He froze. His dirty blond hair was longer than when I’d last seen him. It fell from his face as he craned his neck, exposing the single gold hoop earring he still wore on the left side. He was a head shorter than I was, but stocky. As if he were trying not to stand out, his trousers were dark gray and his tunic black. Like most humans, he wore his sleeves long, covering as much skin as possible.
“Hart. What are you doing here?”
“Miss me?” I walked him backward until he was up against the door he’d entered through. “You might want to open that. We’re going in.”
“They’re not in the best mood.”
I laughed. “Neither am I.”
He must have decided it would be faster to twist the knob, because the door opened slowly, and finally, he turned his back to me and re-entered the room.
Over a dozen of them were still there. They tended to leave one at a time, or through the alley. It wouldn’t do to have them all seen together—they were the Feared, after all.
“Hart.” Another man, Paul, noticed my entry immediately.
My name brought silence to the rest, and not because they believed I was the fabled Cursed King—though, as with the Storm, I was sure many now knew my identity. Before the Blessing Ceremony, they, like Ember, had assumed I wielded adamas they couldn’t see. Some had thought I communicated with the figure of myth, but in reality, I had a track record of meeting their goals and keeping the majority of them alive. That had been enough. They had a healthy fear of me becausethey assumed I was Blessed and could take from them at any time. I’d always found that ironic, but that—and owning the tavern where they met—was enough that they listened when I spoke.
“I’m back, and I need everyone to know that nothing has changed.”
Nicholas spoke. “Everything changed, Hart. You killed Soren.”
Something twisted in my chest, as if I’d stabbed myself there instead of stabbing Soren weeks ago. I regretted that it had come to that, but he’d left me no choice. “I’m here to ensure no one else meets his fate. The jeweler is not to be touched. No matter what you’re offered. Is that clear?”
A few nodded. Most looked away. I didn’t want to start with force, but Ember was on the other side of this door, barely hidden. I wouldn’t have them headed for her as soon as they left the room.
“I need better confirmation than that.” I folded my arms over my chest and widened my stance. I couldn’t wield, but they didn’t know that. To them, I’d always been a bit unpredictable.
“The king is offering a large reward for her,” Paul said. “And for you.” My glare was immediate, and Paul had the good sense to look ashamed. “Not that we’d ever do anything about it.”
“Soren said something similar. He said Vaddon’s offer was too good to pass up. Let me make absolutely clear why you should.” I stalked toward them, and panic flashed across each and every face. A smirk curled my lip. This was more than their usual fear. Word must have spread that I was the Cursed King, wielder of nightmares. Few knew the true limits of my magic.
Nicholas raised his hands in a gesture of peace as he watched me approach. “We hear you. The jeweler is yours. Wewon’t touch her.” He held the gazes of each member of the Feared until he received confirmation. He’d always been the reasonable one.
I nodded, mollified for now.
“What’s next, Hart? If it’s not the jeweler, what is it? We need to do something. Rodric started at unreasonable, and things have only escalated since the Blessing Ceremony.”
It would have been in my father’s best interest not to let the ceremony’s details spread widely, but clearly, everyone knew. I stretched my neck in thought, cataloging how rumors might have spread. There had been too many Blessed in that room to keep it a secret, but none of them would have shared details with the Feared. My nostrils flared as I mentally found the connection. Six feared had been brought forward to test the soon-to-be Blessed. I rolled my eyes, remembering that Ember had given one of them a chance to escape.
“What have you been doing since the Blessing? Any new acquisitions?” I asked. I hadn’t wanted to discuss plans to fight Rodric without Ember—without knowing she and I were on the same page. She’d barely mentioned what she wanted to happen with the kingdom after we challenged my father. I returned to thoughts of finding her beside a fire at the Storm’s camp. She’d seemed so close to acknowledging that what had broken between us wasn’t over. At least I thought she had been. This lust thing had me twisted in knots. Or maybe I had too much hope.
But since Nicholas pushed, I might as well use the time to understand our resources. It would come to a fight with Rodric, and the Feared would be a key resource. They had long wanted an open rebellion.
Nicholas tipped his chin at a younger man. He reminded me a little of Reid, and from the way he rolled a coin across hisknuckles then made it disappear, I’d bet his talents were the same. They’d recruited a new thief without me here to help.
“I’m Alek, sir. I’ve had one lift since the Blessing, and am working on placement for another, but the Blessed are getting scared. I…”
“Go on.” I knew where this was going. If my father no longer had a jeweler, he could not replace any of the missing adamas pieces. If he was as desperate as they said, he might take drastic actions.
“I had been working in the mark’s household. The day after I took the ring, the man was called to the castle. He hasn’t been seen since. I think Rodric killed him. It would also explain why no one is even taking the adamas off to polish anymore,” he finished quietly.
I nodded. The Feared had a long history of working as servants in Blessed houses and stealing the adamas when the time was right. It seemed we’d come to a point where that was no longer a viable plan. If Alek had taken another, and I still had the adamas ring Soren had used, there should at least be five armed among the Feared.
It wasn’t enough.
It could be if Ember or I also wielded.
The Blessing Ceremony and the Selection Festival had both proved that much could be accomplished when the room fell to nightmares. I needed to talk to her about it, needed to understand her perspective. Adamas had caused so much harm in her daily life that no matter what she’d agreed to with Charon, I wasn’t sure she could bring herself to use it.Or if she would let me without it … affecting everything.
