Chapter 27
27
I visited the brothel again a week before the Earth trial.
I hadn’t wanted to return, but something I’d overheard at lunch had set me on this course. Drustan had been conferring with a Light lord, a tall, slender faerie with dark hair and blue eyes who I vaguely remembered seeing Drustan speak with at the first lunch of the trial season. “They have a wonderfully flexible girl down there, Lothar,” he’d said, not seeming to care that I was standing only ten feet away in the line of servants. “You should try her out.”
My entire body had flushed with hurt and a horrible, burning anger. There was only one thing he could be talking about.
“I’m intrigued,” Lothar had replied. “I’ll join you tonight.”
So there I was, lying in the crawl space above the brothel and waiting for Drustan to appear.
My rage had burned hot all day, and Caedo pulsed around my arm with echoed fury. How could Drustan complain about Hector’s habits and then visit the brothel himself? Yes, many were willing, but even if Drustan was visiting one of those, to callously say so in front of me had hurt. And if he planned to choose one of the others…
No. He wouldn’t. Surely I would have sensed if he was that kind of monster.
Still, a sick thought haunted me, whispering doubts in my mind. What if sleeping with me had given him a taste for the forbidden and this was the next step in taking anything he wanted, without limits?
Caedo hummed, feeding me images of metal sliding into flesh and the wet spill of blood.
We need to wait , I told it. See the truth first .
I didn’t know why I needed to see this. Maybe to convince myself Drustan wasn’t worth the longing I’d poured into the thought of him, the longing I still felt through my jealousy and rage. If he did this, even if his companion was willing, I would fill that space that ached for him with hatred instead.
I ignored the sights and sounds below as best I could, waiting for long hours as I crawled back and forth. At last he appeared, walking smiling into one of the bedrooms with Lothar. The human woman who had escorted them in bowed and left.
An orange ward flickered to life on the door.
“It needs to happen soon,” Drustan said without preamble.
“Agreed,” Lothar said. “When, though? Osric is well guarded.”
Shock hit me like a hammer. They weren’t here to have sex; they were here to discuss the rebellion! Fury faded into dizzy relief as I recognized the shrewdness of the plan. Drustan needed to meet with his coconspirators somewhere, and he was a notorious hedonist. Who would suspect that a coup was being plotted in the brothel, especially since Drustan had been joined by a representative of Light House?
This finally solved one mystery—the identity of the male faerie Drustan had met with in the library, one of two figures wearing pastel clothing. I hadn’t thought it was possible Drustan had Light allies, but here was the proof. Lothar’s name sounded familiar—who exactly was he, and who had been the third faerie in the library that day?
“After the trials,” Drustan said. “Once we know which of the candidates will succeed. They’re young and can be swayed to our side.”
“Makes sense.”
They were really going to do it. My heart thundered so loudly it was a wonder they didn’t hear it through the ceiling.
“I’ll tell Dallaida,” Drustan said.
Wait, the Queen of the Nasties? Had he used the information I’d given him and decided to recruit her, or had they already formed an alliance? It would explain where he’d been that day he’d emerged from the lower levels with a scratch on his face—the Nasties were known for their claws.
Drustan’s web of conspiracy spread far wider than I had guessed.
“You think she can be relied upon?”
“She hates Osric. She’s eager to end him, and the Nasties are the only ones who can.”
The words didn’t make sense at first. Why would the Nasties be able to harm Osric? Even if they hadn’t been forbidden from visiting the Noble Fae levels, the wards had been renewed at the spring equinox. No one in Mistei could harm the king—not a prince, not a lady, not a human in service to a house.
Except…I sucked in a quiet breath, realization hitting. The protective ward in the throne room was written in the blood of Earth, Fire, Void, Light, and Illusion—but the Nasties were no longer part of those houses. They might have sworn fealty to Blood House long ago, but no house head existed anymore to contribute to that ward.
Drustan planned to have the Nasties—those gruesome, overlooked, shunned creatures the Noble Fae on the upper levels had relegated to the realm of nightmares and stories—slay the king for him.
It was brilliant.
“My soldiers will protect the right flank, then,” Lothar said. “You still want to do it in the throne room? He’s the only one who can cast magic there, so we’ll be limited to swords.”
“That’s why it’s the best place. He won’t expect it, and his troops will be limited to weapons, too.”
That was part of the warding spell, I remembered Alodie telling me when I’d asked for more details about it. The ward protected the king’s safety throughout Mistei, but he’d also arranged for a secondary prohibition against any use of the other four houses’ magic in the throne room. That chamber was the heart of his empire, and he wanted his power there to be absolute.
