“And you have the luxury of doing whatever you want,” Sam seethed, thinking about Stassi’s pounding heart. “It is why you thought you could fire a maid if she did not fuck you.”
Adila’s eyes burned with a quiet rage, and the man swallowed hard. “Yes.”
An eerie calm fell over Adila, and Sam recognized the power of the Scales of Justice as it took over. She inclined her head and softly said, “Give me your hand. It is time for your trial.”
The man held out a trembling hand, and when Adila took it, she squeezed. “Your sentence is death.”
Before the man could protest, he disappeared. The serenity of the Scales of Justice dissipated. “I knew my brother was spying on me, but I don’t know why,” Adila said.
Sam scratched his jaw as he thought. “He must suspect you will conspire with Caius to kill him. You two were close as children, yes?”
She cleared her throat and looked away. “I’ve never given Gedeon a reason to suspect me since Atarah’s death,” she said meekly. “I laid low and bided my time because I thought when Caius was released, he would come to me about Gedeon, and we could hash out a plan together.”
“Why do you think Caius would come to you?” Sam scoffed. “You have barely spoken to him in five-hundred years.”
“Because I know my brother,” she snapped, and tears filled her eyes. “He knows me enough to know I had a reason for what I did. I hope.”
Sam felt for the woman. She was put in an impossible position, and while he wanted to know why she hadn’t joined forces with Caius initially, there was no time to discuss it. “We need to find a way to communicate. Can you go to Vincula?”
“No, but I can go into the city,” she offered instead. “It wouldn’t appear strange to venture into Erdikoa for a day or two, but if I disappear without a trace to go to Vincula, he might get suspicious. There’s a place Caius and I would go camping as kids,” she whispered. “Gedeon doesn’t know about it. We can meet there.”
“I know of it,” Sam lied. Theyhad no time to draw maps. He would ask Caius. “Meet us there in six days’ time at dusk.”
“I will,” she promised him. Sam made to leave, but her voice stopped him. “Tell him I love him.”
He looked back. “One day, you can tell him yourself.”
12
Gedeon stood in his office,staring at the head of hiseliteguard unit. Titus was aVisitantwith the ability to sway people’s emotions. It was useful amongst lesser mystics, putting them at ease around him and having them spill any secrets they may know.
“He’s gone, Your Grace,” Titus informed him.
One of hiseliteguards didn’t turn in his report last night, and according to the gate log, he never left The Capital.
“And we are sure he is not with some maid somewhere, drunk and fucking?” Gedeon asked, clasping his hands behind his back.
“Not to our knowledge,” Titus answered.
If something was amiss, he knew Caius was responsible. His brother’s release should have been a few days ago, yet Gedeon heard nothing of him. He had prepared for his brother’s possible retaliation. Planned on it, even.
His brother’s wrath was unmatched. It was ironic, really, how Caius was deemed the gentle child despite having the worst temper of the fourRoyalheirs.
But Gedeon was prepared. He had loyal guards placed within The Capital, as well as spies throughout the city.
One thing that both surprised and pleased Gedeon was that Adilaseemed to want nothing to do with their brother. Caius was close with their sisters growing up, and as always, Gedeon was forgotten.
Forgotten by theSeraphimwhen his rightful position went to Caius, forgotten by his siblings, and forgotten by the world. He was merely theRoyaleveryone passed over.
The room brightened as Gedeon’s irritation grew. “Scour The Capital. If he is not found by the end of the day, report back. Tell the others to be diligent. Something is amiss.”
When Titus left, Gedeon filled his office with white-hot light. It would blind another mystic, but not him. Not the Lux King.
His power had grown stronger, and he’d spent years honing his skill to lethal perfection. He’d only just gained his light power after killing Atarah, and there was no way he could have killed Caius, but for five-hundred years, he worked to build his strength and control.
Gedeon felt ready to take on his brother when the time came, but with Caius hiding in Vincula, he wasn’t sure when that time would be.What was his brother planning?
Walking to a cabinet against the far wall of his office, he pulled a key from his pocket to unlock it and reached inside the cabinet to pull out a jar that glowed bright pink.
