We weren’t afraid of nakedness, so to watch the Zephyrians take such pains to avoid looking at the human form was disconcerting. I struggled with the robe for a moment, my whole body still shaky and difficult to control.
He must have still been watching out of the corner of his eye, because he came behind me and held the robe up. “Let me help you.”
I was finally able to slide each arm into the holes and belt it. When I turned to face him, I saw his throat move like he wasswallowing hard. He was wearing a robe, too, though his was black and open to reveal a muscular chest.
“I’ll escort you back to your room,” he said, and I nodded.
As we walked, he kept close enough for me to feel the heat from his skin. “What happened? How did you end up with Lady Corvina and Lady Starling?”
“I came across Lord Heron and the two of them on my way to the hot springs, and he all but forced them to accompany me.”
His voice dropped into a low, dangerous tone. “He is behind this assassination attempt?”
I thought of how the shadows poured into Lady Corvina and Lady Starling, turning their eyes black. “I think they were there to put me in my place. Before they tried to drown me, they were entertaining themselves by attempting to belittle me. I didn’t get the sense they had murderous intentions.”
“Until they held you under?”
I shivered. “Until then.” I opened my mouth to say more, but then I considered the deep shadows on either side of us in the dimly lit hallway. “I’ll tell you the rest when we get inside my room.”
We walked quietly down more hallways and upstairs, passing a few guards who saluted Commander Talon. Finally, we arrived in my room.
Raven was inside waiting, and the minute she saw us both, she left to get us hot tea. I went and sat on one of the wingback chairs, but Talon remained standing.
“Why do you think they tried to assassinate you?” he asked as soon as we were alone.
“This sounds far-fetched, but I saw shadows pour like smoke into them, turning their eyes black. They held me under right after that.”
Some of the color had drained from his face. “Shadows? You’re sure?”
I nodded. “They reminded me of the creature we saw in the throne room.”
“If the Devourer is targeting you,” he said, his tone gruff, “then you’re in danger. Where was your guard?”
“He was there but behind one of the stalagmites. Your people have some sort of aversion to nakedness, so he wasn’t willing to be within view of me. He couldn’t hear me drowning.”
He muttered something under his breath. “He could have stood where he could watch but kept his eyes averted. Regardless, I’m going to up the number of guards outside your door.” He ran his hand through his thick hair and met my gaze. “I’m sorry I had to leave you for a couple days.”
“Where did you go?”
“I had some things to look into.”
I thought back to the other conversation we had about the shadowy creature. “Did you find out what happened to the missing staff members?”
“All I know is they’ve completely disappeared—no family members have seen them, and they haven’t reported to their stations in many days. But I haven’t gathered more information than that. I was on another mission.”
“What mission was this?”
He hesitated for only a moment. “I discovered that both my riders and their eagles were known to be attacking your people and horses off the battlefield.”
“Yes. Including innocent civilians.”
“Yes.”
I took a deep breath. “And who was it that confirmed this for you—since my word was apparently not good enough?”
“I encountered several scouts who witnessed the war crimes firsthand.”
I shook my head. “So it had to be your own people telling you before you’d believe. Well, at least you know now. What will you do about it?”
