Emmett left the blanket outside, so he sits, bare-chested, wide-eyed in a transparent attempt to look innocent.
I hope Rhion thinks I’m staring him down as an intimidation tactic and not because I cannot bear to look at Emmett right now.
“Bram was always going to let you into the Otherworld,” Rhion says. “He’d sent the invitations for the first trial weeks before.”
“You put her in danger intentionally? I’ll kill you,” Emmett lashes out.
I have no time for Rhion’s games or Emmett’s petulance.
Emmett opens his mouth, but I hold up my hands. “Don’t start.”
I point to Rhion. “You—keep talking.”
Rhion turns to Emmett. “Bram had his own plans already in motion. I needed to use them to our advantage.”
“By turning on my friends?”
“I’ll admit I was also the one who told him his other suitors would be at Marion Thorne’s town house and to bring them to the Otherworld as leverage against you.”
“So you were lying the whole time?” I say angrily. My friends are in danger because of my decision to trust Rhion. I think of Este waiting at home without her sister, of Ben and Olive making tea cakes in the kitchen, of Eduart, completely alone in the world, save for us.
“You underestimate them,” Rhion says emphatically. “They’re rebels, radicals, they’ve been scheming and training for months. I had confidence you all could withstand whatever was coming. I tried to give them time to flee, but Faith and Marion stayed and fought to buy time for the others. I regret I wasn’t fast enough, but it’s not the worst thing that they’re here in the Otherworld with us. More allies is a good thing.”
“Still,” I snap in return.
“I did it and it’s done,” Rhion says. “The girls put on a brilliant show.”
“They were beaten.”
“Not on my orders,” Rhion replies emphatically. “I did my best to mitigate the damage. The guards who did it have been punished.”
“But your actions still led to it.”
“Bram’sactions,” Rhion corrects me.
“You betrayed me,” I reply. I’m so foolish to have expected straightforward allyship from a faerie.
“I didn’t. I swear it. I might have lied by omission, but we have the same goals. I knew Bram was planning on the trials, and I knew you needed an ally. He was growing suspicious after your visit to my town house. He didn’t like that we’d been alone together. By my betraying you, Bram trusts me more than ever. I wield influence over him. You’re here, in the Otherworld. That was always going to happen. Now you have two friends, and I have Bram’s ear. I’m sorry I couldn’t be more forthcoming with you, but I promise, from now on, I will be.”
“I don’t know how to believe you.”
Rhion casts his gaze to the floor, his clear blue eyes full of pain. “Then don’t. But know that I will doanythingto ensure Lydia gets out of this unscathed. I have no regrets.”
Emmett turns to Rhion, shocked. “Lydia?”
I roll my eyes, still annoyed. “He claims he’s in love with her.”
Emmett’s expression darkens. “You’re not good enough for her.”
“I don’t disagree with you,” Rhion says.
“I’ll kill you myself if you’re lying about this,” Emmett snarls.
“I’ll help,” I say.
Rhion shakes his head. “We share the same goals, the same as we always have. We need to get you and your sister through these trials, and we can use Bram’s distraction to unseat him in the process.”
“But how do we unseat him?” I ask. “We need a plan.” I feel sohopeless, so naive. There’s so much about the Otherworld I don’t understand.
