Chapter 24
Reyla
“We haven’t heard from Dorion,” I said later.
“It’s the middle of the night.” Lore’s arms tightened around me, and he nuzzled my neck with his nose, kissing a trail down my throat. “He’s probably asleep.”
“We should make sure everything’s alright. He was upset.” Awake now, I was worried.
Lore sighed and flitted from the bed, reappearing a short time later as naked as he was when he left. Moonlight outlined his frame, and despite everything weighing on us, heat sparked through me. We might not have much time left together, and the thought gutted me.
“Tell me you didn’t go to his room dressed like that,” I croaked, my gaze fixed on his tight abs.
His arms spread wide, and he looked down at himself, smirking when he lifted his head. “Dorion’s got one just like it, though I’ll point out that mine is better.”
“What is it with guys and their conceited pride about their cocks?”
“It’s a nice cock. Even better than nice.” He climbed onto the bed and curled around me.
“You.” I poked his shoulder. “What did Dorion say?”
“He wasn’t there.”
Unease gnawed at me. Dorion wasn't the type to disappear without explanation, especially not when Laphira was involved. “Should we look for him? He could be hurt.”
“We’ll give it until morning.”
He climbed over me, and I forgot about everything else.
We rose early to bathe and dress in leathers. Since we had no idea what the competitions would entail, we were going to dress as if we were going into battle. At our request, Moira and Calista brought food to our rooms. I wasn’t ready for a repeat of the dining room.
They stood by the door to the hall as we ate.
“Did you learn anything interesting?” I asked them around a bite of egg I washed down with a sip of tea.
Moira shook her head. “I couldn’t get anyone to talk with me, not even when I tried to discuss the weather.”
“They’re diligent.” Calista's tone turned sharp. “Much too focused on what they need to get done to bother with something as simple as that.”
“It might rain,” Moira said with a lifted brow. “If you have to go outside, you might want to know that.”
“How about you, Calista?” Lore asked.
“I spent my time in a different way.” A sparkle lit her eyes. “I stood outside doors and listened rather than outright asking questions.”
“Did you discover anything?” I finished my eggs and lifted a well-buttered horig muffin. I’ll say one thing for Naveer; she had an excellent chef. I wanted this recipe.
“There’s something odd about Princess Laphira. I heard one woman mentioning what a shame it was that she won’t be taking the crown.”
Lore took a horig muffin and sliced it open, lavishing it with butter and placing it on my plate to replace the one I’d consumed in about six bites. “Did they elaborate on that?”
I grinned and almost leaned across the table to kiss him. The only thing holding me back was Calista still speaking and my interest in hearing what she had to say.
“She's been promised to Lord Casteel.”
Lore's expression darkened. “Naveer's enforcer. Bad news in expensive clothing.”
Calista nodded. “He has an estate in the northern mountains and plans to take her there after the wedding.”
“When?”
“Within weeks.” Calista’s lips thinned. “Her son will remain here to be trained to take the crown when Queen Naveer deems it’s the right time.”
Since she’d stolen the crown from her daughter, I doubted the right time would arrive outside of Naveer’s death. And she was chasing immortality with each person she drained.
Losing my appetite, I placed the rest of my second muffin back on my plate.
Laphira didn’t appear able to participate in a wedding ceremony, let alone a marriage.
“Her son is young,” I pointed out. A boy needed his mother.
“I agree, and have you seen the enforcer?” Moira asked, her voice low.
“Not that appearance says much about a person, but he…tortures small creatures, so I heard. You know I’d do anything to protect a beastie, much like you would Farris.
” Her sad gaze met mine. “Who’d harm a sweet pet?
If someone looks at him wrong, he’s been known to remove their eyes.
Or their tongue if they’re caught gossiping about him.
” It must’ve occurred to her that this was what she was doing, because all the color fled her face, and she sank down onto a chair near the door.
Most enforcers were horrifying, hence the title. Lorant, in many ways, had been Merrick’s enforcer. And my brother told me once that he’d done nasty things for the king. I’d brushed it off. I loved him and could forgive him, but sometimes it was best not knowing what someone had done in their past.
“The servant I overheard mentioned he’d once murdered an entire village when one unknown resident was accused of theft,” Calista said.
My gaze met Lore’s. “That’s harsh punishment.”
We’ll tell Dorion, Lore said.
