“I’ll be careful.” He glanced toward one of the windows where darkness loomed. “Lord Vikire enjoys taking walks through the grounds at night. It’s a well-known fact. He’d stroll through the castle itself if it’s raining, which it is.”
“Let us know if you discover anything,” I said as he strode toward the door.
Farris lifted his head and watched Dorion, his tail thumping on the cushions.
Dorion paused at the door, his hand on the latch. “If something happens to me tonight, get Laphira out of here. Promise me.”
Before we could respond, he slipped out into the hall, leaving us with his desperate plea and the sound of rain pattering on the windows.