“Nico, it’s Lyric. I found something. Serious. I need to see you in person. Please call me as soon as you can. I’ll book a flight tonight if I can get clear.”
She pocketed her phone, replaced the ledger, and stood for a moment, staring at her own reflection in the glass of the cabinet across the room. Her face looked pale, drawn, and there was a twitch of fear in her eyes she couldn’t quite hide.
She had to leave. Now. Before whoever had planted this realized she’d found it. That was the only excuse for it. Lyric would not accept that Athena or Aurelius would do this. She’d known them too long. She couldn’t imagine anyone in their kingdom doing this. That had to mean there was someone here that didn’t belong.
Lyric hurried back to her rooms, moving as quickly as she dared, her mind racing. She threw a few clothes into her travel bag, hid her phone deep inside, and checked the flight schedules on her tablet. There was a red-eye headed for Las Vegas leaving in two hours; she could make it if she left now. She typed another message to Nico:I’m coming to you. Will update from the airport. This is bigger than I thought.She paused, then deleted it, then typed it again and pressed send. Her hands were still shaking. She typed another text but decided to wait to send this one, Lyric was leary of sending such sensitive information via text message.
She slipped out the back corridors, moving through service hallways and unused parlors. The mansion was quieter thanshe’d ever known it, but even so, she felt eyes on her, felt the weight of unseen webs. She reached the eastern exit—a rarely used door that led to the old servants’ tunnel, where she could catch a ride to the airport without being seen.
A voice, smooth as silk and twice as cutting, echoed in the shadows behind her. “Heading out, Lyric? It’s awfully late for a stroll.”
Cassia.
Lyric schooled her face into a polite mask and turned, heart thundering. “Cassia. You startled me.”
Cassia stepped out of the darkness, every inch the elegant, and confident court advisor—her golden braid gleaming, her eyes unreadable in the half-light. She smiled, but it didn’t reach her eyes.
“I was just coming to check on you. Neru mentioned seeing you earlier and said you looked quite stressed. Is everything all right? Is there anything I can help with?” Her eyes fell to the bag on Lyric’s shoulder.
Lyric forced a small laugh. “Just a shaman’s intuition. I had a bad feeling—couldn’t sleep. Thought I’d get some air.”
Cassia tilted her head, the movement graceful, but predatory. “So out for a stroll with a bag packed for . . . ” Her words trailed off.
“Books,” Lyric blurted.
A deep “v” formed on Cassia’s brow. “Books?”
Lyric somehow managed not to grimace at her own idiocy. Books? Really? That’s what she came up with? “I figured I could do some reading. It always relaxes me.” And nothing says relaxing like carrying around a bloody big bag of books. But she was going with it because apparently lying under pressure wasn’t her strong suit, and if she back peddled now, it would just look more suspicious.
“That could be helpful,” Cassia agreed, to Lyric’s complete surprise. “In regards to your ‘bad’ feeling, I’ve felt something off as well. I mentioned it to Athena but she wouldn’t discuss it with me. It’s odd, she’s always discussed everything with me. You’re sure there’s nothing I can do for you?”
Lyric shook her head, keeping her voice steady. “No, thank you. I’m just restless. I thought I’d walk down to the gardens and find a place to read there.”
Cassia’s gaze sharpened. “You know, I was just heading that way myself. Perhaps we could walk together. There’s something I’ve been meaning to discuss with you—a magical matter, actually. I could use a second set of eyes.”
Lyric’s pulse skipped. She couldn’t refuse. It would be weird. She and Cassia had always had a good relationship. They weren’t best friends, but Lyric had always trusted her because Athena did. She looked at Cassia’s eyes, trying to search for anything that would give away some sort of treachery. She only saw concern.By the gods wouldn’t it be good to have someone to trust?she asked herself. Nico was MIA and Roan would be her second choice of shaman to trust, but she was out of luck there as well. What choice did she have? Cassia might be able to help her work through the confusion that filled Lyric’s mind and confirm that there was no way their king and queen would be involved in something so awful.
“Of course,” she said, forcing a smile. “Lead the way.”
They walked in silence for several minutes, Cassia guiding them away from the exits and deeper into the heart of the palace, toward the older, unused corridors. The air grew colder, the lanterns more sparse. Lyric’s unease grew with every step.
Cassia broke the silence, her voice soft. “I’m going to take a guess and say tonight isn’t the first night you’ve had trouble sleeping. You’ve been restless for days, Lyric. I’ve heard aboutthe missing shaman and his human companion. I imagine that is upsetting for you, and could be contributing to the bad feeling.”
Lyric kept her eyes forward. This was it. She was going to step out on faith and let the chips fall. She needed to trust someone. “There’s something wrong with the palace magic. I can feel it in the walls. It started after Maddie and Roan disappeared. Have you noticed? Is that what isoffto you?”
Cassia hummed. “I’ve noticed the queen is anxious. That could cause the magic to be off. But the stress of the situation could be causing your own power to be agitated.”
Lyric glanced at her. “Perhaps. But I don’t think so. There’s a thread of . . . something. Like a web being drawn tighter.”
Cassia smiled, her teeth very white. “You’ve always been sensitive to such things. It’s why Athena has always trusted you so much.”
They turned a corner, and Lyric realized Cassia was leading her not to the gardens, but to the old storage tunnels beneath the mansion. She stopped, suddenly wary.
“I don’t think we should go any further. The wards here are old—unstable.”
Cassia’s smile widened. “That’s exactly why I wanted you to see them.”
Before Lyric could react, Cassia’s hand flashed out, impossibly fast. Magic shimmered in the air, sticky and suffocating. Lyric tried to call her own power, but the webbing was everywhere—clinging, binding, burning her skin with venom.
