Someone entered the room, and the curtain was drawn back on the other side of where they were hiding. Eyden was about to push Lora toward the exit before it could close again when Lora’s gasp made him pause.
“Rhay?” Lora asked as she pulled away from Eyden and stepped into the room again. Eyden followed her quickly and found Rhay surveying the room. His eyes were wide, his skin ashen. Had he ever been here before?
“I…” Rhay started as he turned his head from the gruesome experimentation table to Lora. He cleared his throat as if trying to get himself together. “I came to warn you. Karwyn and Saydren left the party.”
“We have to go,” Eyden said, taking Lora’s hand and pulling her towards the exit.
Rhay’s eyes flickered back to the room. “Come on,” Lora told him, and Rhay followed them through the door. Breathing hard, Eyden and Lora shared a brief look before running up the stairs.
Above ground again, Eyden could see two shadows heading in their direction, and he inclined his head to the other hallway. Lora and Rhay rushed after him. Hiding around the corner, Eyden caught a brief glimpse of two fae, one with dark short hair and one with golden hair—the king. They were headed towards the grey door they’d come through.
“How did you get here faster than them?” Lora whispered to Rhay once the two fae were out of sight.
“Varsha intervened. I figured she was trying to stall them, but I knew she wouldn’t have much luck,” Rhay replied, his tone heavy with regret. What was it that he regretted? Eyden didn’t think they could trust him. But with how close Rhay was with Karwyn, they might need him. Lora might need him.
“Thank you,” Lora replied. “I—”
“Just stay out of trouble from now on, okay?” Rhay interrupted, fishing out his emerald flask and taking a big sip.
“Yousawwhat’s going on in the underground,” Lora replied through clenched teeth.
Rhay’s gaze drifted around the hallway, ignoring her statement. “You should head back before someone else catches you.”
Lora’s lips parted in disbelief and obvious annoyance. Eyden tugged at her hand. This wasn’t the time for an argument. “Let’s go.”
Watching Rhay take another sip of alcohol, Lora shook her head, then headed back towards the party.
“You better not tell anyone about seeing us here,” Eyden said, his voice low. Rhay looked at him as if trying to figure out how he fit into all of this. After a long second, Rhay nodded and walked away, flask in hand.
Rushing after Lora, they didn’t slow down until they reached the party again. As they entered, Eyden immediately found Varsha in the crowd, her gaze set on the entrance. He put two fingers behind his ear, and she returned the gesture.
Lora stepped back from him, giving him one last look that set his heart on fire before disappearing into the crowd.
He wished he could tug her back to him. Pull her back to the storage room, take her away to somewhere safe and continue where they’d left off. Peel the dress off her, kiss every inch of her—
Eyden forced himself to concentrate. As inconspicuously as possible, he went back to the storage room by himself. He had gotten more information tonight than ever before, but there were still things he didn’t understand. How had Saydren known about him and Lora when he had captured her? Had someone been following them? Someone like Karwyn’s shadow?
Then there was Rhay. How much did he know, and how much was he willing to keep quiet?
Slowly, things were starting to make sense, a puzzle coming together.
Eyden needed to find all the pieces before anything went horribly wrong. Before whatever Lora was so afraid of came to fruition.
Chapter40
Amira
The burning sensation on Amira’s lips lingered even though the night had long passed. The feeling of her lips melting with Elyssa’s, the warmth of her skin, Elyssa caressing her cheek and deepening the kiss...it was all too much.
Under her fingers, Amira felt the soft paper of the book she was holding, pulling her focus to the present. Only a few torches illuminated the pages in the windowless, secret part of the library. Completely alone, she was hiding out, as she’d done for the majority of the day. It was better this way. She was going to ruin Elyssa’s life.
Her instinct was telling her to wreak havoc on the library like she had done before, but she had changed. After spending time with Elyssa and Tarnan, cutting off fortae, and being away from her abusive shadows, she felt different, tasting freedom for the very first time in years.
But you’re not really free,a voice whispered in her ear.
A sour taste spread on her tongue. The voice was right, her time in Carnylen was coming to an end. Soon, she’d have to marry Karwyn and watch him ruin Liraen. Or she would be found out as a witch and killed or enslaved.
If she couldn’t find a way out of this, would she end up going back to fortae? It was wrong, deeply wrong. But it had helped her suppress her cursed powers. Simply thinking of fortae made her blood pump faster, her heart sprinting in her chest. She could almost taste it.