Now Drustan would use the king’s hubris as another weapon against him. So clever, so daring…so very dangerous.
“We’ll need to work out the best way to get our combined forces in without attracting notice,” Lothar said.
“We have time.” Drustan studied Lothar speculatively. “You’ll likely be standing closest to Roland.”
Lothar sneered. “You think I’ll lose my nerve?”
“I have to consider all possibilities.”
“I’d do anything to remove my brother from power.”
Lothar was the younger brother of the Light prince. Would this awful court never stop surprising me with its twisted histories and betrayals? Now I remembered where I’d heard his name—when Markas and Karissa had been discussing Garrick’s claims that he was the new heir to Light House.
I could understand why Lothar wanted to overthrow Osric, though. If Drustan ruled Mistei, Lothar could become Prince of Light and a favorite of the new king—so long as he murdered Roland before Garrick could be named heir instead.
The fact that this was my first thought, not that Lothar would do it for the good of Mistei alone, was concerning. I was thinking more like the Fae every day.
“Very well,” Drustan said. “Let’s tackle the issue of troop movements next, and do let me know if Gweneira hears any more of her intriguing whispers.” He frowned. “We should meet again soon. Hector has been making overtures to a few members of my house, and I don’t like how cozy Kallen was with the Elsmere delegation, either.”
“One game, many players,” Lothar said. “Hector’s intent is clear, but Kallen’s motivations are as murky as ever. Does he cultivate Elsmere for his brother or for Osric?”
Drustan grunted. “He’s the king’s creature first and foremost.”
I felt a prick of guilt. I was the reason Kallen had heard about a leadership change in Elsmere. If he was cultivating them as allies for Osric, it was partially my fault.
“Still,” Lothar said. “If Void were to gain the support of outsiders, they wouldn’t be constrained by the wards, either. And if they get to Osric first…”
“Don’t worry too much about it,” Drustan said. “Elsmere won’t be back in numbers until Samhain anyway. We’ll have made our move by then.”
My breath came fast with excitement, and I curled my fingers against the grate. The rebellion had suddenly gone from conjecture to something tangible. The next step was figuring out exactly how I could help.
The meeting concluded soon after that, and I began shimmying backwards. My dress caught under my shin, and my foot scraped against the stone as I adjusted. I froze.
“What was that?” Lothar asked.
There was nothing but silence below for a few tense moments. I held my breath, not daring to move a single muscle.
“Probably just a rat crawling in the walls,” Drustan said, but he sounded on edge. “I’ve been assured that this room is completely secure, and nothing should be able to penetrate the ward on the door.”
Except he hadn’t warded the ceiling, which he hopefully never realized.
I waited for a long time after they left, too afraid to move when someone might be lingering outside. When the room remained empty, I made my escape.
“Kenna.”
I was rushing to the human levels to pick up a fabric delivery for Earth House. I turned at the summons, and my heart lurched.
Drustan stood behind me, looking uncharacteristically solemn.
I flushed at the sight of him. We hadn’t spoken a word to each other since we’d been intimate, but the heat painting my cheeks wasn’t all from awkwardness and desire. I was afraid, too—afraid he’d somehow learned it had been me hiding in the ceiling and not a rat.
I curtsied. “Prince Drustan.”
“I have a message for Lady Lara.” He gestured for me to follow.
He took me to the room near Fire House where we had first kissed. Once he shut the door, a curtain of shimmering orange covered every surface—including the ceiling.
He spun almost violently, gripping my shoulders in hard hands. I cried out, fear coursing through me at the sudden hostility in his expression.
“You heard,” he accused.
I shook my head. “I—I don’t know—”
“Don’t lie to me.” He punctuated the words with a shake. “I smelled you last night.”
“S-smelled me?”
“In the brothel. You always wear the same honeysuckle perfume. I thought it was a coincidence at first, but you were eavesdropping, weren’t you?”
Betrayed by my ever-growing affection for cosmetics. I shook my head and opened my mouth, but he jostled me again. “I like you, Kenna, but this is a matter that could mean life or death for thousands of faeries and humans.” His voice dropped in pitch, becoming half growl. “Think very carefully before you lie to me again.”
My breaths jammed together in my throat. He was threatening me. This man I’d lain with only a few weeks ago was threatening me.
