“I watched you from the library, then borrowed one of the horses and followed you.”
My features hardened. “Didyousummon the men to attack Everett?”
Devora leveled me with a cold look and took a step closer. “What was that you said last night?” Her eyes flashed. “If you would hold your tongue for five seconds, maybe you’d see you don’t know everything.”
Kieran stiffened at my side, and Tessa’s lithe shadow crept up beside me. Shifters knew their place in the pack. If someone disrespected their alpha, there were consequences. That was how our nature worked.
Heat unfurled like hot oil down my spine, but it wasn’t mere anger. This Shadow Wielder liked achallenge. It sparked my blood, setting my chest on fire.
A menacing smile curled the edges of my lips. I towered over her, relishing the split hesitation that crossed her face, and slowly reached for her hand. My fingers shifted into claws as I scraped them down her arm, not breaking skin but enough to leave faint pink streaks.
Her breath caught. The scent of her fear mixed with somethingelsewrapped around me as I forced her hand to open, and the feel of her skin against mine sent fire to my core. I grabbed the leaf’s stem and dangled it in front of her eyes.
“Then tell me, Devora, darling,”my voice was an icy whisper, “how this little plant is supposed to save you now.”
The air around us snapped. She recoiled, slipping out from infront of me and clearing her throat. “That’s what I wastryingto do. Yes, I followed you to the port. But, no, I didn’t summon anyone to attack Everett.” Devora glanced around the room and stopped when her eyes landed on Everett. “You’re him, right? The Illusionist?”
Everett nodded curtly, his shoulders shifting beneath his dirt-smudged tunic. Those dual-colored eyes narrowed on Devora, as if still trying to get a read on the Shadow Wielder.
He could get in line.
Devora bit down on her bottom lip, and she actually looked remorseful. “I was up on the rooftop next to you. I knew Nox and Tessa had left, so I followed. It wasn’t until I was almost to the ship that I saw the men going after you. I—I had a choice to come help, but I decided to sneak onto the ship instead.” Her throat moved as she swallowed. “I’m sorry. I should’ve gone back to help you.”
Tension hung between the two of them. As much as I wanted to step in, this wasn’t my apology to accept.
A muscle fluttered in Everett’s cheek, but after a moment, his posture loosened. “We made it out. Just tell us you got something good.”
Everett was almost as keen as I was about finding more information on Scarven’s whereabouts. Besides myself, he was the only other member of the Order to have been one of Scarven’s prisoners. He never spoke much of his time in the cells, but I had a feeling this was just as personal for the young Illusionist as it was for me.
“I did. At least, IthinkI did,” Devora said. “I found some broken barrels carrying what Mysthelm is exporting. This stuff.” She motioned to the leaf in my hand. “It’s called fatesprig. I heard some of Scarven’s men talking about it.”
Tessa snorted. “Fates, you’re good.”
“Don’t encourage her,” I muttered.
Devora continued, “This is what he’s been after. And it sounds dangerous. The men were afraid to handle it too closely. They didn’t say what he’s been using it for, only that…” She trailed off, pinching her lips with a strange look at me.
“What is it?” I barked.
“They said… They said, ‘I saw what it did to that Duma freak.’”
It was like someone had dumped a bucket of ice water over me. The room went still, nobody daring to breathe.
I clenched my hand around the leaf. Whatever this was, Scarven was using it on mysister.
More experiments. More torture.
“Silas,” I called, turning toward the Alchemist. “Can you figure out what this is?”
The older man extricated the plant from my grip. “Of course. I’ve never heard of it, so if they’re importing it from Mysthelm, it’s likely it only grows over there. I’ll run some tests on it and see what I can find.”
I nodded in thanks as Devora said, “Who were they talking about? The Duma?—”
“Did anything else happen?” I curtly cut her off.
For once, she didn’t press the issue. “They caught me before I could hear much more.”
My eyes darted down her body, instantly checking for injuries. “And you simply walked away?”
