Dorion sent a wicked smile my way. “Are you ready to compete for the prize of a lifetime, Lady Bliss?”
“Why don’t you want what the featherdorn can offer?” I couldn’t quite believe he didn’t.
He swept his gaze back and forth between us. “I tell myself I'm helping you out of friendship and duty. I owe you. And that’s completely true. But part of me wonders if I'm eager to do this to prove I can take something precious from Laphira, even if it's just for a short time.”
That, I could understand.
His eyes glittered. “We have three chances to win it. Imagine, in a few days, you could leave Irridain with what you need to break the curse.”
The weight of it hit me like a physical blow. Three chances. Three opportunities to save the man I loved, buried under layers of political intrigue and a deadly competition.
Lore looked Dorion’s way. “How did you hear about this fete?”
“I was strolling through their marketplace after using the back servant’s entrance to get to her suite.”
“You said you saw her with her son through the window,” I said.
“I climbed down the wall from the top of the tower nearest her room. She’s using the same rooms. It was pretty dark in there. She had almost no lights on.”
“Yet you saw the featherdorn.”
“It glows when it flutters its wings.”
I’d keep that in mind. “The talisman comes with potentialties we may not want. I still think we should break in and steal it instead.” That would be much simpler than competing in games.
“We’ll certainly try to grab it while we’re there,” Dorion said. “But I doubt we’ll be able to do that with so many people around. If we’re caught, we’ll be captured. Tossed in the dungeon where we’ll remain until the fete’s over. Court rivalry is very much alive at Irridain. Queen Naveer hates Evergorne. Halendor too, for that matter. The easiest way is to win it in the fete then return here the moment the featherdorn is in our possession.”
“We can get in using magic,” I said.
Dorion shook his head. “Their wards won’t allow that.”
“It’s an insane plan.” I clenched my hands to fists, biting my nails into my palms. “But we’ll do what we have to, even dance attendance on some widow who's probably never fought for anything more challenging than the best seat at dinner.”
“She’s not like that,” Dorion barked.
“She wasn’t, you said.” I said. “You have no idea what she’s like now.”
“We won't lose.” Steel infused Lore’s voice. “We can't. I don’t like this. Not one bit. I know what you're capable of when you're fighting for someone you love, Reyla. They have no idea what's coming for them.” He shot Dorion a long look. “How will we convince anyone we’re Lord and Lady Rutherford?”
Dorion swirled his hands in the air. “With magic.”
Of course. Magic always had a price, and I had a feeling that this time, it might cost us more than we could imagine.
We would soon walk into a court that hated us while wearing some sort of disguise, where we’d hunt a talisman they’d hide from us if they knew we planned to steal it.
But the prize? A wish and a chance to save Lore.
Or the end of us all.
Chapter 11
Lore
As far as ideas went, I hated this one. But we were running out of options, and this was our way into Irridain.
Once inside, I’d steal the talisman. Then we wouldn’t need to compete. I wouldn’t risk Reyla more than I had to. But if we were forced to play the queen’s games, we’d find a way to win.
After all, we’d survived the labyrinth. I’d make sure we survived this.
