25. Callum #3
I stared at my friend, narrowing my eyes at him, a demand for him to move out of my way, only to find his green eyes narrowing back in on me.
“I’m not moving, Blackwood. This is my call. We stay here.”
I scoffed. “You don’t control me, Pierce. I’m not leaving her down there, alone.”
We both froze then, the sound of footsteps reaching our ears as they drew closer to the room below us.
Stars-damn. It was too late.
“King Lucanus mentioned you were close with one of the spies, Ms. Kingsley.” I heard the muffled sound of one of the guard’s voices carrying up toward the rafters.
“Close?” the softer voice carried up. “If by close you mean that he masqueraded as a Solis Guard and stalked me anytime I was in the vicinity of the Solis Court, then yes. I was quite close to the angels you claim to be Aurelian Guild spies.”
I heard more boots stomping than stopping, directly below us. Every muscle in my body tensed, waiting to spring into action. Because of all the things I knew at this moment, Axel was right.
If I dared to move, Raelyna’s life would be in far more danger than I wished.
“I’d rethink your tone, Ms. Kingsley. Lowers don’t have the authority to speak to members of King Lucanus’s Elite RSG in such a manner.”
“Well, I don’t appreciate being accused of colluding with the Aurelian Guild,” she retorted, and I almost smiled, picturing her sea-glass hazel eyes narrowing on the guard in defiance as she spoke to him.
And by the Eternal, I’d love to be there to witness the fury in her eyes.
“If you won’t answer our questions, then I’m afraid I must insist you accompany us back to the Solis Court. King Lucanus has given orders to collect any citizens who refuse to comply.”
I shifted, moving toward the hatch when her words filtered through the ceiling.
“You do realize you never asked a question. I’ve complied with the intrusion in my own home, as not one, not two, but five guards rifled through my personal effects. I’d be more than happy to answer any questions you have, should you actually ask one.”
I didn’t need to be in the room to know the tension was rising, most likely far faster than my starlight anticipated it would.
I need to get down there. Need to protect her. Need to—
I nearly growled aloud as I realized the extra push to put her in more danger was coming from the starbound mark on my wrist.
“Have you been approached by the two guards suspected of being members of the elite division of the Aurelian Guild?”
“Yes,” I heard her answer, and my blood ran cold. Why was she answering yes when she went through the measures to hide us in her attic?
Unless, perhaps . . . had this all been a trap? Had she lured us here just to turn us in for the bounty?
Every fiber of my being tensed, the air heavy around us as Axel reached for his weapons as well, preparing for the attack.
“The two guards approached me during the Festival of Brumalis and the other night, they also appeared in my parents’ tavern. You know the one—the Tilted Tavern—just north of here, on The Wall.”
“What did they want?”
“What exactly do you think they wanted?” Her voice was a seductive lilt, and I nearly growled at her implication.
“They wanted what all angels want after they watched me perform for the Solis Court. I sent them on their way, informing them that I only provide private shows to the king himself, as per my agreement with His Majesty. And should they be seeking a more private dance, that they might perhaps have better luck on the far side of the Nox District . . . the side usually known for their nightly activities.”
“You’re going to need to come with us.”
“Why?”
I froze in the attic as her demand carried up toward us, once again ready to hurl down the hatch should I need to, because I swore to Aeternus that this particular female had a death wish. Either that, or she had absolutely no regard for her own life.
“He will want to corroborate your story,” the guard stated.
“I have complied with every one of your requests—answered every one of your questions. And now you insist that I bother the king by sharing a story I just told you? A story in which I explicitly stated how I told the two guards who appeared at my family’s tavern that I was not interested in entertaining them and that they should try their luck in the Nox District instead.
You wish to waste the king’s time having me restate that? ”
I nearly huffed a laugh at the audacity of the female as she rephrased the guard’s orders in such a way. The pause that filled the silence stretched on for far too long, and my worry over her response grew with each passing moment.
I was seconds away from breaking the damned hatch, just to ensure she was still unharmed, when the guard finally spoke to Raelyna. “Very well. But should the king need you, you will obey his summons.”
“I have no other choice,” she responded, a note of sorrow to her tone that I didn’t like one bit. The footsteps began to recede, and I heard Axel exhale a slow breath beside me as we both waited for the front door to shut.