Cassidee leaned her elbows onto the table, turning to Krait. “It’s nice to formally meet you. Those Warhorses back in Luz were really something.” She whistled in approval and added, “They cut through that attack like butter.”
“Forgive her,” Wyeth cut in. “She has a penchant for only talking about war.”
Krait only hummed in acknowledgment.
Cassidee carried on, “So, why were we searched and stripped of our weapons at the door? If it’s a matter of safety in Luz, we need to know what we face.”
I cleared my throat, catching her attention. “We’ll tell you as soon as Elsedora and Rynall join us.”
Cassidee smirked and relaxed back into her chair, seeming eager to get to the dangerous bits of the conversation.
“Was King Sheffield found?” I asked Amara.
“I was waiting for the right moment to tell you. His body was found on the south coast of Eros,” Amara said with watery eyes and a wrinkled brow.
She had served the King of the South Corridor for many years. I’d always longed for advisors like her, ones who cared about my well-being.
“It was hard to determine his cause of death…too much time had passed.” Her shoulders deflated as she stared into her wineglass.
“I’m sorry for your loss,” I said. “He was an honorable King. Did you know he used to send me letters on my birthdays with pressed flowers between the pages?”
Amara offered me a sad smile and shook her head. “That does sound like him. It’s a great loss for the Corridor. He has a young nephew—school-age. His father, Sheffield’s brother, died years ago. It will take a great deal of training to fill the King’s shoes.”
I had no doubt she would be an excellent guide for the young royal.
I liked Amara. Elsedora had let it slip out over wine one evening that Amara had once been Krait’s lover, just before Freya. We had too many threats looming for me to stop and consider that awkward—plus, he was not mine to feel possessive of.
We were all so tightly interconnected to each other; it was something Caym could prey on if we let doubt or hatred guide our decisions. “What’s Bringham to say about it?”
“He’s calling for a noble from the West to usurp the boy,” Amara answered.
I sighed. “Of course he is.”
The doors opened, revealing a tender-stepping Ryn and a worried-looking Elsedora, who led him by the crook of the arm into the dining hall. The rolled-up map was tucked under her other arm.
“What did we miss?” El asked.
“We’ll catch you up later. Come, sit,” Krait instructed. “And roll out that map.”
Amara stilled beside me when her gaze landed on Ryn. “Fenris told me that you lived, Rynall—but it was hard to believe until now.”
“Beautiful as ever, Amara.” Ryn greeted her with a quick squeeze of her shoulder, then he took his seat beside Krait.
Elsedora unraveled the old parchment, careful not to rip it, and Cassidee and Wyeth pitched forward in their seats to observe it more closely.
“What do we havehere?” Fen asked with great interest, turning the old page toward him and Asterie. He appeared lit from within with intrigue.
“A map,” I answered dully. Fen leveled a look at me that read,You don’t say?
I added, “Of where the Death Origin’s current envoy is.”
Amara’s fingers trailed over her mouth. Asterie’s brow furrowed. I took a deep breath and chanced a glance across the table at Krait.
“Strong, so strong,” he thought.“I’m adding that to the list.”
I rolled my eyes. Forced compliments wouldn’t win my favor.
Elsedora rounded the table and leaned down to whisper something to Amara that made the enchantress’ eyes grow dewy. Then El placed Mattock’s stone memorandum down on the table. Amara quickly grasped the stone and brought it to her heart.
