“Um—”
“Nina.”
“Samara,” said Nina through gritted teeth. She looked away. “Samara told me, okay?”
Sawyer didn’t know what she was expecting, but it certainly hadn’t been that. Though as she took the moment to process what that statement meant, it somehow made sense. “Out of all the women??—”
“Can we not do this right now?” Nina slumped against the stone mausoleum. “And instead focus on the fact the king is basically that thing Lorkin’s proxy?”
“We should’ve never come back.” Sawyer sighed, leaning beside her. “Maybe Lady Lora would have kept us in Yavenharrow.”
Nina laughed. “Wouldn’t that have been something.”
A moment of contemplative silence passed, interrupted by another boom of the curfew bells.
Finally, Nina said, “We need Sol. Without her to rival his reign, anything else we do will cause an unwinnable civil war.”
“And you think Sol won’t cause an uproar? Be real, Nins. We are all hated at court.”
Nina looked out to the forest, her lips a tight line. “She hassupporters. You both do—the Yarrows do. Yarrows are the reason why Rimemere exists. You’re tethered to the land itself. And although Irene left the castle in ruin, she made a difference here. She rounded the Unsettled and the humans, fought for those who had no voice, and stood fierce in her conviction to allow others within our borders for safety.” Nina sighed, “Then she and Draven had that fight after her Vows and gods know what happened.”
“If the Jinn infiltrate our walls, a lot of lives will be lost.” Sawyer peered at her. “We need to figure out where these things are hiding.”
“Sol and Cas should be back with us soon.” Nina grasped her hand. “We will figure out what to do then. For now, perhaps we should figure out what Semmena has over a Mind Slayer that he gained their allegiance.”
Sawyer swallowed a lump in her throat. “I know that answer.”
After a moment of silence, Nina said, “What is it?”
The final and third set of bells chimed. “He has Sol.”
Forty Two
BLOOD, MUD AND SALTWATER
SOL WANTEDTObe angry when she learned Gina prevented Jonah and Phil from providing aid. As soon as Cas and her rounded to the front of the Villa, the boys ran to them in tears, their embrace almost knocking them all to the ground. Apparently, the point of the trial was to test the prospect’s efficiency against the Jinn and their judgment for quick thinking. Sol had nearly thrown up on the woman’s shoes at the statement.
She wasn’t the only one utterly disinterested in the discourse. All four of them ambled past Hand Gina and the kingsmen, not caring to listen to their blabber. Sol remained beside Cas the entire way up the stairs, the four of them leaving the floors filthy with blood, mud, and salt water.
Jonah and Phil gave them both lingering hugs before branching off at the fourth floor to their room. Sol didn’t know where Cas lodged, and since her room was the only one on Warrens’ floor, and there wasn’t one for Shadows, she didn’t have much of a guess. But he didn’t try to stop at any of the other floors, only held her hand as she guided him up, all the way to her room.
She sat him on the floor to avoid the extra task of having to change the sheets into dry ones later. With a sigh, she tossed her drenched boots into a corner before heading to her washroom to turn on the bath. The water was slow to fill and tepid, but it would have to do.
Sol walked back into her room to find Cas leaning on the side ofher bed, eyes shut with the most serene look on his face. She leaned on the doorframe and smiled slightly through heavy eyelids. As carefully as she could, she walked to him and knelt. “Hey. You must change your clothes.” Cas only groaned slightly.
“I don’t think I have anything that fits you,” she remarked. “Where is your room?”
He peeled an eye open. “I don’t have one. I stayed with Cattya.”
The name was like a blade in her skull. She couldn’t hide the flinch. “Oh.”
“Not like that, Princess.” He reached a hand to her face, tracing the side of her jaw. “I was with her because she had intel on the trials. It was never anything more than necessity.”
Despite the fact she hadn’t asked, the confession placated the unwelcome sense of jealousy the vision of him and Cattya sharing a bed had sparked. She cleared her throat. “If you didn’t like her, you shouldn’t have put up with her, Cas.”
“I needed all the information I could get.” He dropped his hand into her lap, into her own. “To keep you safe.”
It took Sol her entire arsenal of self-restraint to not melt into him. The way his gaze flickered to her lips and his hand interlaced with her own… it almost made her lose all logic.
