“As I was saying, I don’t know why Caius allowed Aurora to leave, but she must mean a great deal to him.” She stared at Sam intently. “Gedeon can never find out.”
Sam nodded. “It is a long story. Why did yo—”
Her hand clamped over his mouth again. “We don’t have time for questions. Gedeon has spies everywhere in the palace. My chambers are the only place without them because I control who guards and who doesn’t.” She ground her teeth together. “But it’s still not safe to speak freely. I can’t prove it, but somehow, he listens in on my conversations. I’m not sure if he bugged my phone or room, but anytime Caius calls, he visits the next day, asking if I’ve spoken to our brother.”
She clenched her jaw so tight that Sam was concerned for her teeth. “It started right after I sentenced Caius to Vincula. After a few times, I realized something was wrong and limited my conversations with him as much as possible. Caius called recently, and Gedeon insisted I assign some of his other guards to patrol my chambers in preparation for Caius’ return.” She pulled her shoulders back. “I refused.”
Otherguards?He thought back to the man in the cell downstairs but rerouted his attention to what she said about the phones.
If only Caius knew.This entire time, he thought his sister hated him, but she had no choice in the matter. Her ability offered her nodefense against Gedeon’s light, and the fact must have scared Adila into submission.
Sam walked into Adila’s room and closed his eyes, letting the surrounding essence call to his. He followed every little tug—the essence screen, remote control, music player—he stopped at her nightstand and opened the top drawer, freezing.
A dainty hand reached around him and slammed the drawer shut. Her eyes promised a slow murder if he opened it again.
He winked and closed his eyes, allowing himself to be pulled to a large painting.
She elbowed him out of the way and opened the frame like a door. A safe stared back at them, and after entering the code, Adila opened it to reveal herRoyalphone.
The slide-out shelf under the phone drew him in, and moving the phone aside, he pulled out the shelf and examined it, realizing it was hollow. The shelf came apart with ease, and he cursed when he looked inside, removing a tiny microphone no bigger than his fingernail.
Adila snatched it from his hand to throw on the ground, but before she could stomp it to bits, Sam took the wire from her, set it on the table, and led her to the bathroom.
When he closed the door, she whirled on him, but he put a finger to his lips. “You need to keep it, or Gedeon will know you found it,” he whispered. Sam needed to leave soon, and they would have to discuss everything at length at a later date. “I also need you to come to the cells with me.”
Adila regarded him carefully before nodding and making her way to the door. He was surprised she agreed without question. When they were on the stairs, she whispered, “I don’t think he has anywhere else bugged, or if he does, he gives no indication of the fact. I think it’s only my phone he monitors remotely.”
Sam nodded. Once downstairs, he led her to the man’s cell, and they both studied him silently.
“You two are dismissed,” she said to the twoAatxestanding guard. “Thank you.”
They bid them goodbye and disappeared.
The imposter guard sat in the corner of the cell, crying. “Why are you in a guard’s uniform?” Sam demanded.
The man’s face was red and puffy. “Because I’m a guard.”
Sam turned to Adila with a questioning look, and she looked angry. “Gedeon started hiring non-Aatxemystics as guards.” Her eyes turned to slits as she stared down the guard in the cell. “I think he is finding people he believes will serve his agenda.”
Sam opened the cell and dragged the man out. “Why did the Lux King hire you?”
“He’ll kill me,” the man whimpered.
Adila leaned forward and with an eerily calm voice said, “You will be judged today, and if you cooperate, I will consider sending you to Vincula instead of hell.”
The man’s eyes widened. “W-We report everything we hear to him,” he stammered.
“What type of things are you listening for?” Sam asked and traded a knowing look with Adila.
The man glanced at Adila. “Anything about theRoyals, even if only gossip. Especially the Umbra King.”
“You’ve been spying on me,” Adila stated flatly.
The man nodded. “When you are out of your chambers, yes.”
Tilting her head, she watched him closely. “Why?”
“I don’t know.”Truth.Sam was grateful for his ability to detect lies. It made interrogations easier. “He pays us more than we’d make anywhere else for our loyalty and discretion,” the guard blurted. “He also said he would torture us for a lifetime if we betrayed him.”
