Tears welled in her eyes, evident even from my vantage point.
Prince Claudian placed a heavy hand upon his niece's shoulder, towering over her where he stood.
I noted how he did not bend his knee. He refused to make himself small, even to comfort a loved one.
I bit back the resentment that washed over me—a bitter, syrupy liqueur.
Claudian drew the princess to her feet, and they bowed to their people—a conciliatory gesture. His eyes caught mine, and he cocked his headjust so.
It was time.
I advanced unnoticed through the crowd and out of the ballroom, to the study where I often met with the prince. I poured a drink and sat by the fireplace, pretending to nurse my glass until the clock chimed and the door gusted open, sounds overlapping.
Claudian strolled through, unconcerned at his tardiness.
“My Prince,” I rose and gave a short bow, waiting for Prince Claudian to be seated before resuming the position myself. “You wished to meet with me last hour.”
He scoffed, expression ghastly in the shadowed firelight. “As if you have anywhere else to be? I own you. You will wait until I am ready and thank me afterwards.”
“Of course, sir.”
“Hmm.” Claudian plucked the drink from my hand and drank from it deeply. “I take it you completed your task this evening?”
“Yes, sir. You will be free to pursue the trade agreement that was discussed without fear of conflict.” I pressed my fingers into my thighs, an attempt to ground myself as the vision of Lord Laski’s corpse danced before my eyes.
“Excellent.” Claudian kicked back the rest of the brown liquor. “I have another mission for you, Aranti. I need you to travel to Ordelés to collect a woman named Seren Corso.”
“You wish for me to travel to Ordelés?” I asked, unable to keep the shock from my voice. “What could you possibly want with a human woman?”
Claudian’s eyes narrowed, a predatory gleam beneath. “It is not your place to question your betters, Aranti.”
“Apologies, Your Highness. I am only surprised. You have never sent me beyond the Acsillan border.” I made myself smaller, slouchingin my seat, and watched as he swelled with the power of it. The sweet addiction of control.
“The girl is Rázuri, although her abilities are unknown. I had believed her to be long dead, but an associate of mine recently informed me that the girl lives. You will fetch her for me.” Prince Claudian smiled, sharp and disjointed. “There is no one else I trust to handle something so delicate.”
I fought not to react, to feel nothing of the threat beneath his words. “And what would you have me do with this woman once I have collected her, sir?”
The prince paused to refill the liquor glass clutched tightly in his fist. The pale skin around his eyes crinkled in distaste.
“Iwouldhave you kill her, once and for all.” He laughed dryly. “Unfortunately, she is necessary for what comes next. Take her to my hunting cottage in the Váracis Erva—my spymaster knows the one. Determine what mágik she wields and train her. I imagine she is unpracticed, being raised by human parents in an unforgiving land… When you deem her fit, bring her to me.” Claudian stood, adjusting his fine velvet doublet as he moved around the desk. “It is imperative that she is delivered to me before the solstice. I do not think it necessary to remind you what will happen should you fail.”
The door swung shut behind him, a resonating crack echoing off the solid wood frame. I did not flinch; I was used to such theatrics from the prince. I allowed myself to linger a few moments longer, my mind, as always, on the family I would do anything to protect.
Chapter five
Harkin
Vibrations rumbled underfoot, the worn hardwood slats rattling together impatiently. It was a telltale sign that the parcel of documents regarding my mission had arrived, delivered at the hand of Claudian’s spymaster.
The tremors peaked, demanding, and I rolled my eyes with equal measures of annoyance and fondness.
Safiya Keres had proven herself incapable of announcing herself with a simple knock.
She stood at my door, brown skin limned in the half light. Her shoulder rested against the wooden frame, and she regarded me with an unimpressed look on her face. Dark curls fell into her eyes as she tossed the dossier at me haphazardly.
I fumbled to catch them, shooting her a halfhearted glare that neither of us believed. “Having a dark day today, Keres?”
“You could say that,” she huffed with a glower. Safiya pushed past me, entering my home uninvited as she so often did. She moved into the kitchen without another word and plucked an apple from the basket.
