A guard on the other side opened the door and Valeris pushed me through so fast the guard didn’t get a chance to look at me.
“Let’s not mention this to anyone shall we, Will?”A conspiratorial tone coated Valeris’s voice.
Will grunted in answer as Valeris steered me down the corridor.I kept my grumbling thoughts to myself, but I didn’t want him to escort me through the whole palace.I yanked my arm away from his hold when I found a window decent enough for escape.
“I can manage to get back from here.”I removed his cloak and handed it to him.
When I looked up into his eyes, skepticism flecked through them.
“I overheard your sister’s private conversation by scaling the wall and you’re doubting my ability to make it from here?”
He shrugged, turning on his heel, not waiting for me to leave.
“That’s it?”I asked.“You’re not even going to let me know what’s next on the agenda?”
He didn’t even turn around as he answered, “Goodnight, Analleia.”
Chapter Twenty-Six
Analleia
Ispent the next dayruminating in my room.About the alliance.King Zaricor.The plan.The next ball.Valeris.
And how to take down his uncle.
The Enchantress’s threat of what would happen should I not fulfill my end of the bargain hovered at the back of my mind, haunting me.Worrying me.
I portioned out two doses of Hrakka powder, running the plan through my mind.I didn’t want to hurt him or cause a scene, but I needed to get him alone and knock him out long enough for me to remove the ring from his finger.I scowled as I laid out the dress for the masquerade ball that evening.It was one ring.I should already have it by now.If I had known it was going to be this difficult, I would have tried harder to take care of this nuisance at the first ball.
The memory of the opal ring flashed in my mind.Why did the Enchantress want it so much, and why did she need me to get it?It was none of my business, but with the magic she possessed there had to be a way for her to obtain it herself.
It bothered me how Wylan Athello had so easily detected the enchantment in his drink.What in his past connected him to the Enchantress?He held no political power, but he must have gained societal power by his own means to retain influence.
Not to mention the matter of Valeris.Maybe he was acting for the good of his kingdom, but this shaky alliance couldn’t only be a matter of him wanting me to spy for him.He had to suspect something.He was too clever not to.Maybe not my identity, but he wasn’t stupid.Yet, he had trusted me enough to tell me that whatever was going on between his siblings was for the benefit of Paravellia, and I believed he cared more than he was letting on.
