I wrinkle my nose. “You’re mybrother,remember?”
He shrugs. “There’s plenty of precedent for that in royal courts.”
This time, Caiden starts coughing.
“You’re disgusting,” I bite out.Mara, can I just kill him, please?
“You didn’t use to have any problem spending an evening with my cock in your?—”
Caiden slams his fists on the table and all attention turns to him. His eyes are wild, his jaw hard. “You will not speak about my wife in such a way or I will ensure you don’t make it to Iskvaland, are we clear?”
Ludis nods, then lowers his fork. “I think I’m finished here, anyway. We have an early start in the morning.” He stands, then inclines his head at Caiden, then Brevan. “Gentleman.” With a half-nod toward me he says, “sister.”
I’m tense until I hear the door latch behind him, then I blow out a breath.
“I’m sorry you had to endure that,” Caiden says.
“I don’t see it,” Brevan says. “How were you two a couple?”
“He was very good at pretending to be someone else.” My chest feels tight the second I finish speaking. I set down my silverware. “He’s right, though. It’s an early morning. And I need to help Anya pack. Genevieve willnotbe joining us.”
Caiden stands, then Brevan follows but he remains at his place while Caiden walks toward me to pull out my chair. I’m not sure why I wait for him to do it, I’m fully capable of scooting back myself. But I can’t take it back now, so I nod to each of them, then hurry from the room before I can say anything else.
Nate is by my side the second I’m in the hallway. “How was dinner?”
“About as fun as falling into a spider nest,” I grumble, then I glance back. None of the other guards are following us and they aren’t even looking in our direction. “I wasn’t able to ask yet, but it’s going to have to wait until we return.”
“It’s the enforcer, isn’t it?” Nate asks quietly.
“Yes. And things between us are…complicated,” I hedge. “But I’ll talk to him while we’re traveling. He’s not going anywhere until after this meeting.”
“Thank you.” He opens his mouth, then closes it again, as if he wanted to say more.
My brow furrows. “What is it?”
“They asked me to go with you.”
“No. I need you here. I need someone who will watch over my friends. Besides, there will be a lot less guards with half of them accompanying us on this trip. I’m sure there’s places to search. If we found those other relics, maybe there’s more hidden.” Selfishly, I know if he finds anything, he’ll tell me, and I can pass that along to Brevan. I can’t seem to shake the enforcer from my thoughts.
“Alright,” he agrees. “Just promise me you won’t get into too much trouble without me to watch out for you.”
“I can’t make that promise,” I tell him.
He chuckles. “Then try not to die, alright?”
“I’ll do my best to avoid it,” I say.
It’s still dark when Caiden arrives to escort me from my rooms. “Do you have everything you need?”
“Yes.” I have more than I ever owned prior to coming to the castle packed into trunks. It’s enough to sustain me for the rest of my life if I were somehow able to take it and run. It’s a thought that has crossed my mind but Mara’s words prevent me from acting on it.
“Ready to go?” I ask Anya.
She nods, then follows me to the hall.
“Ludis was furious that he had to tell Genevieve she couldn’t come,” Caiden says.
“I won’t even pretend to feel bad about that,” I say.
