“You aren’t mad at me for the knife?”
Serill shrugged. “You didn’t need a sharpened weapon to kill the king. You could have killed all of us with a couch cushion if you wanted, and no one would have been fast enough to stop you. It made him realize just how much he underestimated you. It’s why he agreed to let your friends go with you. It’s why he wanted Cason and myself to be with you.”
Brela followed the prince as he turned down a different hall. “Whyareyou going with us? The whole point of spying is to be discreet. Not that I am questioning your skills, because I’ve seen that you can handle yourself, but traveling with a prince is not exactly subtle.”
He grimaced and took half a step away from her. “Because he doesn’t trust you to report the truth of what you find, and I’m the one who buys Veil artifacts.”
She studied the swallow and subtle glances he made her way, trying to avoid eye contact. He actually felt guilty about that confession, acting as if he’d just revealed the information and was prepared for her to lash out. Part of her wanted to be upset about it, and she had been at one time, but the prince might secretly be her only ally in this kingdom.
“It makes sense,” she replied. The prince let out a long sigh of relief that was not entirely quiet. Brela shrugged. “If it was just me and I got caught, I’d throw the king to the dragons in an instant. With you there, we have an excuse for being in Valisea.”
Serill nodded. “We’re still trying to keep it quiet, but if we’re seen, it’ll look like the Prince of Severina and his personal guard have an interest in joining the raids.” He hesitated for a moment and chewed his cheek. “Cason was given the order to kill you if he suspects you’ll betray us.”
Brela raised her eyebrow. “So, you’ll use me to travel through Valisea and then kill me.” Serill opened his mouth to argue but she cut him off. “I’m a Veil Worshipper. He’ll always suspect me of something. This is just the king’s way of getting what he wants.”
The prince stopped walking outside two ornate doors, grabbing her arm to spin her toward him. A surprising gesture, being comfortable enough to grab an assassin. Normally, she’d remove the limb. Maybe beat him over the head with it. This time, she decided she liked that the prince didn’t seem frightened of her. That he didn’t even realize what he’d done, just seen it as a casual gesture.
His brows furrowed. “Brela…” Serill clenched his jaw a few times, as if he was struggling to find the words. “Even if you did betray us, I’m not sure Cason could do it.” Serill let go of her arm and ran his hand over his forehead. “He’ll kill me for telling you this, but… you didn’t see his face in the office. Cason knew what that number meant to you, so when the king used Calcheth against you… Brela, Cason was furiouswithhim.”
“Oh.”
Shit. That look back in the office wasn’t directed at her. That must be… confusing. She ran her fingers over the cuffs in her hair, using the burn of Cason’s magic to pull her out of her thoughts.
The prince chuckled softly, probably reading every emotion running through her, before giving her a sad smile. “It’s been four hells for that man this week. He’s got some things to sort out.”
And so did she.
Brela blinked and focused on Serill. “What about you? After everything I’ve done…”
He pushed open the doors and smiled. “Assassin, thief, or Veil Worshipper, I made my mind up the minute I metBrelaat the auction.”
* * *
“Oh,Prince. Your father is going to be furious with you,” Brela whispered, her eyes wide as she flipped through the tome.
Understatement, but Serill was just as furious with him for what he’d done tonight as Cason had been. What he’d threatened Brela with. What he’d asked Cason to do to her.
He only smiled, setting another pile of books on the table next to her. Sure, showing the Veil Worshipper exactly where he kept his library of Valisea texts would piss off the king. The fury… that would come from being in this room so far away from any of his soldiers, alone in the middle of the night, with no weapons. Standing so close to the assassin who terrorized Rooke.
With the woman who had something to do with Calcheth.
Lord Gerrart had told him about the town in Valisea, close to the Veil wall. About how the men of Rooke and Anfroy used it as a warning lesson in the three years since the town was destroyed. That one slip in patrols had resulted in the slaughter of seventy-four trained soldiers. They’d found the bodies two weeks later… if you could call the dried lakes of blood and ribbons of remaining skinbodies.
After seeing what Brela could do against the Wraturo, Serill didn’t doubt that she’d been responsible for some of those deaths. Seeing how she’d reacted to the King’s mention of the town, he didn’t doubt she’d been responsible for a very large portion of them.
Even knowing what she was capable of, Serill wasn’t afraid. Stupid, maybe, but not afraid as he looked over her shoulder. “The architectural history of Valisea. Just some casual, light reading, I see.”
Brela grinned as she flipped the page. “It’s incomplete, considering this covers the years before the shadow temple was remodeled, but I’ve never seen these renderings of Orhyrst before. I knew the streets were built to highlight the night sky, much like Aelstow, but this is incredible.” She ran her fingers over the paper, tracing the elaborate spires and balconies of the building inked onto the page. “From the stories I heard, I always believed the Grand Library was the most romantic place in Valisea. My father said you could stand on the roof and make wishes on the falling stars reflecting in Calesevain Lake.”
“Only you would consider a library romantic,” Serill replied, chuckling. That faded as Brela tensed. “You never saw it, did you?”
She shook her head. “Not like this. We visited the capital when I was five, but most of the library had been destroyed by then. Only a few streets were left untouched. That was the last time I saw the castle. I was nine when Orhyrst fell.”
Serill hesitated. The King and Queen of Valisea had fallen shortly before, but the Veil Worshippers had tried to rally around the castle—protecting their last symbol of power. It was one of the deadliest raids against the Veil Worshippers, and when the castle fell… there were parties for weeks in Rooke and Anfroy.
Brela shoved the book away with a quiet grunt, like she was trying to push the memory out of her mind, and picked up the thin book on top of the latest pile Serill had brought over. Written in the dead language of the shadow-kind. She let out a chirp of excitement. “Oh, this is too good.”
“What is it?” Serill asked, stepping next to her.
