“It will be,” Jeremiah soothed. He gestured to the knights. “Renault and his sons will conduct private interviews with the Chosen to see if any clues can be gleaned about the identity of the empath. Then they will search every inch of Esperance until the empath is caught.”
“Rhone will remain with you in the capital, Your Eminence,” Renault said, his voice deep and a little rough. “He will be able to protect you and the Chosen in case the empath followed them to Zagrev.”
“Thank you, Renault. I’m sure we’ll all feel safer having a knight here.” The emperor eyed them all. “I know you’re all weary, so we will conclude this meeting.But I wish for the interviews with the knights to take place immediately. You can use the adjoining rooms.”
Carver’s breathing thinned, and panic ripped through Amryn.
The bloodstone pulsed with reassurance.
“We can interview three Chosen at a time,” Renault said. He looked down the table, and Amryn’s heart tripped. “Prince Ivan, General Vincetti, and Lady Vincetti. You will go first.” His eyes slid over Jayveh, Samuel, and Sadia. “You three will wait here until summoned.”
The emperor dismissed everyone else before he turned to speak quietly with Jayveh. Murmurs filled the space as people climbed to their feet and shuffled toward the door. Cregon was immediately swept into a conversation with Morelli and Keats about the Rising, and Ivan was already being approached by Revell Quinn.
Renault and Rhone were making their way toward Amryn and Carver.
Carver hadn’t risen. He was still holding her hand as he tracked the knights carefully. Aggression seethed beneath the surface, along with an almost painful desperation.
“It’s all right,” she breathed, the words barely audible.
His eyes snapped to hers, his fear for her as sharp as a razor. “Amryn—”
She squeezed his hand, silently cutting him off. Beneath the table, she eased the bloodstone out of her pocket, just enough so he could see the edge of it.
The moment he realized what it was, wariness flared inside him.
“It’s shielding me,” she whispered. “I’m safe.”
Saints, please let that remain true . . .
Carver met her stare, a thousand questions burning in his eyes. But there was no time to ask them.
The knights had arrived.
“Come with me, Lady Vincetti,” Renault said.
Amryn’s heart hammered against her ribs as she shoved the bloodstone back into her pocket and pushed to her feet.
Carver rose with her. She could feel the war raging inside him. The need to attack and defend her conflicted with the need to not draw attention to her. He met her gaze, the storm in his eyes enough to make her own stomach clench.
Trust me,she pleaded silently.
Carver’s mouth pressed into a thin line. She knew what it cost him to release her hand. To watch her walk away with a knight. She couldfeelit.
Carver’s anxieties were overtaken by her own as soon as Renault led her into a small sitting room down the hall. The door closed, sealing them alone inside.
Renault’s dark eyes pinned her. “I have some questions for you, Lady Vincetti.”
Chapter 18
Carver
“Carver,pleasesit.”
Carver did so, his eyes never leaving Rhone’s smooth face. Rivard’s oldest brother was in his late thirties. He had Rivard’s dark hair and angular jaw, but there was a calmness in Rhone that Rivard had never possessed; especially after he’d failed his trial to become a knight.
Carver hoped he had even a shred of the calm Rhone exuded, but the mental bridge he normally relied on to ground himself wasn’t working. Not when Amryn was being interviewed by a bloody knight.
“I’m safe.”
