After all, Axlya and the other house rulers had been navigating the shadow creature threat for the last two decades. Perhaps she’d grown so complacent about the threat that she no longer took it seriously.
Lady Axlya and the other courtiers bickered about the golem and its implications for a few minutes longer, before agreeing that yes, an investigation needed to be launched, and that Adara could no longer go anywhere without a guard to accompany her, at least not until after her coming-of-age ceremony.
“All right, this meeting is adjourned,” Lady Axlya said. She turned to Adara as the others filed out of the room. “Come with me, child. The tailor will arrive any moment now to fit you for your ceremonial garb.”
Adara froze mid-step, her body angled in my direction as if she’d intended to approach me. I tensed as our gazes met across the room—a clash of blue and gold, sizzling with enough pent-up emotion to charge a thunderstorm. For a split second, her courtly mask dropped, revealing a rawness in her expression that made me want to forget my anger at her.
But then she turned away, inclining her head to Lady Axlya. “Of course. Please, lead the way.”
* * *
“Einar.” Tamil’s dulcet tones tugged me to a stop in the middle of the gardens. “Can I speak with you for a minute?”
I turned to see Tamil picking her way through a row of rose bushes, stripped bare of leaves in preparation for the coming winter. Her ice-blue eyes were guarded as she approached, but I couldn’t blame her considering the history between our people. That she was willing to approach me alone, and she didn’t regard me with veiled hostility and disdain like the other water fae, put her head and shoulders above her peers in my book.
“Of course,” I said, abandoning my plan to return to my rooms. I leaned casually against a marble statue of a water nymph, and the cold marble reminded me of the battle with the golem. I’d seen the monster ripping statues out of the ground like blades of grass and hurtling them at Adara and Prentis from a distance as I’d flown toward them, pumping my wings as hard and fast as I’d ever done in my life.
I’d woken up sensing Adara’s pain and fear, and I thanked the Radiants that the bond had led me straight to her. Under ordinary circumstances, I would have been confident in her ability to handle the golem on her own, but after six days of fasting, she wasn’t at her full strength. I didn’t know what would have happened if I hadn’t gotten there in time.
Tamil perched herself on the bench opposite me and gave me a long look, as if weighing how much she should say to me. “I came here to talk to you about Adara,” she said. “You’re the only one here who seems to truly be concerned for her welfare, and who doesn’t view her as a stepping stone to achieving power.” She sighed, toying with the hem of her fur-trimmed sleeve. “I don’t know if you’re aware, but I was close friends with Olette growing up. And while she and Prentis were childhood friends, she never fully trusted him.”
My eyes narrowed, and I sat up a little straighter. “And why is that?”
“Because Prentis’s loyalty is too easily bought,” Tamil said. “He was more concerned with doing whatever he could to curry favor with his betters, whether that was their tutors, or parents, or Lady Axlya. He worked as a spy for years for Lady Axlya before she gave him the lake fiefdom, and she plans to use him in that capacity again, but this time as Adara’s king consort. If he marries Adara, her secrets will never be safe with him.”
“I suspected as much,” I said darkly. “Someone left a jar of incense burning outside my window last night, that had narcoleptic properties. It’s why I didn’t hear Prentis and Adara leaving this morning, even though I’m right across the hall, why I didn’t realize Adara had left the castle until she was in danger.” I gritted my teeth as my fangs lengthened, trying to force them back into my gums before Tamil noticed. “I’m pretty sure Prentis had it placed there so he could have some alone time with Adara.”
“That sounds like something he would do.” Tamil bit her lip, looking worried. “Have there been any other assassination attempts against Adara?”
I debated telling Tamil about the slice of poisoned cake, but decided against it. I didn’t actually know her, and for all I knew, she was the assassin, trying to mine me for information to see if Adara and I were onto her.
“Nothing we’ve noticed,” I said instead. “Thankfully with the fasting, we don’t have to worry about food poisoning attempts, but I have been keeping close watch over Adara since we arrived at the castle.” A grim thought occurred to me that made my stomach clench. “Do you think it’s possible Prentis is the one who created the golem, or that he’s in cahoots with whoever did?”
Tamil shook her head. “Prentis isn’t above that sort of thing, but Adara is far more useful to him alive than dead. She’s his ticket to the throne—if he was going to kill her, he would wait until she’s produced at least one child, when he can safely assume the role of king regent.”
“Over my dead body,” I growled.
Tamil chuckled, though the sound held no mirth. “It would have to be,” she agreed, turning more fully to face me. Her ice-blue eyes seemed to pierce my soul as she stared into my eyes. “You are attuned to Adara’s whereabouts and emotions in much the same way Daryan was attuned to Olette’s,” she said baldly.
“Yes.” I swallowed hard beneath her scrutiny, wondering if she knew about the dragon mating bond. Wondering if she was going to ask me outright.
Instead, she rose from the bench and shook her skirts out. “Olette and Daryan’s story may not have ended well, but that doesn’t mean yours has to follow the same path,” she said as she walked away. “Don’t give up on something before it’s had a chance to blossom. Fight for her, Einar. Or we’ll all lose.”
35
Adara
“Push-ups? At this hour of the morning?”
I glanced up from my plank position as Einar stepped into the training room, looking well-rested and fresh as morning rain. Sweat dripped from my brow and into my eyes, and I blinked against the sting, then glanced back down.
“I’m losing too much muscle,” I told him through gritted teeth as I pulled my elbows into my ribs. My arms shook as my chest brushed against the floor, and it took far more effort than it should have to push myself back up again. “I’ve probably lost five pounds since the tailor came to fit me for my ceremonial outfit. He’s going to throw a tantrum.”
Einar scoffed as he leaned down in front of me, offering a hand. “You’ve been fasting for eight days now,” he said. “If the tailor isn’t prepared to make alterations, he’s an idiot.”
I considered refusing it, but I knew that if I tried to do another push-up, I would collapse, and I would never hear the end of it. So I took his hand, trying to ignore the familiar jolt that passed between us at the contact. His skin felt impossibly hot against mine, and I realized that my own skin had gone cold and clammy.
Embarrassed, I tried to pull my hand away, but he held it firm, covering it with his other one.
