Ruri continued to grumble a bit, but I knew the only way to convince him would be proving myself, which I set about trying to do.
“Carnelian wanted me to kill Az using a potion, but only after I won for some reason,” I told them. “I’m not sure why, but there has to be a reason for that.”
“Maybe to ensure he can have a cleaner sweep when he comes in to take over,” Emrys suggested, striking his chin thoughtfully.
“He likely planned to kill Linnea after she completed her task,” Azurill explained, his voice hard as he tightened his fingers around mine. “Which would leave him to come in and take over once he either proved Ruri incapable or killed him.”
“So we need to time this perfectly.” I jumped back in. “If I can hopefully win this last trial, then that night I’ll make it seem like I’m going to kill Azurill.” My voice dropped to a low growl at the thought, but I shook myself out of it. “Carnelian will likely only tell me the next steps then, but I imagine he’ll want me to go to see him after. We need to make him come to Azurill’s rooms instead, far away from his guards and allies, so that we can kill him. And Casaan.”
“That will be difficult, Carnelian’s always been a paranoid bastard,” Wyn added, raising a sapphire brow.
“Maybe if you tell him that you don’t feel comfortable staying in the palace once it’s done, then you could convince him to go to Azurill’s rooms to meet you.” Emrys suggested, his opal eyes far away as he thought through the plan. “If you can get him and Casaan to show up, maybe with the excuse to the staff that they want to check on you or something of the like, then they’ll be let in. You can also tell them they can raise the alarm then.”
“Or we avoid them going to Azurill’s rooms and just arrest them in their rooms?” Ruri asked, rolling his eyes. Emrys shook his head firmly in disagreement.
“Not only do we not want them to have support, but we can’t just arrest them without proof of a crime either,” he insisted. “We have Jacinth’s, sorryLinnea’s, word, yes, but most of the court only just met her and is more likely to take the word of a great lord. It would be a ‘he said-she said’ mess.”
“We can use a truth potion,” Ruri countered, leaning forward on his elbows. Emrys smirked, looking almost excited at being challenged.
“Truth spells can only be applied during court cases with the participant’s agreement. Which Carnelian would never give,” Emrys told him, and Ruri slouched back into his seat, running a hand over his face. He looked suddenly exhausted, and my heart ached for him.
“I know how you feel, Prince Ruri,” I said softly, and his snarl as he looked up and opened his mouth to say something likely nasty did not slow me down at all. “If I had known about the threat to my family before they were killed, I would have done anything to save them. Especially after losing family, you’re even more desperate for it. I didn’t have that chance, but I know the horrible, aching emptiness left behind in its wake.”
His eyes looked so young at that moment,so scared, that I smiled slightly at him. “I will do everything in my power to make sure that this family isn’t further fractured. You have my word as the true-blooded Lady of Pearl Court.”
He blinked in surprise, shifting his gaze to his elder brother. Azurill nodded at him, looking down at me with something warm in his eyes that I wanted to hoard for myself.
A warmth I hadn’t felt in fifteen years. The warmth of afamily. Of ahome.
Perhaps I was closer than ever to recovering some sense of that.
Chapter forty-five
Linnea
“Be careful,” Azurill said quietly, biting his lip as he struggled to contain everything he wanted to say, but couldn’t. “Be smart, but most of all, use your heart. I’ve seen you since you’ve arrived here, the way you are with people. You have a natural warmth and compassion that draws them to you. You had to bury that for so long to protect yourself, but you don’t have to do that anymore.”
He reached up to brush away the tear I felt slipping from my eye. I nodded silently, struggling to form words. I reached up and kissed him, a part of me terrified that I would fail this trial and have to watch as Sania walked away with everything I’ve ever wanted.
With the man who owned my heart entirely. I knew I could never get it back, and my entire future now rested on the results of this one trial.
“I promise,” I whispered as we pulled back. I took a moment to caress his face, mesmerizing this moment, just in case. But then it was time to sneak away, Azurill watching me worriedly as I rushed back to my rooms to change for the competition.
I’d definitely stayed too long. I should have returned to my rooms last night, but I couldn’t seem to help myself when it came to him.
I brought out the outfit I’d worn for the obstacle course, still not sure what we’d be doing in the city, but the fact that they’d requested we wear these made me suspicious. When the knock came, Alfrikr walked in with a smile on his face, a blindfold hanging from his fingers.
I sighed deeply, “Really?”
“Sorry,” he snickered, not sounding the least bit sorry. “You’re not supposed to know exactly where we drop you.”
“And what am I supposed to do when I get there?” I asked, as he began tying the damn thing around my head.
“You need to find the Takara family,” Alfrikr told me quietly. “There is a golden ring in their possession, studded with diamonds all the way around. That’s your target.”
“And I supposed to figure out how to find this family on my own?” I asked testily, making him chuckle.
“I’ve seen you handle worse odds before.” His hands came to my shoulders, keeping me upright. “You can do this. I believe in you.” His voice lowered, “Az believes in you. Just follow your heart.”
