Chapter 17
Tobias
“She’s all right.”
Tobias nearly winced over Delphi’s words.
She had made that claim multiple times already, but Leila remained inconsolable.
She’d spent most of the night teetering between fury and despair, and though they had delayed their journey for a good night’s sleep, sleep never came.
How could it? Leila’s sister was imprisoned by Her murderous father. Nothing could soften such a cruel blow.
“She’s alone with no one to look after her.” Leila dug Her nails into the table’s edge. “How is that all right?”
Tobias pried Leila’s grip from the wood and held Her hand tight. The three of them sat in the kitchen pantry, a muddled mess with Tobias thrust in the middle. He tried to coax Leila to eat, but Her pastries remained untouched. She was crumbling, and he hadn’t a solution to piece Her back together.
He looked to Delphi. “You’re certain you tried everything?”
“He took her right after the Culmination, as soon as he learned you’d both disappeared,” Delphi said. “I didn’t have the chance to save her. It was already too late.”
Leila’s lip wobbled. “She’s going to die because of Me.”
“I’ve told You, she’ll be fine. He’s watching over her.”
“Brontes watches over no one—”
“Not Brontes,” Delphi said. “Your little friend.”
Little friend? Tobias glanced at Leila, then Delphi, then Leila again. They seemed to know exactly what was going on, but he didn’t have a clue.
Leila took in a slow breath. “So, she’s in the dungeon.”
“She’s in the safest place she can be for now.” Delphi reached across the table for Leila’s hands, though She promptly balled them in Her lap. Delphi’s expression softened. “He will protect her. You know that better than anyone.”
“I’ll just shadow walk there,” Leila said. “In and out.”
“It’s not that simple.”
“But isn’t it? I did the same for you just the other night.”
Delphi’s eyes became stricken as if a blade were pressed to her throat.
Leila’s gaze darkened. “Delphi . . . where exactly is she?”
The next stretch of silence lasted for an eternity or longer. Swallowing, Delphi choked out her words. “She’s not in the dungeon. I mean, perhaps she is, just not the one beneath the palace grounds.”
“You don’t know where she is, do you?”
“She and Talos were removed together,” Delphi confirmed. “I haven’t seen them since.”
Leila said nothing. She had insisted Tobias stay by Her side, but he was a boulder wedged between two sisters. Perhaps that was exactly what Leila wanted, but he felt useless all the same.
Tobias cleared his throat, tiptoeing his way into the conversation. “So, this ‘little friend’ . . . is that Talos?”
“Yes,” Delphi said. “You know him.”
“I don’t think I do—”
“I know I should’ve told You.” Delphi ignored Tobias, fighting to recapture Leila’s line of sight. “But You were managing so much already. The last thing You needed—”
“Was a dead sister.”
“She’s not dead, Leila. Please.”
“I can’t . . .” Leila’s breathing wavered. “You should’ve told Me.”
“I was trying—” Delphi stopped short as Leila fled from the table. “Leila, please!”
Tobias shot up from his seat, following Leila as She plowed up the stairs and down the corridor to their chamber. She was already seated on their bed by the time he arrived, Her face cradled in Her palms.
“Leila.” Tobias knelt before Her, taking Her hand in his. “Darling, breathe.”
She shook Her head as She stared at the floor. “This is all My fault.”
“No one is to blame for Brontes’s behavior but himself.” He took Her chin, tilting Her gaze toward his. “Do You understand? This isn’t Your burden to bear.”
“But isn’t it? She’s My sister.”
Her eyes were glistening, and it pulled at something in Tobias’s stomach. “Do you trust Talos?”
“He’s the only man in my life who’s ever cared for Me besides you.”
“Then Pippa must be in the safest of hands.”
She offered the feeblest nod, a fleeting moment of stoicism before tears brimmed in Her eyes.
“Darling . . .” Tobias scooped Her into his arms, tucking his chin atop Her shoulder. She’d been so strong and resilient for much of their journey, but Her armor had been stripped away.
Leila clutched at the back of his tunic, burrowing Her face in his neck. “I can’t believe Delphi didn’t tell Me.”
“If You had known sooner, would You have done anything differently?”
“I would’ve rescued her!”
“How?” Tobias said. “You heard Delphi—she was taken right after the Culmination. We’re not certain where she is.” He pressed a kiss against Her knuckles. “There’s nothing we can do. Not now, at least. Once we have an army, we’ll rescue Pippa. Together. I promise.”
She nodded along, and Tobias was both pained and relieved by Her reluctant acceptance. She gripped his hand, nails digging into his flesh, and he welcomed the gentle ache. If she was breaking, he’d have to be that much stronger.
“Try not to be angry with Delphi for too long. We’ve all made compromising decisions as of late. I have faith her intentions were pure.”
