I avoid her gaze, fighting not to tremble.
Yet now it is with as much guilt and shame as fear.
“Should I have told Relius?” Wraith adjusts a rose in my hair. “The one who your betrayal would have hurt the most? The one who your execution as traitors would have destroyed? You crow about your spying now, when you think that you are escaping to another kingdom. When you believe that this sacrifice and capture of another king means that you will be free.But I will never forget what you did. It doesn’t mean that I need to speak. I am a watcher. A keeper of secrets. A spy doesn’t always need to tell what they know; remember that. Not every secret belongs to everyone.”
Not every secret belongs to everyone…?
Which ones remain in this Shadow Court?
What else don’t I know?
Wraith pulls back, shoving open the door next to me. “Time to meet your new groom. Smile.”
Instead, I snarl, as I follow Wraith through the side door into the Silver Banquet Hall.
It is stiflingly hot inside and flooded by moonlight from the high windows. It is suffocating with Alpha dragon pheromones.
I gag, holding my arm over my nose.
The moonlight catches on the frescoes on the walls, which depict dragons flying across the court, as if ruling it. Statues of Dracanian kings flank the room, along with couches.
Courtiers and council members, the noble silver dragons, including Decima and Liviana, are lounging on the couches. Unlike the last time that I served here at the feast, however, when there was laughter and Omegas being hand fed on their Alphas’ knees, now there is nothing but a tense atmosphere and stultifying silence.
The only Omega apart from me is Lucius, who is standing at the back of the room with War at his side.
Lucius catches my eye, sending me a tight smile.
I smile back, but it hurts.
It surprises me how much I will miss him.
Amidst the uncomfortable silence, shuffling of feet, and anxious glances, I follow Wraith to the front of the room.
Alphas snatch wine from trays, which the ashen Beta servers are carrying between them, downing them like they need the wine to have the courage to face this event.
Are they truly frightened of Lanlin’s arrival?
Just how terrifying is the Shadow Vampire King that he has got this many fearsome dragons acting like the peace treaty is an execution?
I shiver, remembering the feel of the beetles, bats, and rats during the attack on Bael, as well as the crawling shadows.
…glowing red eyes that own my soul…
My heart speeds up.
Shadow Gods, I regret every item that I have ever stolen (even if I enjoyed stealing them), if that’s what you need to hear to stop fucking jinxing me.
Okay?
Wraith lays her hand on my shoulder, shoving me toward the central golden couch. The banquet table has been pushed to the side, until the couch looks more like a throne.
My stomach fills with yearning, deep and aching, at the sight of Aurelius reclining on the couch in full, gleaming battle armor.
He looks glorious, a dragon god.
Instinctively, I touch the dragon bracelet on my wrist, Aurelius’ heirloom that matches his own.
Maximinus is standing haughtily at his nephew’s shoulder. He thinks that he is the puppetmaster still. He isn’t even attempting to hide it.
