Aya had suspected it, too. She had known something wasn’t right when those men cornered them in the alley this evening.
She just wasn’t surewhat. So when Will had disappeared from her room earlier, she’d changed. And then she’d followed him.
But not before she’d swiped the key to Dominic’s study from an unsuspecting guard for good measure.
The castle was fairly empty, what with the early hour and more guards delegated to the search for Viviane. And yet the silence felt heavy, as if an eerie hush had settled over the halls.
Aya led the way in the dark, her eyes sweeping the empty passageways they crept through as she sent up a silent plea to Saudra to help in their endeavor. And though their footsteps were mercifully muffled by the thick rugs that stretched the marble hallways to Dominic’s study, their movements still sounded far too loud.
She could feel her pulse hammering as they made their way toward the study’s door, Will a steady presence at her back.
Nearly there.
Behind her, Will froze.
The muffled sound of boots came from the hall they’d just passed on their left, getting closer and closer by the second. Aya grabbed Will, tugging him forward as they rushed for the study. She had the key out of her pocket and into the lock in one swift movement, the door clicking open as theylunged inside. Aya closed the door silently behind them, their backs resting against the polished surface as they waited for the footsteps to pass.
Aya could feel her pulse in her throat, and her hands tingled as she ran her fingers through her hair once silence returned. Will swore softly, his eyes closed as he caught his breath. ‘Let’s get this over with,’ he muttered.
A sliver of gray light spilled from between the thick crimson curtains that covered the two grand windows on the far side of the study. Will strode toward the desk, cracking the curtains just enough to let a splash of early dawn light spill onto the ornate wooden surface scattered with papers. Aya locked the door before making her way to him just as Will reached for a set of documents. She lunged, catching his hand.
‘Let me,’ she ordered. ‘Dominic will be able to sense if something is out of place.’
He stepped back carefully as Aya scanned the desk. Trade information, Council correspondence, the usual ledgers … nothing that immediately screamed betrayal.
But Dominic was cunning, perhaps more than they gave him credit for. He wouldn’t leave evidence out in the open.
Aya crouched by the desk, running her fingers along the seams of the drawers. She gave each a tug. All locked. Her small knife flashed in the dim light as she swiftly pried each open, her hands carefully flipping through more documents.
‘Wait a minute,’ Will murmured from above her, his eyes fixed on something on the desk. He pushed some papers aside, his brow furrowed. ‘Never mind. I thought—’
Will stopped, both of their gazes cutting to the door. Footsteps were coming their way again. ‘Shit.’
They flew into motion, Will setting the papers back on the desk and Aya dropping to the ground to close the drawers.She reached the last one and her eyes snagged on a familiar script. Aya reached for the parchment, even as Will hissed, ‘Leave it.’
But there it was – the queen’s letter to the king. The same one Aya had seen Dominic read from when they first pressed him for an alliance. If she could just learn what Gianna had put in that letter, then perhaps …
The door rattled, and Will swore thoroughly as he yanked Aya out of the way, dropping down, closing the drawer and locking it one smooth motion. He grabbed her and pulled her behind the curtains, pressing them as close as possible to the bookcase that lined the wall just as the lock clicked and the door swung open. She could feel his heart hammering against her back, his arms tight around her waist and his breath hot on her neck as he folded them even further into the space between where the bookcase ended and the window started. Aya tried to steady her own breathing as the footsteps approached the desk. Will’s grip tightened as the intruder parted the curtains, both of them holding their breath as the curtains drew back further, and further, and further.
They were doomed.
But then … the curtains stopped, their thick crimson fabric still concealing them. Aya’s knees wobbled with relief, but she didn’t dare breathe – not with whoever it was standing mere feet away. There was the sound of a drawer opening, papers shuffling, and then the snap of the drawer closing once more. Aya continued to hold her breath, waiting until the footsteps made their way back to the door, which was closed and locked with a loud click, before letting out a shaky exhale. She could feel Will’s body relax behind her, suddenly hyper-aware of how he was pressed against her, his arms still hugging her against his solid build.
His head dropped onto her shoulder, his lips brushing herneck as he rasped, ‘I’m going to fucking murder you if you ever do that to us again.’
She couldn’t help the laugh that bubbled out of her. A real laugh, quiet and perhaps brought on by the immense relief she felt pounding through her, but a laugh all the same. She shook against him, her lips pressing into a thin line as she tried to control the hysterics that were threatening to erupt. She felt Will grin against her neck.
‘I’m glad you find this so funny.’ He gave her a tight squeeze before stepping out from the curtains. ‘But I’d love to know what was so important that you almost had us found out.’
Aya followed him to the desk and knelt before the drawer once more, her body buzzing and hands trembling with the adrenaline that had coursed through her moments ago. She used her knife to flip the lock and gave the drawer a tug.
Will went deathly still beside her as Aya pulled out the letter. ‘Is that …?’
‘Gianna’s letter,’ Aya breathed. It wasn’t what they’d come for, but once she’d seen the Tala royal seal, she hadn’t been able to wrench herself from the desk.
Her heart stuttered in her chest as she scanned the pages. ‘He wasn’t lying.’
Because there, in Gianna’s loopy handwriting, was the very implication Dominic had shared on the beach:
