I took Reyla’s hand and squeezed it. The pain in my chest kept expanding, contracting hard against my rips. It crushed my heart to the point I could barely breathe. I wanted my friend back. I needed her. Could I bring her back to the surface?
I wasn’t giving up.
The guard standing by the door grunted and nodded at Brenna.
“Ladies,” she said smartly, and we formed a line behind her. “Attend me.”
The guard opened the door, and we entered behind her. She’d sit to the king’s right while we’d take our places nearby. I wanted to be with Vexxion, but of course, my role here tonight was to assist her if needed, not chat with him.
A fae man dressed in gilded servant’s clothing pulled out her chair, and she sat.
I fluffed her gown and made sure it wouldn’t get caught on the leg of her chair, then nodded to the fae man. He helped slide it inward. Brenna murmured a polite thanks over her shoulder.
Delaine took the crisp napkin arranged to resemble a swan from the table and released it from its pose, draping it across Brenna’s lap.
We sat in a row beside her, Reyla sinking into the chair on my right with Delaine on my left.
It was only after I’d laid my swan napkin on my own lap that I looked up, my gaze meeting that of the man seated across from me.
The second fae man who’d tried to kill me today stared at me with a sardonic twist of his mouth.
As for the woman I’d seen with them, a glance around didn’t show her seated in the room.
Drask flapped his wings, and I patted him—restrained him, actually, to keep him from darting toward the fae man to claw at his face.
The man’s smirk deepened, and he twirled his finger in the air.
I froze.
No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t suck in a breath.
23
VEXXION
Drask didn’t need to alert me; I knew what was happening the moment I flitted inside the dining room and strode toward the table.
A flick of my finger released Horcrest’s spell, and Tempest sucked in a deep breath, sending me a wide-eyed look.
The other guests didn’t appear to notice anything unusual, but even if they had, a few would titter in enjoyment while the rest would calmly go on with whatever they’d been doing. It wasn’t as if they hadn’t seen something like this multiple times.
Only my Uncle Camus seated to Zayde’s right at the end of the table watched me with amusement in his eyes. He would’ve sat there while Tempest died, perhaps only chuckling when she collapsed onto the table.
Soon, I’d kill him and thenI’dbe the one laughing.
After all these years, it still stunned me thatanyonedared challenge me or the woman under my protection. I’d only beenaway from court for a short time. I supposed some might see that as a challenge.
No one was allowed to touch my fury.
I couldn’t issue an invitation for a stroll like I had with two fae I’d killed today. The king would arrive soon, and he hated seeing his guests depart at such a time.
My growl rumbled low in my chest.
Horcrest glanced in my direction, and I delighted in watching a pink tinge flood his sharp cheeks. Delighted in watching the smirk begin to fade from Uncle Camus’s face. He had no idea who I was targeting, but he’d soon find out.
When I pointedly looked toward the empty place settings on either side of Horcrest, I took even greater joy in watching that transient, high color drain from his face. Would he leave to seek his twin brother and older sister? If I knew him, and I did well enough for something like this, he was calling out to his brother in his mind.
He would not receive a reply.
