She was effortlessly beautiful in a way Jessamine never had been. But if they stood next to each other, one could see a family resemblance. Fortunawas lean and graceful, her skin moonlight-kissed and her lips a shade of dark red. Big, dark eyes made people want to protect her. The long waterfall of her dark hair never had a single strand out of place. She was stunning. Beyond beautiful.
But Jessamine could also see how steely Fortuna had become. The way she gestured to the servant who followed her suggested she’d gotten even meaner—which meant she would be a formidable foe who knew how to push all of Jessamine’s buttons. In a way, Fortuna was more dangerous than Callum had ever been.
“I don’t believe Leon can actually love anything,” Jessamine said quietly, her voice pitched low so no one would overhear them. “But I do believe he covets that which is beautiful. He wants what he cannot have, which is why he wanted my kingdom in the first place.”
“I still don’t believe all of this is about a kingdom,” Elric replied. “There is more going on here between these people than either you or I understand just yet. We need to know what they are doing, and whether they are going to continue doing it.”
She didn’t know if there was some grand plan that they needed to be terrified of. All she cared about was getting the usurper off her throne and making sure that her people were finally cared for in the way they deserved.
“Elric?” she asked.
“Yes, gravesinger?”
“There is only one way we’re going to get the answers that we need. We need to get inside that house.”
“You wish to walk into the belly of the beast?”
She grinned. “Is that going to be too difficult for you, Deathless One? I thought your magic was in shadows and souls?”
“It is.”
“And yet tricking a few humans into allowing us to walk right in that front door is beyond you?”
She could see the heat flash in his eyes at her challenge. He liked her like this, when she was taking charge and ordering him around. She knew he wanted to press her up against the stone stairwell and kiss herbreathless. Some part of her wanted that, too. He could distract her like no one else. But right now, neither of them could afford to be distracted when there was so much they still had to do.
“Jessamine,” he said, his voice so low it was little more than a guttural growl. “Do not test me.”
“I enjoy testing you.”
“We cannot walk in the front door. That spider of a woman would know my power is in shadows. Considering Leon’s guards are filling the city to the brim, I would suspect they are concerned with Callum’s disappearance. They’re not so stupid that they will ignore the rumors that I have returned, along with the rumors that you yourself are somehow still alive. I can get us to a window, but that is as far as I will risk. There are hardly any shadows in her home at all.”
Ah. So that was why they were burning so many lights. She wasn’t sure if that was a good or a bad thing.
“Did they know we were coming?” she whispered, looking back at the house.
“Didn’t we already assume that? Leon must suspect you’re alive, considering all the wall writing you did in the Factory District. With the death of Callum Quen, I can only assume he will put more protection around his own people. Clearly, Fortuna is the easy guess.”
Humming low under her breath, she tried to think of a way around this. There had to be a window that would be useful, after all.
Snapping her fingers, she reached for Elric and shook him. “Nyx!”
“Bless you.”
“No, Nyx. The familiar you gave me. She can find a way in. Surely there’s an unlocked window or some kind of cellar we could sneak into. Then we just have to stay out of people’s way.”
“The windows, Jessamine? Anyone on the street could see us.”
“We’ll stay away from the windows, then. None of the guards are lookingatthe house, anyway! They’re trying to keep people out, not assuming that we’re already inside.”
He shook her hands off him, sighing before nodding. “It’s a start, Isuppose. That familiar of yours is particularly good at squirreling herself into places she shouldn’t be.”
“Summon her for us.”
“You summon it.”
“You’re the one who created her! Nyx is back at the cottage, hopefully staying away from all those birds. Please, Elric?”
She tried her best to bat her eyelashes like she’d seen Fortuna do so many times in her life. All that managed was to make Elric scowl at her. “Don’t do that. I hate that expression.”
