Kseniasnorted at the joke, winking at me as she pocketed the coins.
“You have information for me?” the prince asked lightly but his tone was expectant, eager.
“I want assurances first,” I told him.
“Of course,” he agreed easily.
“A man who turns against his gods is a man who will turn against his prince, Leo,” Roman warned cryptically, still glaring at me as he spoke.
“I’m not stupid enough to trust him, Roman,” the prince said. “At least, not yet. He has to earn that. But for now, I see no harm in making some basic assurances to retrieve the knowledgeKseniaso desperately craves.”
Ksenia’slip twitched at the comment, the only sign of her annoyance. Clearly, her disobedience was still a wound between them and one I could pick at in the future should it benefit me. I made a mental note of the discord between them to keep in mind for later.
“You’ll have a room in the palace,” the prince informed me. “In the western wing near Roman andKseniaas I’ll need them to keep an eye on you. You’ll be welcomed at court. I highly doubt I could keep the gawking nobles away from you if I tried. You’ll be given no weapons outside of training, should you choose to participate in it. And you will, of course, be welcome to a position in my service should you determine you’d rather be on the right side of this war for once. Have I about covered it?”
For a moment, I just stared at the formidable prince, wondering who might come out on top in a game of politicalblows between Prince Leo andCosmoof House Viper. It was almost something I wished to see.
“TheGeistdid fear my arrival inPavos,” I said then and it was as though everyone in the room held a collective breath. I couldn’t help but wonder how long they'd been awaiting this information. “There's a corruption in their magic, something they call the darkness. It chased them out of their last world. It’s what sent them here and, during my ninth Trial, they saw it. It exploded between Adrian and I, saving us from the avalanche they'd constructed as our test. But they couldn’t tell who caused it so, when I fell into their city, they assigned the onlyVerdunnexpert they had to study me. But he told me the truth instead and warned me I would be in danger for as long as they suspected the corruption slept within me. But I don’t have it. I never did. Adrian caused the darkness that saved us from the ninth Trial. Adrian is the one they’re after. But they don’t know that. Not yet.”
When I'd finished, the three of them exchanged a glance that was far less surprised than I'd anticipated.
“You knew,” I said then, realizing. “About the corruption.”
“Zverare made of the darkness,” the prince said as if that explained anything at all. “We'd heard rumors that someof the Verdunnwere capable of wielding it long ago but, after so long in Sanctuary, after most of them had been hunted down and eradicated, we didn’t think it was possible that anyone again might use the physical force of the corruption in such a way. You said your partner did thisduringa Trial?”
“Yes. The ninth.”
“And she didn’t realize what she'd done? Neither of you did?”
“We'd lost consciousness. We were buried beneath ten feet of snow. The last thing I remember seeing was this strange blast of shadow and then nothing.”
“If she’s out there, free of their clutches, if she knows what she’s capable of…” Roman started.
“She could be the greatest weapon we’ve had against theGeistin two thousand years,”Kseniafinished for him, in awe.
The three of them exchanged wide-eyed glances.
“Well, congratulations Dante,” the prince announced then, breaking out into an off kilter smile. “You’ve been promoted.”
“Promoted?” I asked, confused. “To what?”
“Bait.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
Adrian
“The Geist must be filled with sorrow to witness us turn against each other so easily.”
— From the Journal of Isabella, Acolyte Formally of House Lynx
Ihated to admit it. More than anything, I hated to admit it, but Gryfon was right.
It became clear, upon our third night of training, that I could train my friends to defend themselves against mortal men but I hadn’t the faintest idea how to fight the gods. And if theGeistwere truly after us, I would be a fool to ignore the threat. But I didn't have the first clue how to fight a god. It felt impossible.
I tried not to think about it, tried to do my part in the camp and ignore the growing tension within me brought about because everything had gone so horribly wrong. Since the moment I took that Oath, the second I was pulled toward Dante in that twisting maze, my life had not been my own. Others made choices around me, deciding my fate without my input or agreement.
The gods had Culled Darius and now I no longer recognized the person he'd become. I'd lost myself to the Trials and to a partner who'd touched my soul in a way no one ever had. I'd suffered loss and had yet to fully mourn because I was too busy feeling so utterly stupid for having allowed it to occur. And now here I was, with a power thought to be extinct and a target on my back I never asked for.
