Chapter 36 #2
He placed her lathered mop of hair to one side, found the tender spot beside her shoulder blade, and pressed in deep. “This is how,” he said, his tone light, yet tired of her speculating his identity for the past twenty-five minutes.
“Mm,” she moaned. “You’re right.” His fingers were irreplaceable. She spun around to face him, and lowered her voice to a whisper. “Do you know where she’s keeping Westley?”
“In the new prison.”
“What?” She immediately stood, water streaming down her bare skin. “I have to help him.” She started to climb out.
Emrys coughed like he’d swallowed a frog. “Winter, we can’t …” He shifted his gaze to the floor. “If we leave this room, we’ll get in trouble.”
She made fists then slowly sank back down. “Ugh, I know. I’m just—”
“Trying to get us both bitten?”
“Stressed,” she finished.
Emrys was right. Her personal guard, Fredrick, was just outside the marble door. At least all the stone kept their conversation private.
“I need to talk to him, Emrys.” Phase five of her plan had always involved attacking the queen together. Fighting alone and wandless would be asking to die. Without West, there was only one option left.
Kill her by way of seduction.
“Can you at least help me get him a message? It’s important.”
Emrys’ silence stretched far too long.
“Please?”
He lowered his voice. “There is someone who might be able to help. Although I’m not sure if she’ll want to help you, or if you’ll want her help.”
What the fuck kind of riddle was this? Leave the word-twisting to mages. “I don’t care who it is as long as they can be trusted.”
He started rinsing her hair, going quiet again.
She glanced back. “Fine. Who is it?”
Emrys, it turned out, was a fan of charades. He held out two fingers and swiped them across his throat.
“Bullshit,” she said, folding her arms. “That bitch can’t be the only one who can help me?”
He went back to rinsing. “Winter. Her name is Allegra and no one knew The Wizard was betrothed to you until that night. He’s an excellent liar, and for that, I’m deeply sorry.”
So her heartbreak had turned into palace gossip.
“Stop talking about him.” Kaden didn’t matter. “And you’re right. Just tell her I’m sorry, okay? I need her help.”
He didn’t argue, instead he added something thick to her hair, raking it through the strands. “What’s your message?”
She spoke over her shoulder. “Tell him that I’m okay. That no matter what happens, he has to trust me. That he mustn’t use his eyes and ears because they’ll never be as wise as his heart. I need him to know that I am his, just as he is mine, and that I’ll always come back for him—always. Okay?”
Emrys’ fingers stilled. “Do you love him, Winter?”
Saying it outright was asking to be hurt again. “Something like that.”
“Then I’ll be sure he gets the message.”
“Thank you.” She dropped her chin, eyes clouding with tears. Every day spent trapped in this wretched palace would not be for nothing. She had to stay strong; she had to keep fighting. If she broke down now, who would save West?
Emrys twirled her lathered hair into a bun and left it on top of her head. “Let this cream sit. It’s for shine.”
She nodded, daring the heavy mound to tumble. It held.
Emrys moved to the other end of the tub, reached in the water for her foot, and knelt. He dug into her neglected arch with his thumbs. “With a message like that, I have to ask … What are you planning?”
Winter tapped her head against the hard edge. “Are you sure you’re not the queen?” It was said in jest, but he didn’t take it that way. He paused his massage.
“You still don’t trust me?”
She wanted to, but he was bound to the queen. How could she divulge her murderous plans without risking his life? The less he knew, the better. “I do, but it’s not that simple. Your loyalty is with her—by contract.”
“How much longer can I play dead, Winter? I don’t want to be here. Tell me you’re planning to help us.”
She rubbed her forehead. Of course she wanted to help him, and everyone else trapped down here. If only it were that simple. She might get herself killed before that happened. “You think way too highly of me.”
“You cast hope inside these walls, Winter. I feel it, the other shifters feel it. Faith isn’t easy to find without a sun. There is no day or night in this palace, only space and everlasting time. You’re the light we’ve longed for, so please, don’t keep secrets from me.”
Winter never considered what being here meant for Emrys or the other shifters. Did they really look up to her? Emrys appeared certain of it. And how could she deny his big, brown puppy eyes?
She spoke in barely a whisper. “I’m going to slay your queen.”
Confusion, concern, or perhaps fear flashed across his features. “How?” was all he asked.
Winter grinned. “Patience, private correspondence, and pussy.”
Claiming the queen would give her an opportunity to tilt the power scales. The queen would fall in love and die for it. But sending her message to West was imperative—he needed to trust that she could see this through. Otherwise, they’d both die first.
Emrys set one foot down, picked up another, and started kneading. “The last step you mentioned, are you sure you know what you’re getting yourself into?”
“Well, I bargained carelessly, and we both know what she wants. If a claiming begins or ends with a sexual act, then ...”
His face fell. “Winter, no.”
“I have to do this properly. If she finds out I’m pretending, no one gets freed.”
“You can’t do this.”
“Is there any other way to kill her, Emrys? She’ll think the claiming changed my attitude— and I’m a great actress. You’ll have to trust me too.” Winter had been lying her whole life. What was one more fib? “I know what I’m doing.”
He whispered through his teeth, adding extra pressure to her foot. “I do not believe this will work. She’s smart. Very smart.”
Winter kept her features hard. “It has to.”
“While I respect your decisions, I would like to warn you that this is a very dangerous game you’re playing.”
She went silent.
He set her foot in the water with a sigh, stood, and went back to her hair, unfurling the mound and rinsing out the cream.
Winter took a deep breath. Despite the gravity of the situation, it felt nice to confide in someone. Trust was hard to come by. More than that, opening up wasn’t easy for her.
“Thank you for caring about me.”
“Yield your thanks until you see what you’re wearing this evening.”
Winter pursed her lips. “What now?”
“Fredrick found your red gown in the archives. He presented it at dinner one night in hopes to please the queen, but she slapped him instead, shouting: I wanted the librarian, not the dress! Then she snatched it anyway and threw it at me to sew and clean.”
Bitch.
The only thing that would get Winter through this evening was knowing she’d bargain for West’s and Felix’s safety just before biting. If the queen was anything like her brother, Winter wouldn’t have any problems holding her attention.
She would have to start simple with her new seduction plan and build up from there. First things first: get the wicked witch alone and mess with her head.
Winter cleared her throat. “After you do my hair and makeup, could the queen dress me instead?”
“You don’t want me to?” Sadness clung to each of his words.
“No. No, it’s not that.” Why was Emrys so sweet? “I need to confuse her. That way, she won’t even know she’s dying.” It was Kaden’s recipe. Love was a mighty weapon, capable of devouring worlds. Her world. “You understand?”
He nodded with obvious reluctance. “Yes, my queen.”
Why was he always calling her that?