When we saw him. My back spiked with tension. Had he returned safely?
I turned back to my ladies. “Anything else?”
Calista shook her head. “The staff went quiet after that. I lingered until I heard someone coming down the hall. As it is, I’m not sure that this information is of much value to our cause.
I wish they’d talked about the challenges so I could give you some clues about what to expect, but despite moving among other staff, no one brought it up. ”
“Alright. Thank you,” I said.
Calista glanced toward the bedroom door. “We’ll straighten your room.” They hurried into the bedroom.
My shoulders curled forward as I spoke, and I kept my voice low. “Obviously, Dorion’s assumption that the fete was being held to find new blood to bind to Irridain through marriage was incorrect.”
“We know now why she’s holding it.”
“Something worse we have to fix now.”
“If we can.”
He was right. Our only priority was to grab the talisman and return to Evergorne to fuse the three together. We couldn’t spend time investigating the Irridain situation and stopping Naveer, though she should be stopped.
Calista and Moira returned from the bedroom, their cheeks flushed. “If we’re dismissed, we’ll make our way back downstairs and see if we can learn anything else. I’ll come back later for your trays.”
“Thank you,” I said, and they left.
We went down to the foyer, joining about twenty others mingling in the big open area. Some shot us sideways glances, a few sneering as they took in our numerous weapons.
“Lord Rutherford,” one man asked with obvious disdain. “When did you start wearing weapons that I assume you have no idea how to use?” His attention shifted to me. “Lady Bliss, that’s quite a statement you’re making by wearing pants, let alone the blades that I know you have no idea how to use.”
I gave him a brow-raised look, tightening my mouth with scorn.
If I impale him with one of my blades, I told Lore, he’ll change his opinion and show me some respect.
Why bother? he drawled.
Right. I’ll save my bladework for whatever might be coming. The interaction revealed a problem we hadn't anticipated. Others know us, but we don’t know them. Or I didn’t, that is.
No worries.
“Take care how you speak to my wife, Lord Tyrrius,” Lore rasped. “Testing her is one thing. Testing me is another.”
I added my sneer to his but kept my mouth shut for now, taking a moment to study the competition.
Every face in the foyer held the same calculating expression, from assessing threats to planning betrayals.
Lord Tyrrius sneered at our weapons with the confidence of someone who'd never faced real combat.
His lean frame and ornamental blade suggested he preferred to let others do his dirty work, though the blood-red gemstone in his pommel hinted at darker capabilities.
A dark-skinned woman in seafoam silk studied Lore with predatory interest, her tightly curled hair woven with dark green pins. The thick torque around her throat pulsed with magical energy, jewelry that doubled as a weapon.
Her glance slid my way, and she sneered, tapping the torque.
Can jewelry be enchanted? I asked Lore.
Sometimes.
One woman wearing a suspicious torque is looking at me like she’d happily swipe a blade across my throat. Or gouge me in the back.
Who do you want to kill, and can I do it for you instead? I'm bored.
My snort made a nervous woman in deep blue jump. Her pinched expression and the way she kept smoothing her gown screamed anxiety.
Do I know the woman to my left?
Lady Bliss may, but I don't.
Near the parlor entrance, twin women in matching garnet gowns leaned against a column.
Both willowy with medium-toned skin, one wore a bejeweled ring through her upper lip, the other through her brow.
They were surveying the competition as much as me, and their whispered conversation ended in laughter sharp as jagged glass.
A stout older man dressed completely in white pretended to study the floor while shooting covert glances around the room. Ink stains on his fingers and his scholarly face marked him as someone who dealt in information, something that might work well in a place like this.
Friendly group, I told Lore.
The man in green by the door looks ready to murder me specifically.
That one stood apart from the others, his tunic well-made but unremarkable. What made him memorable was the hatred burning in his eyes as he watched Lore.
Lord Rutherford may have made enemies.
I'll take care. Or not. I am feeling feisty this morning.
Save your feistiness for later.
All of my feistiness belongs to you.
That warmed me through, and I shifted closer into his side, sliding my arm around the back of his waist.
The rest of the nobles blurred together in expensive silk and thin smiles, but these few stood out, each dangerous in their own way. Every single one of them looked at us as if they’d happily sink a dagger into our bellies, given the first chance.
Dorion came over to stand with us. “Sorry I was delayed. I was looking into things.”