I forced myself to take a deep breath, reaching for reason. I’d only known Drustan for a few months. King Osric had ruled for eight hundred tyrannical years, and this was the first true chance to stop him. Of course Drustan’s cause was more important than me.
“I was there,” I admitted.
He released me and ran a hand over his face, exhaling raggedly. “How?”
I couldn’t tell him about the catacombs. “I followed you.”
“Why?”
“I heard you talking at lunch.” I hated how jealous the admission made me sound; how jealous I had been. “I couldn’t believe you were visiting the brothel after everything you’d said about Hector hurting defenseless people.”
“Kenna, you’re going to get yourself killed if you continue to act this recklessly.” He paced away while I struggled not to point out that the only danger I’d been in was from him. “How did you hear? The rooms are soundproof, and I warded the door.”
This would be tricky. “There are passages between the walls from a long time ago.”
He spat out a curse. “Of course. Some ancient ruler probably wanted to blackmail their subjects. How did you find out about them?” His eyes pinned me in place. I saw the intelligence behind them, the shrewd mind assessing whether or not I spoke truth.
“I heard a rumor.”
He laughed, and it wasn’t a kind sound. “From who?”
“From the Nasties. I went down there again to talk to some of them.” It was a lie, but what else could I say? If the Noble Fae knew about any secret tunnels, Drustan would have been caught long before this.
“Why did you go back down there?”
I attempted to look contrite. “I shouldn’t have, but I still wanted to find out more about the Blood trial. A few of the Nasties looked sympathetic last time, so I thought if I stayed away from Dallaida’s palace…”
He didn’t look like he entirely believed me. “And they just told you about the passages?”
“They seemed to know a lot about what happens on the upper levels, and I asked how they knew. They said there are hollow walls all over Mistei where it’s possible to hide and listen in.” Close enough to the truth to sound convincing, but far enough away that I wasn’t betraying Earth House. “Their favorite place to listen is the brothel, and they told me where that entrance was.”
He swore and ran his hands through his hair. “I’m never meeting anyone there again. Dallaida probably knows far more than is safe.”
I didn’t want her denying the story I was spinning, so I hedged. “I don’t know. The ones I spoke with weren’t particularly sympathetic to her. Not all of the Nasties are united.”
“Of course they aren’t. They’re vermin and monsters, constantly clawing to get ahead.” Drustan slumped against the desk, studying me with weary eyes. “What am I going to do with you, Kenna?”
“Let me help you.” I sank to my knees, clasping my hands at my chest. The subservient position chafed, but I needed him to know I was on his side and wouldn’t ever hurt his cause. “I didn’t know you were holding a meeting there. I was just…”
“Just what?”
I hated what I was about to say even more than I hated being on my knees. “Jealous.”
He sighed and pulled me to my feet, rubbing his hands up and down my arms. “Jealousy is a very human emotion, Kenna.”
I winced. “I know.”
I waited in the ensuing silence, dreading whatever truth was about to be aired between us.
The angry tension in his face finally dissipated, bringing back the person I recognized. “I’ll admit,” he said, “if our roles had been reversed, I would have hated the thought of you going to another, too.”
My heart fluttered. “You would?”
He stroked my cheek, and I leaned into the caress. “I’ve had to make a lot of hard choices over the years. Threaten people I don’t want to threaten. Make bargains I never wanted to make. Everything I do is to create a better life for everyone in Mistei—humans and faeries alike. Do you believe me?”
I nodded.
“I can’t afford to be distracted by my own desires. But when I look at you…” He exhaled. “Shards, Kenna, you’ve gotten under my skin somehow. It’s dangerous. For both of us.”
We stood only inches apart. I tilted my head back, my eyelids drooping as his hot breath brushed over my mouth. “I don’t care.”
He smiled tightly. “Sometimes I don’t, either. That’s exactly why it’s dangerous.”
“Is that why you haven’t spoken to me since Beltane?”
“You haven’t spoken to me, either.”
The accusation was absurd. “Because I’m a servant. There’s no reason for me to speak to you in public unprompted.”
“You do so many things you shouldn’t, Kenna. Why stop at that?”
It was a fair point. I blushed, remembering some of those things I shouldn’t have done. I tried to move away, but his hands tightened, keeping me near him. “What are you thinking about?” he asked.
“Nothing.”
“Liar.”
I took a deep breath and steeled myself. We had to talk about the particulars sometime. “Beltane.”
His fingers flexed on my shoulders, and the heat emanating from him intensified. “I haven’t stopped thinking about Beltane since it happened.”
