“I’ll imagine something gory and menacing, shall I?”
“Yes, thank you. You see, I didn’t think Valen would ever recover after Aurea broke off their betrothal. You’re the firstperson he’s been serious about since then, so be careful with him, will you? He deserves some happiness in his life after all that tragedy.” He shook his head sadly. “People only see his knighthood, not the dreadful way he received it.”
I tried to look like I knew what he was talking about. Valen had beenbetrothed? And what did he mean about how Valen had gotten knighted?
“Ready to go home, darling?” Valen asked, returning with Ishaq.
“Y-Yes,” I said.
We said our very courtly goodbyes, and then Valen helped me into the carriage. As we traveled through the city streets, I stared out the window to avoid looking at him.
The scenery dragged by sluggishly. We passed a massive crystal monument taller than any building in the city where I’d grown up. Definitely magical, it bent the starlight into rainbows that danced across the nearby street. When a flock of birds flew near it, they seemed to scatter into a kaleidoscope of color. Pretty, but not enough to distract me from Amatien’s words.
“You did well,” Valen said.
I made my voice as flat as possible. “Huzzah.”
The noise he made wasn’t much, just a slight exhale of air, but it almost sounded like a laugh. It must have been left over from his fake-party persona. God and Goddess, it had been weird seeing him act like that again, so completely different from the real him.
But did I know the real him or just another performance? What made me think I knew him any better than Amatien and Ishaq did?
“They seemed genuinely nice,” I said, not wanting to sit in silence with my own thoughts any longer.
“They are. Terrible gossips, though. If anyone in the Court didn’t know you’d moved in with me before, they will by tomorrow.”
Of course. I’d thought the dinner was a test of my newfound manners, but Valen had yet another hidden motive.
“So we won’t need to go to any more fancy dinners?”
“A few more,” he said.
I sighed.
He studied me in silence for a moment. “We’ll make a public appearance at the Selenic Hunt in two days, and that should solidify our relationship in everyone’s eyes.”
I looked out the window instead of answering, trying to glimpse Earth in the sky.
“Tomorrow, we start planning the heist,” he said.
I spun back toward him, my chest suddenly light.
Finally.
Chapter 14
Valen
The palace was quiet so late at night. My footsteps echoed through the empty hallways, and I nodded at the guards that I passed.
Was Emmeline all right? I’d left as soon as she’d fallen asleep. There was no other choice; I couldn’t let her know what I was doing. But with a trespasser lurking around, I didn’t like leaving her alone—especially not chained to the bed and helpless.
I’d asked one of my stable hands to keep watch. He was a burly man with some combat experience. And Nin was staying overnight, as well. She was no fighter, but she could raise the alarm. And she wore that wildfire agate ring that could burn more than just clothing. I’d even mentioned the trespasser to the city guards and asked them to increase their rounds on my street.
My ring would alert me to any intrusion, though I couldn’t get home fast enough to intervene. But I’d reinforced the locks and strengthened the wards on the windows against forced entry. The new confusion spell atop the walls would send most trespassers wandering in circles, and I’d scattered caltrop spikes in the garden to give a nasty surprise to anyone who made it inside.
But if the trespasser was the person I suspected, that might not be enough…
My steps slowed, and I itched to turn around and rush home. But the queen was expecting me in less than an hour. I wouldn’t—couldn’t—fail to meet her.
