The king narrowed his eyes, hiding fear with his own mask of impatience and curiosity. Interesting that he was afraid of whatever knowledge she might possess about his plan. More pieces fell into place.
“Why else would you be looking for the Night Terror specifically?” she asked, reading every reaction the king tried to hide. “You have dozens of thieves and assassins within your own kingdom to pick from. Not quite my level of talent, but they’d get the job done if that’s the only thing you wanted.”
She read the tensing in the king’s posture. The slight twitch of his forearm as his fingers dug into the desk. This man did not like being bested, which meant she was about to toe a very dangerous line.
Good thing she’d been working for a dangerous man for years.
“You know what I find interesting? That Lord Remont was so willing to let me live. Hells, he gave you the information about me. He letyou,the King of Severina, steal me in a prison wagon without so much as a parade about catching the infamous Night Terror. The man who serves the King of Anfroy and delights in torturing Veil Worshippers helped you keep my capture quiet when Anfroy considers it treason to let a Veil Worshipper live.”
No one in the room could have missed the swallow that bobbed down the king’s throat.
Brela’s grin turned wicked. “So, yes, it’s obvious why you sought out the Night Terror, famous Veil Worshipper. You need me for information about the Veil wall, not to join the raids, but because you’ve heard about Anfroy increasing their soldiers near the wall. Your army is preparing for war against Anfroy, and Valisea is going to be your battleground.”
Tension in the room became thick. Boelyn fidgeted and Serill’s anger flared. Elias and Farrah barely contained their hisses of surprise. Even Cason couldn’t hide that spark of flame that radiated heat around the room.
The reveal should have delighted Brela. She’d used the king’s subtle flinches and hints of anger and fear to her advantage. She’d put the pieces together as she continued talking and dragging out his suffering. She’d seen the marks he’d made on the map in the middle of the room.
But the look in the king’s eye was not one of being bested.
Shit.
He leaned forward. “I have no desire to start a war with the sun-blessed kingdom.” The king’s smug smile grew. “I don’t just want you for information on your cursed lands. I need to know what Anfroy is doing at that wall.” He took a breath and stared down his nose at her. “You’re going to be my spy.”
* * *
There wasdead silence in the room as the king cherished his victory over Brela, but Cason’s head was roaring and crackling with fire and lightning.
The King of Severina, famous for avoiding conflict, had been preparing his army for something large. Somehow, he’d kept it secret. Even Serill had noticed that his father had been avoiding him lately.
The king suspected Anfroy of doing something to the wall, but couldn’t risk that suspicion getting out. Not when he was working with Lord Remont and committing treason against the sun-blessed King of Anfroy.
Brela huffed a breath and folded her arms over her chest. “You’re wasting your breath. I won’t help you.” Every word out of her mouth dripped with bitterness.
“I can be persuasive,” the king replied cooly.
Her teeth bared. “Think twice before you threaten me again. I’ve killed men for less.”
Serill stepped forward, likely because he realized the need to diffuse the situation before Brela actually followed through with that threat. “If you don’t plan to go to war, why are you training our army? Why spy on Anfroy?”
The king studied Brela for a moment longer before answering. “They’ve increased their soldiers at the wall, but Remont isn’t involved in those affairs. He doesn’t know what the purpose of the army is, but through his various raids of late, Remont has confirmed that the Veil wall is… not as stable as it once was. More pieces are breaking off, and it’s been getting worse since those soldiers were stationed nearby.
“There are strange reports and sightings of creatures coming from Valisea, enough that even the remaining Veil Worshippers are becoming reckless and aggressive as they flee the protections they’ve made around the wall.”
Serill let out a chuckle. “Tell me you don’t believe in the mythical celvusa.”
The king’s lips twitched into a smile, but Cason didn’t miss the hitch of Farrah’s breath or the slight increase in Elias’s heartbeat. These three had fabricated a convincing scene at Gerrart’s home to mimic a celvusa attack, but perhaps even they could fall victim to a terrifying legend. Brela, unsurprisingly, remained fuming in her seat like a trained warrior.
“Of course not, but there are other reasons to be wary,” the king replied. “I do not know what Anfroy is planning, or what their purpose is for remaining near the wall, but consider what might happen if that wall comes down. What and who might be waiting on the other side of that barrier after hundreds of years that would require an army to be prepared.” He sighed and looked to Brela who had stiffened. “I need someone familiar with Valisea’s current landscape to investigate. Someone with skills to remain unseen.”
“I have no desire to help a kingdom that left my people to die,” Brela hissed. “You have nothing to offer me.”
“I haveeverythingto offer you.”
And then the king spoke a number so specific, it broke every wall the assassin had built to remain composed. Brela paled and her heart might have stopped. Farrah sucked in a harsh breath and Elias sank so far in his seat, he nearly fell off the back.
Cason barely registered Serill’s movement to look at him, brow raised in confusion. But he knew what that number meant to Brela.
Freedom.
