Mei snorted, the sound somehow still elegant. “I said ‘so she didn’t talk’, not ‘so shecan’t’. I’m not nearly as crass as your brother, and you know it.”
That was true. Dax could be down right crude when he wanted to be. Cassia worried that even if he got a mate, she’d wind up kicking him to the curb because of his tendency to be lewd. She glanced at the web wall, where the vague outline of the two captives pressed together could be seen in the shifting light. “If they are lovers, it might actually be to our benefit. Roan will do anything to protect her if she’s his mate. It would be much easier for us if he would just do as I ask and not attempt to be a hero. I loathe the hero type.”
“We still need one more to make it work,” Dax reminded her. “Two or more shamans are needed in order for the magic to work. Do you think you will be able to fool Lyric long enough to get her down here?”
The gravity of their plan settled like dust in the air. The silence, punctuated only by the faintest sound of breathing from the cocoon beyond the web, became its own kind of pressure. Lyric was truly their only other option for shaman. It had been a fluke that Roan had shown up when they needed him. Cassia took that as a sign that fate was on her side. She’d suffered long enough, as had her brother. Fortune favored the bold. She let that reassure her as the silence dragged on. Each of them seemingly lost in their thoughts.
Dax broke it first, voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper. “Wolfgang and the others want proof we’re serious. I say we send a token—maybe a lock of Maddie’s hair, or a drop of Roan’s blood. Nothing lethal, just . . . persuasive.”
Mei grinned, his smile sharp and almost pretty. “Gift-wrapping optional? I can do a bow. Or a spider-shaped wax seal. You know, for class.”
Neru, still distracted by the odd magic in Maddie, muttered, “If you two spent half as much time on actually making useful plans as you did on jokes, we’d have toppled the throne by now.”
Cassia ignored the banter, her gaze lingering on the webbed cell. “No one touches them unless I say so. The venom works best when undisturbed. If you mess with the cocoon, you could disturb the magic keeping Roan under control—or worse, cause Maddie’s voice to penetrate more than it already does, and we will have to listen to more of her ridiculous nonsense.” Her mind was only half focused on what she was saying, the other half was trying to decide if it was worth keeping Wolfgang and Caspian, the water king, in on her plan. The more people involved, the greater chance of being discovered.
Dax drew her attention back to the room. He held up his hands, mock-offended, the movement elegant, almost courtly. “No one’s touching your masterpiece, Cass.”
Mei, undeterred, spun a small strand of web between his fingers, eyes glinting. “She’s just proud of her work. I mean, look at that—they’re practically gift-wrapped already.”
Cassia’s smile was all teeth. “I like my packages quiet.” Though somehow Maddie had managed to burn through much of the poison concoction and keep blabbing.
Neru finished his runes and straightened, eyes flicking to Dax. “All right. The ledger is ready, too. I forged Athena’s signature in three separate places and included just enough of her private codes to make it believable.”
Dax nodded, the lines of his face momentarily hardening. “Good. The council will eat it up. What exactly did you put in there?”
Neru’s lips curled into something grim. “The ledger is a record of secret meetings with Azure—dates, locations, payments. It makes it look like Athena was negotiating with him for years, even after the council forbade the abduction of animi. There are notes about ‘alternative mate-bonding experiments’ and a list of Damarian and Chaos shifters marked for transfer, as if she was planning to trade them in exchange for Azure’s research.” He paused, looking at Cassia. “Anyone who reads it will think Athena was trying to make her own multi-mate program—just like Azure.”
Cassia nodded, satisfied. “And if the council believes the queen was plotting with a traitor, they’ll have no choice but to depose her. Especially with Azure dead—killed by his own mate, for crimes against the shaman code. The council’s already on edge. All we need is a nudge.”
Neru continued, “I heard the kitchen staff gossiping. Two things of importance. One, Lyric spoke with the royals this morning. My little spies tell me she is raising some concern about something being ‘off’ in the kingdom. Then they said the queen went off because she felt like Lyric was accusing her ofsnatching Roan.” He looked at Cassia. “Lyric needs to be dealt with. It’s time to bring her down so we can put the rest of the plan in motion. While you’re doing that, Mei and I can prepare our acquisitions for the transition.”
Dax grinned, flashing perfect white teeth. “And what amIsupposed to do?”
Neru gave him a bland look. “Watch the prisoners and make sure Roan is not able to access his power.”
Cassia studied the webbed cell again, imagining Maddie’s cheek pressed to Roan’s chest, the rise and fall of his breathing slow and steady. For a moment she allowed herself to remember a time when she had a warm chest to press against, strong arms to wrap around her, and someone to share her secrets with. It had been so very long and yet the pain was as fresh as the moment she learned of his death. “Soon,” she whispered to herself. Her new mate would not be Tevon, but at least she wouldn’t be alone any longer. She shook off melancholy thoughts and refocused on her captives. The venom was working, but she’d have to refresh it soon. She glanced at Mei. “Prepare another dose for tomorrow. I want to ensure they remain subdued.”
Mei saluted, every inch the refined Damarian, though his eyes sparkled with wicked delight. “Yes, boss. Want me to add a little extra zing? Maybe Maddie will start hallucinating and what she talks about might actually be interesting.”
Cassia rolled her eyes, but her lips twitched. “They are not here for your entertainment, Mei.”
Dax leaned against a support beam, his posture as fluid as a dancer’s. “So, what about the rest of the plan? We need to plant the forged ledger in Athena’s study, and the correspondence goes in Lyric’s quarters.”
Cassia turned, eyes gleaming. “No. I’ll speak with Lyric tonight,” she corrected. “I need to see where her mind is. Howdeep she’s already dug. I’ll also be able to put the ledger in Athena’s study. No one would question me being in there, not even the queen. I’ll place it before I speak with Lyric. From there, I should be able to direct the shaman exactly as I need her to put the rest of the wheels in motion. Dax, deliver a token to Chaos—something small, something convincing enough to show them we’re still in the game. But we need to be subtle. Azure’s mistakes got him killed, and the council is watching for anything that smells like his work.”
Dax’s lips quirked. “I’ll pluck a hair from Roan’s head. He won’t miss it. The Chaos king will know who it belongs to by the scent.”
Neru, gaze lingering on the webbed cell, said quietly, “I’m telling you, Cassia, there’s more to that human than we thought. I’ll need to keep a close watch. We don’t want any surprises ruining this.”
Cassia’s tone was ice and conviction, but her gaze lingered on Dax, her reason for everything. “Nothing is going to ruin this,” she said, her voice thick with emotion. “Too long is waiting another decade for a mate who never comes. Too long is letting a king and queen keep a throne they don’t deserve. Azure’s plan is gone, but the need remains. Mates. Power. A future. I’d give anything to see you—” She cut herself off, jaw clenching. “—to see all of you shift. To not lose anyone else to the madness of being without a mate.”
For a heartbeat, the loss of her mate—her own other half, claimed and then torn away in Damara—echoed in the silence. Dax, her shadow, met her gaze with something raw and unspoken, but didn’t speak.
Mei’s voice was brittle, though his posture never faltered. “I’m not dying alone just because the queen’s willing to be controlled by a Creator who left us to fend for ourselves in a world with no Damarian females.”
Cassia clapped Mei on the shoulder, then squeezed Dax’s hand. “You won’t. None of us will. Not if this works.”
Mei and Neru gathered their things and slipped into the dark corridors with the predatory grace that belonged to their kind. They would check on the females and male that were lying in their own cocooned state, leaving Cassia and Dax alone in the half-light of the lanterns.
