His gaze snapped to mine with just enough ire that I knew he heard the part I didn’t say.
It mattered enough to slaughter my people, so you can damned well make an uncomfortable concession for yourself.
Draven heaved a long-suffering sigh, turning back to the smug-faced male before us.
“What did you have in mind?”
Chapter 18
Everly
Soren’s plan wasn’t flawless, but it was the first thing in days that resembled direction. A narrow and undoubtedly treacherous path, but a path nonetheless.
He laid it all out for us at Nevara’s bedside, hand curled around hers as if he needed her presence to steady himself. The low light from the lanterns cast deep shadows across his face, making the hollows beneath his eyes look even darker. How long had it been since he slept?
“You need to be seen,” Soren said, his tone pitched low but firm. “The both of you. You can only claim the illness excuse for so long, and I’m afraid that time has passed.”
Draven stiffened beside me.
“Besides,” Soren continued, “too many of them saw her in the courtyard, and rumors are already flying. They will know you’re lying.”
The temperature dropped enough that frost feathered across the footboard.
Soren didn’t blink.
“Let’s not insult each other by pretending this is just about instability or recent attacks. It’s about Everly being?—”
“Finish that sentence,” Draven warned, his voice like an icy blade.
“—Unseelie,” Soren finished anyway, with all the hesitation of a male naming the color of the sky. “There. Now that we’ve officially got that out in the open, perhaps we can all move on.”
As if he’d summoned them, shadows crept into the edges of my vision, my mana flaring once again like it wanted to offer confirmation.
Draven’s hand flexed once around my wrist as he siphoned them away with practiced ease.
“People are already whispering about the shadows from the battlefield,” he said with a gesture toward the retreating mana. “As well as the breach in the wards?—”
“What do you mean ‘the breach’?” I asked, confusion lacing my tone.
He offered me a sad sort of smile.
“Some of the people believe that the Korythid attack followed by evidence of Unseelie mana this close to the palace are far from a coincidence…” he said. “We know that they’re wrong, of course, that you wouldn’t dream of hurting Winter. But often in these situations, the loudest voice in the room is the one that is the most believed.”
His words resonated all too deeply.
“If you want to control the narrative, and avoid a riot,” he continued, “then, you need to show the court who you are together.”
I swallowed hard. “And what exactly does that mean?”
“It means you stop hiding,” Soren said bluntly. “Public meals. Holding court. A jaunt through the main halls. Shards, even being seen sharing the same sunlight would help. Show them you’re a unit. Show them Winter’s king stands with his queen. And that the Visionary was right in choosing you, Everly.”
Draven let out a slow, deadly exhale, his breath fogging in the air. “Her mana is unstable. It’s dangerous not only for the people she’s around but for her as well. I won’t risk her, and I won’t put her on display like some?—”
“Then put precautions in place,” Soren countered. “Keep the wolves close. Space out the crowds. Plan your routes to and from your quarters to the Great Hall or wherever else you go. Butdosomething. Because if you wait too long, the court will decide the truth for you, and you won’t like the version they choose.”
Draven’s entire body went still. The air thinned with the force of his anger.
“You think we should tell them the truth?” I asked carefully.
