Time to go inside.Cool arrogance slid over his bones like a second skin. His feet did not pound, his fingers did not clench.
He opened the door.
The meeting was in full swing, probably half over as he strode to the empty high-backed chair beside his father. The din of the men’s voices rose to the high beams of the room evenas Topp relaxed into his chair. He shoved back loose tufts of hair, his thoughts straying to Elysia and who in the realms had summoned her at such an hour the night before. Of all the things he’d been worrying about, it had not been some other man swooping in like a vulture at a time like this. He didn’t know it was a man. But he had a feeling. His fingers twitched against his leg.
“Topp?”
His father’s warm voice drew him back into the present. The look on his face said he was well aware that Topp had not heard a single word of the meeting carrying on around him.
He straightened, leaning forward and spreading his knees wide. “Yes?”
Irritation shot through the king’s generally even-keeled expression. “There appears to be a new wave of cursed souls cropping up. As we know, this happens from time to time, but they’re banding together now, getting bolder.” The king chuckled as if he felt bad for the poor folks. “I would like this handled efficiently—gather them all up, take care of it. No loose ends. Easier for everyone that way.”
Topp steepled his fingers. It was just business, after all. “You want to set a trap for them.”
The king appraised him. He was getting into his seventies now. Constantly pushing for Topp to actually be useful and engage in what he deemed the more important aspects of the Crown.
“I want you to take the lead. Find the rebels. Determine when they’ll meet and get the job done.” He pushed away from the table, effectively signaling the end of the meeting.
Men stood up, chairs scraping as they shoved off. Some glared, annoyed that Topp was stealing their thunder and getting to take point in spite of his often begrudging willingnessto do his duties. Others patted him on the back, hoping he’d pick them to be on his team.
Topp ignored them all, stalking out of the room without another word. Unknown to his father, he’d already been trailing the rebels for months. Being ordered to find and execute them was going to fuck up everything. He raked a hand through his hair in frustration. This was the largest group of people with undead gifts he’d ever come across. Killing them would really get in the way of questioning them.Obviously.
His brain searched for loopholes.Maybe I can make sure some of them get away.His mind darted on to other solutions before the thought was even complete. That wasn’t probable and he knew it. His father likely had the exact number and names of the people involved.
He’d felt certain that this group could at long last answer his questions. He’d picked up pieces of answers over the years, both in Kava and in his travels. Stories of a deal made long ago that once sealed had changed their kingdom forever.
He was convinced the answers were here in Relaclave. Possibly even within this rebel group. He just had to find them.
The now hunted Kavians usually met in small numbers. Kept their gatherings short and limited in size. They knew what would happen if they were found out, and until now, that had prompted them to exercise caution. Topp had spent so much useless time following their members. But then he’d heard them whisper about a distraction. That’d they’d finally be able to all meet. Excitement and danger hummed through their quiet words.
Further surveillance led him to discovering the meeting would be this week. The date had been tentatively set, but the signal that all was clear still had not been given. Members whispered over teas and gin to not hold their breath that all would go to plan. They were waiting for something, but he didn’t know what.
Topp flipped the coin he’d stolen and rubbed his thumb over the insignia. The coin, he’d discovered, was given to potential members. Those who had not yet been initiated into the society’s ranks.
The day he had swiped the coin off the counter and walked out of Elysia’s flat, he’d been in a marvelous mood in spite of his girlfriend puking her guts out in order to avoid telling him the truth—that she was just as cursed as him. It pissed him off, but he had to respect the woman’s game.
His little liar didn’t have any practice telling the truth, and he would have been worried for her intelligence if she had simply folded after a few leading accusations from a prince.
They’d have their talk once she settled and realized the truth of him. She’d always been a jumpy thing, and he wasn’t trying to rile her anxieties, but there was a part of him that wanted her to open her enormous brown eyes and really see him. Because if she did—then she would trust him, and she would tell him everything.
But he could hardly blame Elysia for what she’d done. If anything, he admired her for it. The tenacity, the drive to survive at all costs.
Even if she did not know it, he understood her more clearly than most others ever would. He knew why she’d withdrawn and held her secret tighter the second he’d started to look her way. Secrets were what had kept both of them alive all these years.
He’d wanted to come clean. Have them both lay it all on the table. Pool their resources and conquer Kava’s riddle.
It was only within the last month that he’d been certain. He had stopped at her flat to surprise her and found her dead asleep in the middle of the day. Passed out over a pile of books. Dark hair splayed out in waves. Eyes wide open and blank. And a strange silver glimmer rising off her body like a rope that went into the ether.
The business that occurred at the House had been acompletesurprise. She’d hidden that little tidbit well over the years. If he was a better man, he would have ripped her out of there the second she looked like she was in a trance. But he didn’t. He might care for her, but the incessant desire to find out what happened to Kava—what his father had done—trumped everything. It had to and for that he couldn’t be sorry.
He flipped the coin one more time and tucked it away. That being said, he wasn’t a monster. Somewhere inside of him, a better man existed and growled at him to keep the coin, and to ensure that Elysia stayed far, far away from that meeting even if it meant locking her in her flat and barring the damn windows. But the creatures and trees whispered to him that there was another way, a more cunning way, and so he heeded their counsel like he always had and prayed it would not come back to haunt him.
Topp whistled the entire walk to Elysia’s flat where he replaced the coin just as he’d found it. And when he locked the door, he tried not to notice that it was clear she had never come home.
Chapter 15
Elysia wokeup in a surprisingly comfortable bed considering she was in the home of Kava’s Shadow. She had always expected his house to look like a soldier’s barracks. Bare. Functional. Boring. Nothing could be further from the truth. The man liked to live in comfort.
