Possibly, both.
“How does the treaty stand?” Ruin wipes his sleeve over his sweating forehead. “A peace was brokered only if the raids were ended. They’re not.”
“The dragons attempted to assassinate you,” Nebet adds.
I hate it, but they both have good points.
I keep quiet.
Wraith taught me the trick of when listening, silent and invisible, is the most valuable skill.
“I don’t believe that the treaty was broken by King Aurelius,” Lanlin announces with a certainty that I wish I felt because it is fucking killing me that my own Alpha could have used Daire and me as pawns in this secret move. But what if he did…? “This was a power grab by that barbaric Atticus and his men. I have killed them all. Until I know otherwise, I will not be the one who breaks my word. I am not a betrayer.”
Not how Aurelius tells it.
I ball my hands in my lap, trying to remember all the tricks that Wraith showed me about keeping calm, expressionless, and not revealing my true emotions under pressure.
And thisispressure, when Daire and I could be executed.
“Admirable,” Isis coos. “KalaKant birthed an excellent son. But you also mustn’t be a betrayer to your own people. What if this fae and wolf were in on the plan?”
“They weren’t,” Lanlin growls.
“My mistake,” Isis says with cloying sugariness. “It’s just that they look so…unbroken. As if they haven’t been questioned in the punishment pits at all.”
My shoulders hunch.
Lanlin’s shadow wings grow even larger, until they tower to the tip of the pyramid.
“They haven’t been, have they?” Isis says, softly.
Furious muttering rises in the chamber.
I fight to not move and keep my expression blank.
“They’re your fated mates,” Isis adds with fake sympathy. “On my fangs, I don’t expect you to be able to break them yourself. Give them to the House of Crocodile. We’ll make them talk.”
“And I’ll make you scream in your death thoes if you suggest that again.” Lanlin crosses his arms.
Sobek steps in front of his mother.
“Let me ask them the questions here.” Sobek’s voice is gruff. “Prove to everyone that you are not hiding anything. Otherwise, all in the kingdom will doubt your mates. How will they rule beside you then?”
Lanlin considers Sobek for a long time. I can’t decide whether he will savage him.
To my surprise, Daire shrugs. “Go on, let the arseholes ask me their questions. I’m only a courtesan pet, aye? It’s fine.”
I sit forward with a jolt.
What in the hell is my trickster up to now?
Lanlin looks unsure. “Three questions only.”
Daire unfolds his wings, flapping them like he’s about to fly a race. “Fun.”
Sobek and his brother exchange a glance, before stalking together up the steps.
“Fae,” Sobek starts.
