“I will not let any harm befall you, this day and onwards. I swear it.” He grasped her hand and held it.
How can you possibly promise that after everything we’ve just learned?
She smiled and shook her head, saying nothing.
She glanced around Risna’s guest room and—wanting to change the subject—asked wryly, “So howdidyou find me?”
He frowned. “I returned home to find Iago and all the servants trapped in a room with magic.”
She started at that. “You left them trapped?”
“I thought you were dead.” He shrugged. “I made sure they weren’t in any immediate danger, then I took Draugr and raced to find you.” He flexed his hand. “Several of the city guards tried to stop me.”
“I hope you left them alive,” she said drily.
He winced.
“Caspian!”
“I thought you were dead,” he repeated, his voice softening. “Nothing else mattered. I couldn’t lose you. Not again.” Caspian swallowed. “I caught your scent in the great hall and followed your trail here. I found Fiza’s body in the woods and smelled your blood in the snow.” He hesitated, appearing to choose his words with care. “I thought she had run off with you, to protect you from whatever foe had come to call. It wasn’t until I found your blood under her talons that I figured out what must have happened.”
Elizabeth tensed at the phantom memory of Fiza ripping into her arm. She touched her forearm absentmindedly. Nothing remained of her ordeal besides a faint pink scar.
Succinctly, she said, “Fiza and Maud were the ones who betrayed you. Leviathan is the traitor, and from what Fiza let slip, whatever is happening with Raziel in the Underworld is just the beginning.”
Caspian said slowly, “Leviathan gave Fiza and Maud to me. He said they were a peace offering.” He twitched his nose. “I was thrilled to have shapeshifter demonsin my household. They’ve proved to be dutiful servants and useful for running errands in mortal cities. I had no reason to suspect.”
She shuddered. “They don’t like you or me very much, I can tell you that.”
Caspian stroked his beard. “So, Raziel is the face of the revolution, but it’s Leviathan who’s been financing it. We wondered how he’d been able to amass so much wealth in such a short amount of time.”
“Ambriel is wrapped up in it too, somehow,” she said, speaking through gritted teeth. She knew Caspian didn’t like him, but he deserved to know. “The angel worked with Fiza and Maud.”
Caspian blinked, and she watched the wheels turning in his mind. “Angels siding with demons?”
She nodded grimly. “It would appear so.”
“So, we have a Fallen angel as our enemy, and now we have a demon prince and an angel as our enemies as well.” He huffed a laugh. “Where does it end?”
Our enemies.
She pursed her lips. “Were you able to find out anything about my parents? Who went after them?” Her voice turned pleading.
He paused and spoke slowly, “I learned Raziel hired two demons to go after your parents. I wasn’t able to catch the names of the demons who did it. But he hired them.”
She stilled.
“I was … incapacitated before I could demand more information.” A shadow crossed his features. “But for what reason he went after them, I don’t know. It still doesn’t make any sense to me.”
She swallowed, choosing to stay quiet rather than reveal to him why they had gone after her parents. Why Fiza had gone afterher.
“When the dust settles, I’ll go after them, the ones that did this to you,” he said, his voice serious. “I will find them, I swear to you.”
She chewed her lip. “I want to find my parents’ killer more than anything, but it’s too dangerous for you to go back there right now.” She paused and left it unspoken that they might not be able to get him out a second time. “Find out what you can from here. It might take some time, but we’ll find them eventually.”
“We’ll figure it out. Together.”
She nodded, and Caspian grasped her hand, holding it loosely.
