Chapter Forty-Three Riela #2
“I could, but it might kill you.” The handsome envoy studied me. “Are you willing to risk it?”
I swallowed and shook my head. Eventually I might be, but not yet. “Is there anything else you can tell me that will help
me?”
“Beware your father.”
I frowned at him. “My father is dead.”
He smiled slightly, but it didn’t reach his eyes. “My mistake.” His attention flickered to the side and his expression hardened.
A heartbeat later, Garrick stepped out of the ether and glared at Mar. “This meeting is over. Release Lady Riela immediately.”
Mar pointedly turned to me and lifted my free hand to his mouth. His lips barely brushed my skin as he murmured, “If you need
help, you know where to find me.”
Garrick stalked toward the table with murder on his face.
The magic around us dissipated as Mar stood. “Thank you for the tea, my lady.” He bowed shallowly, then vanished in a soft
pulse of magic without acknowledging Garrick or Vastien.
I glared at the Silver King. “What are you doing here?”
“Saving you from yourself.”
“I didn’t require saving, Your Highness. And even if I did, Vastien is literally sitting right beside me.”
Garrick scowled at our interlaced fingers. “I can see that.” His eyes narrowed. “What did Mar say?”
“Nothing. Someone scared him off before we could have a decent conversation.”
“Vastien never should’ve agreed—”
“Vastien is not my keeper!” I snapped in annoyance. I took a deep breath and blew it out slowly. “And neither are you. Go
back to your court—there’s no reason for both of us to fail today.”
Garrick’s stare burned with frustration. He clenched his jaw and turned to Vastien. “Return to the restricted library. I will
meet you there once the afternoon session is over.”
Vastien bowed his head in agreement. After one more hard look at me, Garrick vanished back to wherever he’d been before he’d
decided to ruin my tea.
I turned an irritated glare on Vastien. “How did you tell him about Mar’s magic?”
“I didn’t,” Vastien said. “He likely felt it thanks to the protection charm on your necklace.”
I shook my head. “If he could feel the charm, then he knew I wasn’t in any danger.”
“Mar is not blameless, either. He knew his ploy would anger Garrick, and he did it anyway.” Vastien’s shrewd gaze pierced
me. “What did he really want to talk about?”
“We mostly talked about his flowers.” I squeezed his hand before he could launch into an interrogation. “Can we go outside
for a minute before we head back to the library? Please?” I looked at the platters of food and my nearly full plate. “And
take some of this with us?”
Vastien eyed me, as if he’d heard everything I didn’t say. After a moment, he nodded slightly. “We can make a brief stop.
Would you like to see the view from the roof?”
When I nodded with eager relief, he summoned a servant who disappeared for a moment before returning with a picnic basket. The food was packed away with alarming efficiency, then the basket was presented to Vastien. He took it before helping me to my feet. “Ready?”
“Yes.” I squeezed his hand again. “Thank you.”
His smile held a shadow of its usual charm. “You’re welcome, my lady.”
He tightened his grip on my hand, and in the next heartbeat, we were on the roof. I squinted against the bright sunlight as
icy wind chafed my exposed cheeks. It was too cold to linger for long, but just being outside in the sun smoothed away some
of my tension.
Vastien had brought us to a round turret at the corner of the building. The castle in Edea didn’t have turrets, but this one
did. A small metal table and three chairs sat against the hip-high wall surrounding us. Vastien carefully led me toward the
table while I looked around.
The courtyard behind us looked the same as it did in Edea, as did the square castle around it. But this castle had an extra wing that extended out from the central building. It was half the size of the castle itself, and I wondered
if that was where the rest of the court lived.
But the real draw was the mountains.
We had mountains in Edea, too, but these were even more spectacular. They were enormous, punching the sky with white-tipped
peaks that disappeared into the distance. They looked like they were nearby, but the vast forest between us changed my mind.
A sea of trees with silver-tipped leaves surrounded the castle, but there was no lake, at least not one I could see from here.
A dozen or more large houses were tucked among the trees, some of them so ornate they had to belong to nobility.
The woods stretched toward the horizon in an unbroken line. Could I leave this forest, and if I did, what would I find? I raised my magic and pushed it out from the castle, then sucked in a breath.
There was so much magic here. In the castle, individual blips merged together into masses of color. The forest was also filled with magical
signatures, and I didn’t know if they were Etheri or monsters—or both.
I let the magic go as the ache in my chest returned. Using my magic, even for something so basic, seemed to hasten the pain.
Vastien was watching me with narrowed eyes, and I returned the look. “Do you trust me?”
His eyebrows rose, and his charming mask dropped away, revealing the dangerous man beneath. “I trust very few people.”
“Sounds lonely,” I murmured. When he blinked at me in surprise, I smiled gently. “I, too, know something of loneliness.”
“What did Mar say? I saw you flinch, and then you looked like he’d stabbed you. Did he hurt you?”
“No.”
Vastien’s expression closed. “What did he say?”
I lifted a shoulder. “Nothing I shouldn’t have already known. And he’s unable to help me learn how to control my magic, so
the library is our best option. But before we go back, will you try an experiment with me? Garrick said I’m a focus. Can I
have some of your magic? And, more importantly, can you cut me off if I can’t handle it?”
Vastien’s face gave nothing away. “What are you thinking?”
“My magic is bound, and what I can access is not particularly strong. If I could use your magic, or Garrick’s, perhaps we could stay longer before I needed to leave.”
“It’s not a bad idea,” he allowed. “But untrained, you’re a danger to yourself and others. I felt your power when you channeled
Garrick’s magic. You are lucky neither of you was injured.”
“Yeah, that’s why I asked if you could cut me off.”
Vastien’s stare was flat and cold. “A talented focus can rip magic from the unwilling.”
“And you think I would do that to you? Truly?”
An unknown emotion flickered over his face, but he smoothed it away. “It is my job to be aware of potential threats—even ones I like.” His voice turned soft and bitter as he added, “Especially ones I like.”
“Do you want to talk about it?” I ventured quietly.
A harsh laugh burst out of him. “No.”
Mar’s words came back to me. Vastien wasn’t here because he wanted to be. We weren’t friends. He was here because Garrick
needed him to be. He might like me, and he might’ve been kind to me in a hundred different ways, but I was still a job for
him.
Bitter loneliness carved a hole in my chest and made itself at home.
I took one last look at the mountains. “We should return to the library. We can eat the rest of the meal with Lady Bria.”
Vastien didn’t argue.