“It was nice,” I choked out.
“Nice?” His eyebrows shot up. “You certainly know how to make me feel secure in my performance.”
“More than nice.”
He laughed. “It was intense. Earth-shattering. Wild. Primal. There are about a thousand adjectives that would describe it better than ‘nice.’?”
“I enjoyed it.” My face felt like it was on fire. Maybe his magic was consuming me, burning me up from the inside out.
He growled and hoisted me into the air. I gasped as he carried me to the wall and pinned me against it. “I’m going to get you to admit just how good it was.” He rucked my skirts up, giving me the freedom to wrap my legs around his waist. I moaned as his erection came into contact with my core.
“How will you do that?” I asked breathlessly.
In response, he rolled his hips into mine. My eyes slid shut in pleasure, and I arched into him, gripping his shoulders as I ground against him.
“There it is. Your passion is incredible.”
I opened my eyes. He truly did look awestruck as he stared at me. Had the Fae grown so jaded they didn’t get lost in sex? It was still new to me, though, and I wanted more of it.
I fisted my hands in his hair to hold him in place, then captured his lips with mine, plunging my tongue into his mouth. He grunted in surprise, and then he was kissing me back passionately, his mouth moving like a flickering flame, his body pressing me against the wall until all I could feel was the stone behind me and his hardness in front.
I gasped as he broke free from the kiss and bit my neck. He ran his tongue up my skin, tasting me, then closed his teeth over the front of my throat. As if he were a wolf, and I his prey.
I wanted to be his prey.
He spun, carrying me across the room to the couch. He dropped me, and before I could sit up, he was there, shoving my skirts up to my waist, ripping off my undergarments before his mouth found me, hot and wet.
I cried out, and the protective ward rippled as the sound hit it. By the time he slipped a finger inside me, I was more than ready to take him into my body, but there was something I wanted to do first.
I shoved him off me. He fell back on his knees, looking bemused as I struggled upright and sank onto the floor facing him. “Stand up,” I commanded.
His breath quickened as he obeyed. I tore his trousers open, shoving them to his ankles and stripping off his undergarments. His cock rose in front of me, thick and beautiful. Strong veins twined up the side, and the head glistened with a trace of liquid.
I leaned in and sucked him into my mouth.
He shouted, throwing his head back as his hands fisted in my hair. His skin tasted salty and decadent, the odor of exotic spices he always gave off concentrated in this secret place. I tongued and sucked, making up for whatever I didn’t know about technique with unbridled enthusiasm. His hips jerked, and he gripped my hair as if I were the only solid thing in a spinning world.
“Stop,” he gasped.
I drew back reluctantly, giving him a final lick before rising.
Drustan’s face was feral with lust. He bared his teeth and grabbed me, shoving me until I was bent over the arm of the couch. He tossed my skirts up, then moved behind me and kicked my legs open.
I gripped the cushion as his hands coasted up my legs. When two of his fingers thrust into me, I moaned, shoving my hips back.
“You’re ready.”
I nodded, panting.
“There’s no contraceptive fire this time,” he said, fingers pressing a secret spot that made me let out a guttural noise.
It was something I’d considered after Beltane. I’d dreamed of fucking Drustan again, but I wasn’t sure if I wanted children now or ever, and Mistei certainly wasn’t the place to risk having a mixed human-faerie child. I struggled for words as he continued stroking me. “There’s—a special tea. To prevent that.” Aidan—ever delighted and nosy about this development—had informed me about the option, which was a common one in Mistei, and Maude had thankfully known how to brew it. She’d raised an eyebrow but refrained from asking questions about why I suddenly needed it, just pressing the packet of herbs into my hand with an instruction to brew the tea at the same time every morning.
Drustan grunted. “Good. Still, I’ll be careful.”
He removed his fingers. For one excruciating moment I felt nothing, and then the broad head of his cock fitted into me. He filled me with a relentless stroke.
I muffled my scream with my hand, biting down at the intensity of the pleasure.
He didn’t pause to let me adjust but thrust into me hard and fast, gripping my hips. I took it greedily, even when he went so deep it was almost painful. In that moment he owned me.
He bent over me, bracing his hands beside my head as his rhythm increased. Soon he was pounding into me, and my cries of pleasure could no longer be contained by my hand.
Drustan withdrew abruptly. I shuddered, then gasped as his fingers pressed hard against my clit. I convulsed, my vision exploding into a million stars.
