“Tessa, this entire thing is the furthest from comfortable any of us could be,” I pointed out. “I have a mission. I’m not going to jump ship if things get hard.”
“Devora—”
“What wouldyoudo, if you were in my position?” I pressed. “If you had the power to find out what Scarven’s planning? Ifyoucould figure out a way to get all those prisoners free?”
She twisted her lips and sighed. “I’d do everything I could. Even if it got me killed.”
I nodded tightly, and a nervous energy settled over the room.
Until Arowyn said, “Well,I’dcut his balls off.”
I snorted while Tessa burst into laughter, her shoulders shaking as she grabbed my cloak from the bedpost.
“Come on, Miss Nyte,” Tessa said with a chuckle. “Your carriage awaits.”
I peeredout the carriage window from around the corner of the Governor’s House. The cloudless sky let the moon and stars cast enough light for me to watch the caravan of Mysthelm carriages pull up to the estate. I quickly signaled to my driver to follow, and we settled in place behind the others.
Everett sat across from me, his illusion making him appear a couple decades older and several inches shorter than his normal stature. Long, greasy black hair replaced his short-cropped cut. He had a hooked nose, sharp chin, and dark brown eyes instead of his ruggedly handsome, stoic features.
“That’s still creepy,” I said, pointing at him and his illusion.
He smirked. “But useful.”
He had a point. I didn’t want to admit it, but I felt far more at ease walking into this mess with someone I knew at my side.
The driver came around the side to open our door. The gray mansion we stood before was an imposing sight. Sharp stone turrets reached into the sky, nearly blending into the darkness. Moss overgrew along the walls, with gnarled vines snaking around columns all the way to the ground. A plethora of guards stood at the entrance. Drivers dismounted from their carriages and opened doors for the passengers, and Everett and I followed the wave of swishing cloaks and elegant ballgowns.
I saw the familiar faces of the regent families from Mysthelm—the lords and ladies who oversaw each of the four territories. A twinge of worry shot through me. I hadn’t even thought about the possibility of any of them recognizing me. Although, if they did, that would only prove my standing as a citizen of Mysthelm.
We strode up the sleek steps to the manor, doing our bestto blend in with the crowd. Nerves were beginning to churn in my gut and creep up my chest. Nox and his Order wanted me because of my magic, but also because they knew I had areputationfor playing the other side. For spying and remaining undetected. While this mission included those things, it also relied on the exact opposite: I was supposed to put myself out there. To be the bait on a line sinking into the depths of Scarven’s madness.
What if I wasn’t good enough? What if this failed before we even had the chance? Or worse—what if he discovered our plan, and someone got hurt?
What ifNoxgot hurt?
I swallowed hard, unsure when the thought of him being in pain made every fear inside me come alive. But as I walked across the shining oak floors, I thought about how he’d been held prisoner here. How he’d been ripped from his home and tortured. How Scarven made him come back as a glorifiedlapdog, reliving those moments again and again.
If Nox could withstand that for the sake of his sister and all the defenseless Veridians held captive here, then I could do this.
A wrinkled hand touched my elbow, and I glanced back at Everett, who gave me a quick nod of encouragement. I smiled and took a deep breath.
We were led to a grand staircase that descended into a two-story ballroom, where sounds of live musicians playing a hauntingly beautiful melody drifted up the steps. Light from a hundred candles flickered as I gripped the railing and forced my feet down the staircase to the mezzanine level.
Everett left my side with another quick touch to the arm. He was going to mingle and get the “lay of the land,” as he put it. The magic-less humans continued down the steps on either side of me, where it leveled out onto the dark marble floor. A vaulted ceiling soared high over our heads, with arching beams and intricate bronze designs carved into the walls.
On the lower floor, four large lion statues rested in each corner of the enormous room. I watched from above as those fromMysthelm and Veridia alike reached for glasses of sparkling wine. Chatter mixed with the stringed instruments playing on the far wall.
My eyes scanned the room from the balcony, instinctively searching for something. Someone.
At a tall table near the foot of the staircase stood three men. The first had his back to me and was deep in conversation with one of the lords from Mysthelm. And the second man…
Navy eyes flashed up to mine, and I could’ve sworn they narrowed into slits before widening again as his gaze raked over my form.
Fates, Nox looked good.Toogood. He was in sleek black from head to toe, with a dinner jacket that hugged his muscular arms and a shirt with the top buttons undone. His gaze burned through me as he raised his glass and took a sip.
My breath caught as I remembered his body hovering above mine that night in the tent. Heat licked up my spine and bloomed to the place on my neck his scruff had grazed.
His eyes shifted to the man across from him. The stranger slowly turned his head up to the balcony, following where Nox had been looking.
