My order for him to be my ambassador in Mysthelm was issued in part because I knew it would be the only way to get him out from under Scarven’s thumb. Nox wouldn’t be able to disobey a direct command from the empress-elect. But it turned out my attempts to save the dragon Shifter landed him right back in the lion’s den anyway.
“What are you doing here, Nox?” I asked.
“Am I not your faithful ambassador?” he replied, lazily swirling his half-empty glass in the air. “I’m…ambassador-ing.”
I crossed my arms. “You haven’t written me an update in months. You’re not here onmyorders.”
“Leo and I heard rumors of Scarven sending a group of Shifters over here from Drakorum,” Rose added. “We never thought it would beyou.”
“Which brings me back to my initial question,” I said.
Nox let out a disbelieving laugh. “No, I can confidently say that I am not, in fact, here to kill you.”
I shrugged and gave him a smirk. “Had to check. What about the others?”
“What others?”
My brow pinched. “Are there not more Shifters with you?”
“No. I’m the only one. Why?”
I licked my lips. “We just…I thought Scarven was having me followed. That he’d sent more assassins after me all the way from Veridia.”
“I’m afraid it’s just me. And I don’t know about any plans to have you killed.” Nox cocked his head. “Why does it seem like that disappoints you?”
“Because someonehasbeen trying to kill her,” Leo interjected.
“And it would’ve made things a lot easier if it was Scarven,” I said with a sigh. “Now I’m back to having no clue who’s behind everything.”
Nox blinked. “You’ve lost me. What, exactly, has been happening?”
I quickly recounted both assassination attempts back in Veridia City, plus the various incidents in Mysthelm over the last two weeks. How Rose and Leo had come all the way to the kingdom because they thought Scarven was sending more Shifters, and they feared for my safety.
“You never answered the question though, Nox,” I said when I’d finished. “Whyareyou here? Is it for Scarven?”
“It’s nothing you need to worry about,” he replied, taking a sip of his drink. “Just some small project he has me working on.”
Leo scoffed. “Rather secretive.”
“Darling, the number of secrets I have would make even your pretty tail curl,” Nox drawled. The nonchalance in his eyes faded as his gaze fell to his fingers, which were clenched around his glass. He lowered his voice and looked at me. “You know there are things I can’t tell you, Rissa. I’m doing the best I can.”
His sister. The reason he had to toe such a fine line with his loyalty, and the reason Scarven could keep the only dragon Shifter in centuries on a leash. They still had his sister under their control, and Nox would do anything to keep her alive. I knew his priorities when I recruited him to join my Sentinels last year, and again when asking him to work for me.
The truth was, I didn’t blame him for his secrets. I snuck aglance at Leo. If anyone took my twin, there wasn’t much I wouldn’t be willing to do for him.
“I know, Nox,” I said. “Just…tell me you’re safe.”
Those navy-blue eyes met mine with a sad smile, but he didn’t respond.
The muffled sound of laughter filtered through the closed door at my back, along with a distant drum roll and steady footsteps. In the window facing the mountains and the dimming sunlight, small bursts of fire appeared in the darkness, like torches being lit.
Nox’s gaze flicked behind me, and his smile widened. “I think we all deserve a little break to taste the island life, yes?”
After I fed Mia,our small group—minus Mother, who wanted to rest—made our way out of the hut to find the massive courtyard already full of laughter and music. People were gathered around small campfires smoking meats over the open flames, passing bottles of drinks while some played music on small drums and flutes. It was as if the entire island came alive with the setting sun—animals shuffled in the nearby brushes, birds flitted from tree to tree, and insects joined in with their melodies.
I gazed around in awe at the broad leaves covering the land like a canopy, smoke curling through the sky and into the deep blue starry expanse. A large path lit by standing torches led from the courtyard of the Base out to the rest of the island beyond, and Nox nodded for us to follow him.
Daelan, Hector, Galen, and Thorne were already sitting on some logs around a campfire a ways from the Base, and several other islanders with them were cooking what looked like rabbit legs and pineapple on a spit. I was surprised to see Marigold up so late, but there she was, playing with two other little girls by her father. When she saw Mia and me, a grin split across her face, that dimple making my heart swell.