I sagged over the arm of the couch, unable to move even to right my clothing or face him. His ragged breathing was loud in the silence. When I finally lifted my cheek from the cushion, I saw him lying on the carpet, his dazed eyes fixed on the ceiling. He’d finished in his hand.
My legs wobbled as I sank onto the floor next to him.
“See?” he said in a ragged voice. “More than nice.”
I chuckled and buried my face in his side. “I’m not sure. Maybe you should try to convince me again.”
Drustan and I stayed in that room for hours. Eventually, though, we needed to leave.
My fingers trembled as I struggled to button my dress.
“Let me.” Drustan took over, although his hands didn’t work much better than mine. He looked disheveled, his normally sleek hair tangled around his shoulders, his skin gleaming with sweat. His fine white shirt was torn, and one of the buttons on his trousers had been ripped off.
I was just as bedraggled. My dress was, thankfully, intact, but it was streaked with sweat, and my hair was a rat’s nest. I patted it gingerly, wincing at the thought of how much combing it would take to untangle.
It had been worth it, though.
Drustan and I stared at each other once we were both dressed. The dazed look in his eyes suddenly struck me as funny, and I clapped a hand to my mouth, suppressing a giggle.
“What are you laughing at?”
“I honestly have no idea.”
He shook his head. “I think I figured out what it is.”
“What’s making me laugh?”
“No. Why it’s so different with you.”
It was different with me? I couldn’t imagine how many people he’d had sex with over the years. “Why?”
“You make me feel young again.”
With his smooth skin, bright eyes, and muscular frame, it was sometimes easy to forget how old Drustan was. Now, though, I felt the gap between us as something monumental. He had lived for centuries . I had only lived for two decades.
I didn’t know what to say in response, so I just stared, taking him in.
He smiled. “Come on, you need to get back to Earth House.” As I walked towards the door, he seemed to remember something. “Wait. Earlier, you said you wanted to help. More than you’re helping now, I assume?”
Did sleeping with him and occasionally feeding him small pieces of information even count as helping his cause? I nodded, feeling a tingle of excitement.
“You know everything now. I wish you didn’t, but I can’t take back what you heard. That means if you help, you are part of the conspiracy.” His gray eyes were serious now. “Which means if we fail, you will pay the same price the rest of us will.”
A worse price would be spending the rest of my life a servant to King Osric’s cruel court. “I know.”
Drustan hesitated, then nodded. “We have all of Fire House and approximately a quarter of Light House on our side. We have Dallaida and the Nasties she controls, but she’s notoriously volatile and ultimately serves her own interests. In contrast, Osric has all of Illusion House, most of Light House, and the begrudging allegiance of everyone too afraid to stand against him. He has wards protecting him. He’s one of the most powerful faeries ever born and controls legendarily brutal soldiers. Even with everyone we’ve gathered against him, it isn’t an even fight.”
Put that way, it didn’t sound nearly as promising as I’d hoped. “What can I do?”
“I need allies. Specifically, I need Earth House.”
I shook my head. “They’re neutral. Nothing will change that.”
“They are historically neutral,” Drustan corrected. “That doesn’t mean it needs to continue. You have the ears of Princess Oriana and Lady Lara, and I know they aren’t content with the way things are. The pieces are there; all we need to do is change Oriana’s mind.”
“How will I even explain to Princess Oriana that I’ve been working with you? She’ll see it as a betrayal.”
“Don’t go directly to Oriana. Don’t tell anyone outright what you’ve been doing. But if you can, see if Lara is open to the idea of different leadership. If so, I can take it from there.”
“I’ll try.” For him. “What about Void House?”
He grimaced. “Hector wants the throne and is supposedly preparing for his own coup, although how he plans to hang on to power without internal allies, I have no idea. I still hope he can eventually be swayed, but right now I’m assuming everyone in Void House is our enemy until proven otherwise.”
Enemies everywhere. I thought of the consequences for Earth House should I succeed in bringing them into this. “What exactly happened to Blood House after the last uprising?”
Dread passed over his face, an echo of past tragedies. “I suppose you know enough already,” he said. “But, Kenna, you can never repeat this. Never. We’re safe within my wards, but your life would be in danger if you mentioned this anywhere else.”
I nodded in acknowledgment.
“Blood House controlled things of the flesh,” he said. “As a result, they were both warriors and healers. They could be brutal and unyielding, but above everything else, they valued strength and honesty. They were the opposite of Illusion in that way—Illusion spins lies and dreams, while Blood cared about what was true and tangible. Of course, this meant Blood and Illusion despised each other.”
