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“Power, like I told you,” Veras told me. “Lorik is dangerous, Marion. He’s the right hand of the Below King—a powerful position. A hunter. A mercenary. And they’re up to something, something even my spies cannot discern because it is kept closeto the royal court. Don’t let him keep you in the dark. In fact, it’s better if you stay away from him entirely.”
Veras came to stand in front of me. He tilted my chin up so that I met his eyes. I was reeling, so shocked that I didn’t even react to his touch. I was frozen in place, and I felt…betrayed. I felt like a fool.
“I never had a sister,” he said quietly. “I told you before—we are bound by our love forher, Marion. For Aysia. Forever. And so you are the closest thing to a sister I will ever have.”
I swallowed hard, overwhelmed by everything. This was too much. It wastoo much.
“I know you don’t want me to look after you, but I promised Aysia that I would.”
“You…you did?” I whispered.
He nodded, his expression solemn. “So take my words to heart. This is not a path you want to travel. They are infinitely more powerful than us…and they have a lot more to lose. He hasn’t told you anything else, has he?”
I jerked my chin back and took a step away. “I’m not one of your spies, Veras,” I said, keeping my voice even, letting him know I knew what he was doing. “But no, he hasn’t.”
His sister,I thought. Or had that been a lie?
Either way, I wouldn’t tell Veras that. Some habits died hard, despite his pretty words about Aysia. I still didn’t trust him. And after this conversation, I certainly didn’t trust Lorik.
“You’re…you’re absolutely certain of Lorik?” I asked. I couldn’t help it. “I meanabsolutelycertain?”
Veras tilted his chin back. “On Aysia, I swear it.”
So, it was the truth. Or at least a truth that Veras believed, and I knew that Veras wasn’t a blundering fool. He was smart, cunning.
I said nothing else. There was nothing elsetosay.
Instead, I turned in the direction of my cottage as thoughts raced through my mind. And I kept on walking…because I wasn’t sure what else I could do.
Chapter
Twenty-One
The next night, it was Peek’s sudden, warbling hiss that had me standing from my chair. His back was arched, fur standing on end, ears pricked forward.
It had been storming all day, a torrential downpour of icy rain that stung my skin, but right then it was a light pattering on my roof. For a moment I thought there might be a Shade outside. Peek never reacted like that unless there was danger near.
But when I went to my window and glimpsed out, my heart stopped in my chest.
Lorik.
Standing on the edge of my property, his clothing soaked, hair plastered to his skull.
He saw me looking through the window, but he didn’t make a step toward the cottage. Taking a deep breath, I grabbed my heaviest shawl from the peg near the door and stuffed my feet into my boots.
I’d been in a daze since my talk with Veras yesterday evening. I’d run through nearly every interaction I’d ever had with Lorik, starting from the beginning, analyzing every conversation we’d had. What he’d said about the Below, about Severs, about Shades, about Allavari.
And what I’d come to realize was that I didn’t know anything at all.
Veras had been right. Itwaslike a veil being pulled back from your eyes. How could you ever go back?
Before I stepped foot outside, my gaze caught on my chest near the door. I hesitated a mere moment…but then I grabbed a small dagger and hid it in the pleats of the shawl.
The chill outside was bone-numbing, but I trudged toward Lorik, my mouth set in a thin line. I didn’t know what I would say to him. I’d tried to plan it all out, but the words stuck in my brain. Like a funnel, they all got clogged up toward the end.
Lorik hadn’t taken a step forward. For a moment, I wondered about that. He was inside the barrier spell, but he hadn’t taken a step toward the cottage.
When I could make out his face in the dark, I saw that he looked tired. There was a hardness in his features—one that softened briefly when he first saw me—that hadn’t been there before. He seemed in no hurry to get inside from the rain, not that I would let him. I needed answers. I needed them tonight.
