I imagine she and your nephew will get along nicely. Perhaps there’s potential for firmer, more formal friendships between our kingdoms …
Her eyes flicked to Will, marking the tension that had crept into his stance. He jerked his chin at the drawer, his voice terse as he said, ‘Lock it and let’s go.’ His steps were clipped as he led the way to the door, as if he couldn’t wait to be as far away from the room as possible.
Aya tossed the letter back into the drawer, her hands trembling as she flipped the lock and followed him.
‘Will.’
She grabbed his arm as he reached for the door. His face was guarded. He shook his head and tugged on the handle, opening the door to the hallway outside.
‘Will—?’
‘What the hells are you two doing?’
Aya froze.
She had been so caught up in Will that she hadn’t even thought to stop him, to make him look, tolisten, and there stood Josie, eyes wide as she stared at them in the doorway of her uncle’s study.
She was still in her Pysar dress, and her eyes were red and exhausted, as if she had just returned from the search for Viviane. She glanced around the hallway, her mouth pressing into a thin line as she stalked toward them. ‘What thehellsare you doing?’ she hissed again.
Will merely closed the door with a soft snap, his face utterly calm as he drawled, ‘Wrong room.’
‘You think me a fool?’
‘Josie …’ Aya started, watching her friend’s fury build. ‘Josie, please listen.’
The princess whirled to her. ‘My partner ismissingand you … you raid my uncle’s study? What was it you hoped to find?’
Aya opened her mouth, the truth dying in her throat before she could voice it. She couldn’t very well share their suspicions until they knew for sure what Dominic’s role with the Bellare was. Not with Viviane still missing.
‘We were searching for any indication that your uncle may be tied to Kakos,’ she said instead.
Josie’s brown eyes widened, her hands curling into fists as her voice dropped. ‘Excuse me?’
A numbness settled in Aya’s fingertips as she stared at her friend. ‘Surely you can understand our suspicions with Aidon’s recent revelation.’
The words were hollow. Heavy.
Disgust rippled across Josie’s face. ‘We told you—’
‘I know,’ Aya interrupted, the steady calm in her voice so at odds with the whirling in her mind. As if she were outside herself, watching the lies she wielded. ‘But we needed to be sure before we press Gianna to move forward more formally with suggesting a match in the name of an alliance.’
The silence between them was deafening. Josie’s gaze darted between Aya and Will, her chest heaving as she wrestled for words. Finally, she let out a bitter laugh. ‘And to think that I feltbadfor you earlier. That I thought you were being used. And yet …youare the one who would use Aidon in such a way. You’re just as bad as the queen you serve.’
Aya’s stomach gave a vicious twist, but it was Will who snarled, ‘Careful, Princess.’
But Josie didn’t seem to hear him, didn’t seem to care as she took a step toward Aya, her voice trembling. ‘You were supposed to be myfriend.’
Aya took a step toward her, and she felt Will’s hand graze her arm imperceptibly, as if to hold her back. As if to remind her of her duty.
‘Iamyour friend,’ Aya rasped.
‘No.’ Josie shook her head. ‘A friend would have been with me tonight, searching for Viviane. A friend would have put her own agenda aside tobe there. A friend wouldn’tusesomeone to push their own wants. A friend wouldn’t barter with my brother’s future. So make no mistake, Aya. You are no friend of mine.’
And then she was gone, her quick stride sending her down the hallway and out of sight as Aya’s mind screamed at her to find the words to call Josie back, to make her understand, to make her stay.
Aya turned to find Will watching her warily. She folded her arms across her chest, swallowing the urge to snap at him. It wasn’t his fault. She’d been careless. Distracted. She shifted uneasily as his gaze stripped her bare, as if he could sense the guilt curling in her stomach. He frowned, his hand massaging the back of his neck as he said, ‘Quick thinking. We should be prepared for questions, though.’
Aya nodded once, her arms tightening across her chest.