Leila was quiet for a long while before saying, “I think I need to be alone for a while.”
Biting back his concerns, Tobias stood. “If that changes, You know where to find me.”
Leila didn’t respond, so Tobias left Her with Her thoughts and headed back to the pantry.
He hadn’t any place else to go. There were plans in motion and maneuvers to discuss, but Pippa’s disappearance had overshadowed all else.
The Sovereign’s Tournament replayed in his mind, how Pippa had shown him the first spark of kindness in those wretched tunnels, how she’d warned him of tainted food, albeit too late.
He didn’t love her as Leila did, but it was hard to envision her in such dire circumstances.
Tobias took a seat at his usual table, exhaling as he kneaded his temples. Delphi was still waiting where they had left her, dragging a strawberry through a pool of honey.
“She’s angry with me,” she said.
“You can’t exactly fault Her.”
“She had so many worries—”
“I know,” Tobias said. “I understand your reasons. I might’ve done the same, to be honest.” Tobias offered an encouraging smile. “She’ll come around.”
Delphi nodded, but her jaw was clenched tight as if she were holding back much of what she wished to say. “She looks well, otherwise. Thank you for taking care of Her.”
“I’ll take care of Her for the rest of my days.”
“I can see that.” Her eyes locked onto his wrist. Tobias wasn’t yet used to the attention his promise garnered, and he couldn’t help but cross his arms on impulse. Based on her cocksure smirk, Delphi noticed his discomfort, but she didn’t speak of it.
“I’m glad you’re all right,” he said.
“All right?” She gestured toward the brothel around them. “Tobias, I’m fabulous.”
He let out a laugh, indulging her lie. He couldn’t fault her pretense when he was hiding behind his own.
“Your Highness?”
Tobias stiffened as Brontes’s face filled the corners of his mind. He hadn’t heard the sovereign’s title in ages, and those two words were enough to bring the black bricks of the labyrinth crashing down around him.
“Your Highness.”
Tobias flinched. The voice grew more pointed, pulling him from his dark thoughts. Three women stood at the pantry entrance, and despite their change in attire, Tobias recognized several of them from his time in the palace—namely the servant with the cherubic face and blue eyes pointed his way.
“Are you talking to me?” he said.
Damaris bowed, leaving him with a view of her tightly coiled auburn bun. “Yes, Your Highness.”
“Why are you calling me that?”
“You’re the sovereign now. Well, nearly.” Damaris’s eyes drifted to his promise, and her plump cheeks flushed. “Certainly a finer sovereign than the one we have currently.”
A second woman with chin-length black hair and light brown skin nestled beside her. “Some sovereign. He’s a blasphemer.”
Her exact likeness, save for her long hair and sharp bangs, appeared at her side. “No he’s not!”
Tobias sighed. He’d experienced these sorts of disagreements between Nyx and Hemera before, as the twins were alike in appearance and nothing else. As expected, Nyx’s eyebrows narrowed, and she shot her sister a glare. “He most certainly is.”
“The Artist has been faithful to Leila from the very beginning,” Hemera said.
“But he assumed She was someone else, and thus was actively blaspheming the woman he believed to be The Savior.”
“But she wasn’t The Savior.”
“But he didn’t know that.” Nyx crossed her arms matter-of-factly. “Thus, a blasphemer.”
“Was there a reason you summoned me?” Tobias said.
The servants went quiet, looking at him as if only just noticing his presence. Damaris smiled. “The Intellect wishes to speak with you.”
She beckoned Tobias, and he followed her obediently, leaving the bickering twins behind.
They soon reached the Intellect’s chamber, where Raphael sat across from Enzo, each man the other’s opposite—Raphael’s tall, lean figure and brown skin starkly contrasted Enzo’s short, muscled frame and pinkish hue.
Damaris bowed, then smiled, then bowed again, offering Tobias a shy wave before taking leave.
“A real treat, aren’t they?” Raphael said.
“Seems as though they have mixed feelings about me.” A wooden chair sat beside the doorway, and Tobias dragged it toward the men and took a seat. “You called?”
“Any word on Isa?”
A knot tightened in Tobias’s stomach. “They haven’t left their study all day. I don’t think they’ve yet noticed.”
“Yet being the fundamental word here,” Raphael said.
“I’ll handle them.” Tobias sat taller when Raphael’s frown deepened, his defensive instincts taking over. “There are fewer servants than Leila had expected. Besides, they may throw their weight around, but they won’t leave innocent people to the streets to be slaughtered.”
Raphael shook his head. “You don’t know that.”
Enzo pounded his fist into his open palm. “If Isa is problem, I break bones with bare hands.”
“That won’t be necessary,” Tobias said.
“I carve at flesh and wear like coat!”