Healers? With a name like Blood House, I’d assumed they were all vicious killers.
“When Osric took the throne,” Drustan continued, “no one stopped him. He hadn’t revealed his true nature yet, and he was the strongest of the Fae. It was only after he started executing dissenters that the Fae realized what he was. Void, Fire, and Blood were the only houses brave enough to stand against him. An alliance was formed, and civil war broke out.”
I listened raptly. Here at last was information about one of the greatest mysteries of Mistei: the missing house no one was allowed to speak of.
“Osric was still vulnerable to harm at the time. He hadn’t yet learned how to create the warding spell you witnessed at the spring equinox, and he hadn’t trapped everyone underground yet, although most of the population lived in Mistei anyway. So the rebellion had real hope that they would win. It began with assassinations and skirmishes in close quarters, progressed to larger battles, and then eventually the two armies met on a field of combat deep underground.”
“Underground?”
“There’s a cavern so vast you can’t see one end when standing at the other.” His hand moved across the air as if tracing the image in his mind. “Nothing was being accomplished with skirmishes, so everything was gambled on one battle. Light and Illusion against Fire, Blood, and Void, with Earth abstaining.”
“Illusion won.”
“Correct.” Drustan’s hand dropped to his side. “Despite our superior numbers, despite our planning, Osric’s forces were too brutal, his illusions too disorienting. His ruthlessness knew no bounds. He even slaughtered children to distract the faeries fighting in our lines. Eventually the battle was lost.”
He had been born after the war, but he spoke as if he had been there. “Your family fought in that battle.”
“They did.”
“How did they survive? Why didn’t Osric put them all to death?”
“Osric is as clever as he is cruel,” Drustan said bitterly. “He wanted to ensure Mistei remained powerful should outside threats arise, and he knew the houses needed strong leadership to prevent further unrest. So he gave each house head a choice. Swear eternal fealty to him—or watch their houses be destroyed. The leaders of Fire and Void capitulated, trading honor for the well-being of their families and subjects. Princess Cordelia of Blood House did not.”
“She sacrificed all of her people?” The thought was horrifying. There were thousands who lived in or supported Earth House.
“I don’t think she truly believed Osric could do it. But either way, the entirety of Blood House agreed with her. They would live or die with their honor intact.” Drustan shook his head. “Osric let Princess Cordelia return to her house, undoubtedly knowing she would try to help her people escape. When they streamed out through a hidden exit they thought only the Blood nobles knew about, Osric’s forces were there. The princess was slain trying to help her children across the bog to the mortal lands. Osric then forced his way into the house through the back entrance to kill anyone left who wouldn’t bow to him.”
It must have been carnage on an unimaginable scale. “Did anyone bow to him?”
“The Nasties, of course.” Drustan smiled grimly. “Blood had kept them like feral pets for centuries, but they were never truly equal. They weren’t willing to die for the Blood princess’s mistake. So the king made them swear fealty and then sent them far below, where he wouldn’t have to look at them. Then he forbade anyone from mentioning the crimes of Blood House again. If anyone had overheard what I’d just told you, we’d both be put to death.”
Put to death merely for speaking the truth. Osric hadn’t just murdered the princess and her heirs—he’d killed the servants, the Underfae, even children and babies too young to know what was happening. He’d massacred one-sixth of the population of Mistei in a single night.
“If you want to know whether he’d do it again,” Drustan said, “the answer is yes.”
“So Earth House could be destroyed.” Then it would be Lara and Selwyn with their throats cut. Alodie with a sword through her gut. Earth’s children lying in piles, their blood staining the pools and streams red.
“Yes. I won’t lie to you about that. But the alternative is to keep things as they are—and they may get even worse soon. It’s rumored Osric is researching ways to invade each house’s territory. He got lucky with Blood’s secret exit, but now he wants the ability to go wherever he pleases. Plant spies in every house to listen for dissent. If that happens, not a single place in Mistei will be safe from him.”
The stakes of Drustan’s war were unimaginable. All those lives hanging in the balance—but how many more would be lost if this revolution never happened at all?
I thought of the brothel, of the humans with missing tongues, of the public executions and the warded exits and the countless babies stolen from their parents because a certain kind of love was unacceptable. People would keep dying. They would spend their lives underground, living in fear, and their descendants would never know any different.
Earth House wasn’t mine to sway—but that didn’t mean it couldn’t be swayed.
I swallowed my trepidation and nodded. “I’ll talk to Lara.”