He walked me to my door without a word.
My stomach tightened. Did he want something else from me?
“Thank you for tonight,” I said, handing him my Wolf uniform. I twisted my doorknob.
“Kiera.”
I allowed a grimace to pass over my face before I glanced back at him.
He held my mask in his gloved hand, rubbing one finger over the cheek of it. “I wanted you to come with me tonight to see the good we could do together in Aquinon. You once desired to be High Enforcer of Rellmira more than anything else. I’m offering you that job now.”
Shock made my lips part. “Why?”
“To have what we always talked about when I was training you. I want you at my side as we rule Rellmira. You could have all the power you crave.” He held up the Wolf mask. “If you wish to disband my Wolves, you can. If you prefer to patrol the streets yourself, to protect those you deem worthy, then you must. If you demand change in our justice system, I will grant you the power and resources to do that.”
He was handing me everything—everything I’d wanted for years. All that savage hope I’d kept bottled inside as I trained and waited for my moment, and he was finally rewarding it.
Impossible.
“And in return?” I croaked.
His face tightened. “You swear your loyalty to me. To never instigate nor aid a plot against me or my rule.”
I shook my head wearily. “That is not power, Renwell. That is another cage.”
Anger flickered in his eyes. “Power always comes at a price. I am asking a very small one for a very great honor.”
I pretended to hesitate, thinking long and hard. But really, I knew better. I had seen too many of Renwell’s crimes, dealt with too much of the pain he’d inflicted, to believe that I would be powerful. That I could actually make the changes he suggested.
It was as though he handed me a sword while cutting off my legs.
And I hadn’t missed his other insinuation. If I swore loyalty to him, he would demand I tell him any plans regarding Aiden. But if I told him no, he might extract that information through other means.
“I’ll think on it,” I told him. “Good night, Renwell.”
“Sleep well, Kiera.”
I entered my room and closed the door in his face. I sank onto my bed, staring into the fire a servant must have lit. The weather never got as cold as it did in Dagriel. But the fire chased away the chill that emanated from my heart.
A soft knock came at the door.
I grabbed Mother’s knife from my dressing table and hid it behind my back as I opened the door.
Everett’s tired face greeted me.
I ushered him in and locked the door. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” he said with a jaw-cracking yawn. “I was waiting in one of the passages until Renwell left. I’ve been in the library all day.”
I shot him a stiff smile. “Of course you have.”
He sat on my bed and seemed to notice my outfit for the first time. “What are you wearing? And why? Did Renwell make you do this?” His voice rose.
“Hush, no. I was atThe Silk Dancer, telling Melaena what I needed for the gate.”
Everett’s gray eyes cleared. “Ah, yes, that’s why I’m here. I found an old account of when Aquinon was built. The architects and engineers sketched the buildings, like this palace and the Temple and the layout of the quarters. Very interesting, actually. Terraum himself must’ve helped with their work, as some passageways are clearly marked. Perhaps he didn’t mark them all on purpose?—”
“Ev, I’m dying to get out of this dress and these feathers. What did you find to help me?”
