“She did not seem overly fond of me,” she said, refocusing her attention from the sky back onto me.
I didn’t want to know what that meant. If Alize had been among those taunting Isanara, then the consequences were herown damn problem. My sister had made it very clear in the temple before the Mercy Gate that she did not care for my advice.
“I can’t imagine why not, Alize.” Damn it all. I untucked my hand and massaged the knot forming at the back of my head, where my neck met my skull. “Aren’t you tired of tormenting me? The first five gates were not enough satisfaction?”
My sister had grown up in the Court of Lies. She was as good at dissembling as any fae courtier. Which meant the wrinkle on her brow was an intentional choice. That did not make it genuine.
“I did not know what he was planning,” she said quietly. Several yards of space separated us. But she carried her words to me on a gentle wind.
It was uncharacteristic, and I did not like it.
“You did fuck all to stop it,” I said.
She rolled her golden eyes. “You were the one stupid enough to make a bargain with him.”
“Not all of us have the luxury of caring only about ourselves,” I shot back.
Alize’s expression did not shift an inch, but I knew the hit landed, and I regretted it immediately. I hated what this place did to me. It was so easy to get pulled back to the young man I’d been here, angry and unfocused. Twenty years of separation was not enough. I doubted that even a century would be.
“I am sorry,” I said. I was getting very good at those particular words.
“One misstep, and your mother will be just as dead as mine.” Alize pushed off the red and white brick pillar where she’d leaned for the duration of our conversation. She jerked her head over her shoulder. “I need to show you something.”
“I have been summoned,” I said. I still had a bit of time. Instead of using it to check on my mother, I’d have to go directlydown to the servants’ quarters. Any hint of what the king was up to would be critical.
“Then you should not waste time arguing with me.”
Alize disappeared into the shadows behind the pillar where she’d stood. She did not wait to see if I would follow. But a strong gust of wind caught me square in the back and shoved me forward.
Instinct told me to follow her. I’d ignored my instincts out of desperation before, and it had led to the bargain that hurt Koryn. It had led to Koryn.
There was no right decision here. Only a selection of wrong ones.
I glanced around one last time—the courtyard was empty, but anyone could be watching from the spiraling tower overhead. Nothing to be done about that.
Alize’s wind nipped at my heels as I followed her into the covered breezeway that connected the courtyard to the northeastern tower. She opened a door at the base with a wave of her hand. Her magic was still strong.
So was mine. Maybe that was why I followed the sister who had always been my rival through the door of a darkened room.
The door slammed closed behind me. One heartbeat was all it took for me to know I’d made a mistake. Then two fingers snapped together, and a single flame illuminated Edmund’s face.
My sword was already in my hand. “Is this an ambush?”
Alize leaned into the light, swiping a candelabra through the flame dancing across Edmund’s fingertips. It took only a few brief seconds, and the small room danced in warm candlelight.
“No, asshole,” she said as she set the candelabra on a sideboard. “This is a family.”
CHAPTER 21
KORYN
I can dothis on my own. I will not get lost. I can make it without Garrick.
It is a spiral, came Isanara’s admonishment.How hard can it possibly be?
You have spent all your time outside, I shot back. I paused at the next intersection of spoke and spiral. The resistance in my knees told me that I was still going down. That, at least, I was certain was right.
It’s good you did not wait for him, she said, pretending she had not heard my last comment.
