Chapter 37
37
T he dress that Leah put me in was a dusty gold, with so many sheer panels around the bodice it was almost as if I wasn’t wearing much at all. The bodice looked like it was an ornate spider’s web, turning into an embellishment that hid my breasts. The skirts were sheer with long slits, the golden hue of the tulle providing some semblance of coverage. Leah let my curls fall around my face, gathering some strands into tiny braids that snuck back behind my head. As a finishing touch, she wove gold-plated butterflies in my hair. I was just as much a gilded ornament as anything else in this palace.
I swiveled to her on my chair in front of the mirror as she placed the final butterfly. “Do you know how he means to test my powers?” I asked.
Leah’s face revealed nothing as she toyed with my hair, putting the final touches on her creation. “It’s best if you just do what the King says. The island does not care if he kills its contestants.”
“What about you, Leah? When are you planning to make your stand against him?”
I caught a sad expression flit across Leah’s face. So heavy and dead, just like the gold butterflies in my hair.
“It’s time to go,” Leah said.
The throne room was adorned for a party, and it was even more full of courtiers and emissaries from foreign kingdoms wearing different colors and insignias. Everyone was seated, and Leah led me to my place next to the King. The low tables were overflowing with food, and I spotted Cassandra floating around the outer rim of the throne room, hanging onto the arm of a different handsome prince or high born royal every single time I looked up. I tossed glares her way because I had nothing better to do—even as food was passed around in front of me, I had no appetite.
King West was engrossed in a conversation to my right that I didn’t bother to tune into. I didn’t care for politics, not when survival was my only aim.
I scanned the room, searching for Tristen, but he was nowhere to be found.
King West turned back to me, the crown a little lopsided on his head as he sloshed his wine around in a golden goblet.
“How are you finding my palace, Saffron?”
“It’s beautiful,” I said blandly, not meeting his eyes. Where was Tristen?
“And your training partner? Is he teaching you everything you need to win?”
I snapped my gaze back to King West. He wore a knowing smirk.
“To think that he was the best you had to train me is quite sad. I worry for your kingdom,” I replied.
“You worry? Are you not looking forward to helping us turn the tide in this war?” King West asked, reaching over to caress a hand down my back.
It took every shred of self control for me not to gag at the touch, and I backtracked. “It would be an honor to serve your armies,” I said, playing dumb.
“Ah yes, my armies. One of many areas where you can serve me,” he said, his other hand going to a bowl of grapes. He popped one in his mouth, still raking his gaze over me.
I plastered a cool expression on my face, giving him no indication of the rage that was beginning to boil underneath my skin.
“But in the meantime, I hope you don’t mind helping us with a little something.” King West took a small spoon, tapping it on the side of the goblet as my stomach dropped. “Guests, please sit.”
Everyone took a seat at the low table. Even Cassandra took her place several seats down from us.
“It’s wonderful to host you all at the Saltspire Palace, even on the precipice of total war. But the gods have blessed Luminaria and our allies, and they have given us a way to end this unnecessary bloodshed. They have given us the Siphon.” Gasps echoed around the room as King West took my hand and kissed it. “She will be ours to wield in future battles, draining the rebel forces dry and keeping us in power as we regain control of the continent. But the reason that I called you here today was not just to join us in the final stages of The Ash Trials, but also to witness her power. We have a unique moment right now. We have with us tonight one of the key leaders in the rebel movement. The Shadowfire Assassin.”
There was a hush as the second set of doors on the other end of the throne room opened, and guards shoved Tristen in. He was disheveled, bound in those heavy iron bands, and spattered with blood as if he had been trying to fight his way out.
He caught my gaze, and immediately straightened up and bowed in my direction.
“Princess,” he said with a smile.
I let out a breath as he shifted into a stroll, defiantly staring down all the royals who had gathered at the low table.
“You know, this furniture is growing on me. I love looking down at all of the cowards in this war,” Tristen said with a smug smile.
The King’s lips thinned, but he ignored Tristen and turned back to his guests. “You’ve probably known from your own dealings with the Shadowfire Assassin that his mindweavying abilities are unparalleled. Gifts that our new Siphon can borrow and use for the benefit of Luminaria and all of our allies.”
All gazes shifted back to me. I felt the color drain from my face.
King West gestured for me to go. “It’s time, Saffron. Take Tristen’s powers and go into his mind. Tell us what you see. Where are Stormgard’s forces hiding their troops? How can we take them down?”
I stared at King West. “I can’t?—”
“You will,” King West said, and suddenly guards were hauling me up, propelling me to the center of the room.
They tossed me in front of Tristen, and I took a breath as I stood in front of him, straightening. How was I supposed to do this?
“Do what you need to,” Tristen said, and his expression was resigned. No one else in this throne room even knew that Tristen wasn’t just a famed assassin, but was also the sole heir to the throne. I could reveal that and see to his death, but the way that Tristen seemed so… defeated just hurt what remained of my soft heart. Even if I wanted nothing to do with him, he deserved better than death by the King’s hand.
“Any time now,” the King called out, annoyed.
“Hey,” Tristen said, catching my gaze again with those steady obsidian eyes. “Do it.”
The tense guards around us made it clear I had no choice. King West would not grant any sort of mercy if I embarrassed him in front of the rulers of his lands and those beyond his borders.
I stepped in front of Tristen, and his hands went to my waist as if we were dancing. I reached out, placing my hands on Tristen’s bare forearms.
I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to remember the sensation from my training, from the times on the island I had called upon my power. At first, I felt nothing. But then, as I dug deeper, I felt those same loops of power. I hooked my power around them, yanking them to me. I was faster this time—I could yank a few loops at a time, bringing the string to me more quickly as if I were a cat playing with a ball of yarn. I let it unspool, flowing into me?—
—I stepped back with a gasp, and the whole room was watching me, silent. I hadn’t pulled much of Tristen’s power, just enough to be able to use it to look into his mind.
Tristen just stood in front of me, silent. That unnerved me more than anything. Tristen was usually armed with a witty comment or a flippant remark, but now he was stone still and quiet. Just watching me, seeing what choices I would make when his life was truly on the line—and the lives of all of his people. He was their King, their Assassin, and I had the fate of everything he held dear in my hands.
“Look into his mind, Siphon,” King West commanded.
But I ignored him. I would do this because I had to, because survival was the aim right now. But I would be lying if I wasn’t just a little bit curious what Tristen was hiding in his mind.
Tristen leaned close, his voice by my ear. “I’m ready for you,” he said, but it wasn’t flirtatious. It was an offer laid bare.
The words knocked the breath out of me, but I showed no reaction as I brought my hands to both sides of his face.
“Show me some truth,” I said, a command that would feel strong to a room full of Luminarians who were hungering for information about the war. But my demand was for something deeper from Tristen. He had kept fighting to win my trust. Now, I wanted him to prove that he deserved it.
“I can’t show you anything. You’ll have to see it for yourself,” Tristen said in that low voice that caressed a deep part of me.
And then I dove into his memory with a
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