While the princess relied on logic, her visceral husband reacted differently. Poet had been casting me a sidelong glance. But now, he turned gradually in my direction, the slow motion reminiscent of a panther tracking prey. Shocked malice flashed in his pupils, and the edges of his face sharpened like the knives hidden beneath his coat. Because his own portfolio of duplicity stretched longer than my arm, the jester needed no time believing me.
Neither did Jeryn. Or Flare.
Their silhouettes darkened the sidelines. Off to the left, the pair stood arrested at the base of a winding stairway,splatters of blood crusting Jeryn’s fur coat and Flare’s jumpsuit. Hours had passed since they carted away Lyrik’s bleeding form. However, the Winter King and his Summer mate returned in time to stumble upon my confession.
Flare’s irises blazed with horrified treachery. The razor-cut angles of Jeryn’s face reflected cold menace. Incapable of showing more than one emotion at a time—except in private with Flare, who saw multitudes beneath the arctic surface—Winter appeared neither stunned, nor afflicted. Rather, his gaze probed mine with undiluted efficiency.
Briefly, Nicu’s distraught expression latched onto Jeryn. The King took a moment to nod, indicating Lyrik must be resting.
At which point, Nicu’s worry hardened into determination. He shuffled nearer to me, placing himself at the midpoint between one end of the clan and the other.
Aire stalked closer to my side. Only he felt the shivers rattle through me, my blood’s temperature lowering. His fingers remained tightly woven through my own, warmth brimming from his skin, anchoring me to the earth.
They all stared. The fellowship that befriended me, welcomed me into their sphere, trusted me with their lives. The people who had loved me.
I wouldn’t allow the confession to tumble out like an accident. Instead, I balanced it on my tongue with resolve.
“I’m a spy,” I repeated, my voice cracking on the next words. “For Rhys.”
Briar’s complexion blanched. Poet’s hiss could have sliced through bone.
Flare sucked in a breath, her head whipping from side to side in denial. In a burst of fitful energy, she leaped my way as though to convince herself it wasn’t true, to implore me to retract the statement.
Although Jeryn remained deathly silent, his hand shot out and caught his mate’s wrist. Stapling his crystalline eyes to me, the man nudged Flare safely back to his corner.
Flare could break from him if she wanted. Aware of this, and not the type of male to dominate his mate’s choices, Jeryn cautiously released her hand while sweeping back his coat and settling his fingers atop a scalpel-shaped knife.
At the implication, a snarl crawled from Aire’s lungs.
The threat ripped Briar from her trance. After an awestruck moment, the princess’s demeanor shifted from friend to Royal, her pointed chin lifting as if she sat on her throne and prepared to take charge.
Good. Members of the clan crossing weapons against each other was too painful a dealbreaker. I’d execute myself first before letting that happen.
Only one person deserved to get hurt here. One liar.
“Disarm,” Briar commanded, her tone puncturing like a thorn.
Pacing myself, I withdrew the beloved axe and tossed it to the ground. Whereas Aire did no such thing. Even if the order had been directed at both of us instead of just me, I had doubts whether this soldier would relinquish the only means he had of protecting me.
Even so, the First Knight found himself at odds with the family he cherished. That sight alone threatened to shatter me. I didn’t want to cause a rift between them.
“You will explain yourself,” Briar clipped. “And you will do so without artifice.”
“One lie,” Poet warned in a lethal husk. “Spew one lie, and your tongue will see the point of my blade.”
Aire seethed, but I clenched his fingers. None of this escaped the clan, who watched us in guarded astonishment,everyone struggling to reconcile Aire’s disloyalty and my treason.
Every day, hour, and second, I’d dreaded and yearned for this moment. Countless times, I came close to admitting my betrayal, the urge pulling me apart at the seams.
The events spilled from my chest.
Rhys’s ultimatum. The clan’s safety. My mother’s safety. The secret vow to keep everyone from harm.
Life as a double agent. Conning, misleading, and misinforming Rhys. Feeding him false information that resulted in failed village ambushes throughout Autumn.
Aire’s return. Rhys’s order.
Nicu’s theory about a spy, albeit someone other than myself. My belief that Summer employed a second, unidentified informant.
