“I’m not certain what has given you that impression.”
“You cannot expect me to believe you are lurking around for no reason.”
“Lurking?” He smirked. “I would hardly call standing guard lurking.”
“Don’t act as though I haven’t seen you,” she argued. “You’re always watching. Even if you aren’t a spy, I know you’re listening to everything that goes on inside this castle. Find it intriguing, do you? The politically messy lives of the royals.”
He lifted his eyebrows. “Don’t you?”
“I…” She trailed off, and then huffed. “Do you know who sent the assassin after me?”
Lorcan stared at Reyna for a long moment before replying. “No. I wish that I did.”
“All right. Then, I need to know if there’s a way to get out of this castle without being seen.”
“You want to flee the castle?” He frowned. “Careful. If the wrong fae got wind of this, the Air Court could get the very wrong idea, especially after your accusations against the queen.”
Her shoulders slumped. “This was a mistake. I never should have come to you about this. I thought you might understand, but that was a ridiculous notion. Please, forget I said anything.”
Reyna turned to go, and Lorcan found his hand closing around her arm. Alarm flickering across her face, she stared up at him. The silver of her eyes was so very light, they almost melted into the darkness of the night.
“Tell me what you need,” he said in a low growl.
She stepped closer to him and dropped her voice to a whisper. The harsh wind blew her silver hair over her shoulders, and the scent of mulled wine and silk drifted toward him. “I just need a little time out in the city one night.”
“Why?” he asked quietly.
“There’s someone I need to speak with. Someone who might know who sent that assassin after me.”
Lorcan frowned. “Reyna, you know how I feel about you spying on the—”
“This isn’t spying on the High Queen.” Her hands fisted. “This is getting answers. This is finding the truth regardless of who was behind it. Someone tried to have me killed, Lorcan. And my sister almost died because of it. They will try again. I know it in my gut. Imustfind out who it was and stop them from trying to murder me again.”
“I am your guard,” he said fiercely. “I will protect you.”
“You will?” She cocked her head. “And where were you that night? Why weren’t you protecting me then?”
“I’d been with you all day. I was told to take the evening off...”
No one had thought much of the princesses’ solo trek to find Thane. But Lorcan saw now...she had made a very good point. He hadn’t been standing guard, and no one else had either. That could not be a coincidence. Which meant...Reyna was not wrong. Someone inside the castle was involved in the attack, someone who could influence the guard rotation. Lorcan thought back. It had been Vreis who had told him to get some rest.
Vreis.Lorcan winced. Surely one of his oldest friends could not be involved with this. There would be another explanation, one that made sense.
“You see, don’t you?” she asked softly, peering up at him with those ethereal eyes of silver. “The attacker wasn’t merely some random low fae who sneaked his way inside.”
Lorcan’s mark flared to life. Pain whorled through his shoulder, threatening to bring him to his knees.
He ground his teeth, and then let go of her arm. “I cannot help you.”
* * *
Lorcan was troubled when he returned to the feast. Nothing made sense to him anymore. How could the High Queen try to murder her own son’s betrothed? And Vreis? Why would he be loyal to such a terrible cause? Vreis was Thane’s man. He always had been. The two of them had served the prince for years.
And yet...Lorcan wasn’t truly Thane’s man either. Were the both of them nothing more than a bouquet of pretty lies tied together with string?
“Lorcan,” Thane called out when he rejoined the revellers. The prince clapped him on the back, his hand heavy and strong. “Where have you been? I thought I’d find you in your usual corner.”
“I needed some fresh air. This feast is thick with sweat and ale.”
