“Get creative, Mal.” His dark voice echoes off the arches as he disappears around the corner. “I want to be entertained.”
4
JACE
Zadyn steps through the door of the ramshackle apartment, holding it open for us to pass.
“It’s not much, but I’m barely ever here anyway.”
The single room contains a bedroll, a sack of supplies, a small wooden table, and a fireplace full of ash.
“What is all this?” I mutter, stepping around the maps and drawings carelessly strewn across the floor.
Zadyn pours out some water for the three of us. “Research.”
My eyes drift over the charcoal renderings of Castle Illona. Detailed aerial views, depictions from various angles.
He’s been here for over a week, and this is what he has to show for it?
“Please tell me you’ve done more than doodle since you arrived here.”
He turns to me, leaning against the kitchen counter.
“No doubt more than you’ve done sitting in your ivory tower this last week.” He extends a glass to Mar, a smug look on his face as he holds eye contact with me.
He’s not wrong. Being Hand of the King does not suit me. I’m used to action and battle, not patience and politicizing. When Derekcommanded me to stay in Aegar after Serena was taken, it nearly killed me. Zadyn, unbound by title, left that very night.
I don’t think I’ve ever envied him more.
“How did you get here so fast?”
“It seems Marideth has been holding out on us.” I give her a pointed look as she slides into one of the worn wooden chairs. Zadyn glances between us.
“I’m a Blueblood,” she says offhandedly. “Do you have anything to eat here? I’m starving.”
Zadyn’s eyes round, his brows leaping toward his hairline as he grapples for words. “Can we maybe…unpack that a little?”
Mar lifts her glass to her mouth and chugs while Zadyn waits, the unmistakable look of shock plastered across his face. She makes a loud, satisfied sound and wipes her mouth on the back of her hand.
“I forgot how thirsty magic makes you.” Fixing her cool eyes on Zadyn, she starts, “I defected from my coven nearly two centuries ago and never looked back. No one knew except Dover. And Serena,” she adds. “I told her a few days before she was taken.”
“How did you retain your magic?” Zadyn crosses to the table, bracing his hands on the empty chair.
“I found a loophole. When I left, I buried a part of it in here.” She lifts her hand, flashing him the delicate moonstone ring encircling her third finger. Now that I think of it, I’ve never seen her without it.
“I could only get away with keeping a sliver, and I haven’t touched it in years. I didn’t want to risk being tracked and traced back to the clan.”
“So you can siphon off that ring?” Zadyn asks. She nods, twirling it mindlessly around her finger.
“I did a scrying and saw Serena chained up in what looked like a dungeon. I water walked us here.” She stretches her long legs out, leaning forward to massage her calves.
“We ended up on the southern beaches two days ago. We’ve been heading toward the castle ever since,” Dover says from her side.
“Judging by the lack of Blackblood here, I’m guessing whateveryou’ve been attempting since you arrived hasn’t been successful.” I toss a nod at Zadyn, not intending for the bite in my words.
I’ve never been his greatest fan. Partly because for a familiar, I’ve witnessed him make a lot of stupid choices when it comes to Serena’s well-being. And partly because in her eyes he can do no wrong.
“I’ve been trying to figure out the best extraction strategy.”
