“First light,” he said softly, careful not to reveal their plans.
Amerei slowly raised her head.
To Jasmine, he said, “Make sure she sleeps. Herbs abound here, not found in the human realms.”
He didn’t wait for her answer.
He was gone.
“Come on.” Evander urged her forward.
The consort’s suite awoke with the light of glowing orbs. Jasmine worked fast to settle Amerei into a chair, stripping pins from her hair with practiced precision. Evander leaned against the mirror, arms folded, eyes narrowed.
“He’s got his hooks in you,” he growled.
“He’s right.” Jasmine forced the comb through a knot, her brow knit.
“You cannot keep doing this, Amerei—walking courtyards alone, slipping past guards, entering a prince’s wing without an escort—”
“Without sense.”
Amerei closed her eyes. “He just sent soldiers to Sevrak.”
“And with your bodice torn, his shirt on the floor.”
“Evander,” Jasmine hissed, but she didn’t stop working.
Amerei’s hands trembled in her lap.
“I am not a child,” she forced, eyes opening. “I secured more archers than Viktor ever called for. Men who will holdGabriel’sline. Or have you forgotten what’s at stake?”
Jasmine bowed her head, comb slipping in her grip.
“They could die tomorrow,” Amerei said, undone. “Viktor. Gabriel. My father.”
Evander turned a fallen pin between his fingers.
“Then we’d better settle in,” he said too quickly. “Let the prince move his wife’s things first… nice and orderly, every lock thrice checked—”
“Take it back.”
He should’ve stopped. Instead—
“—before you crawl into his bed.”
Silence struck.
Jasmine’s head snapped, warning in her eyes.
“Amerei,” she said gently, hands at her shoulders. “That’s why we beg you to be careful. You know the stories. Xavien’s had more women than Amethyst has windows—and that’s only counting the ones with names.”
Amerei rose, her legs unsteady. Her breath broke in her chest, but her eyes burned clear.
“Both of you—out.”
“We can stay—”
“Out.”
