Page 155 of Fallen Nocturne

Fucking hell… What is wrong with my queen? This creature betrayed her, and she is still trying to protect him.

Thormein looks away. “It was pleasant being at your side. Serving as your scribe was the most peaceful part of my existence. I need you to know that I never betrayed a single piece of information to the Fae King. I performed my duties faithfully.”

“You were a good scribe,” Rhianelle says with a smile.

“I regret betraying you,” he says quietly. “But I want a normal life. I have resisted taking living essence for so long that I am dying for it.”

“I always suspected you carried a burden you could not speak of,” Rhianelle says. “I only wish you had trusted me with it.”

Thormein’s expression shifts. “How long have you known?”

“Since you sent the Ashmedai after me in the human world.” There is no anger in her voice, only sadness.

Something moves behind his ancient eyes. “You knew all along?”

Rhianelle nods.

“Yet you still took me into your service. You allowed me to become your squire and your scribe,” he mutters.

“I believed you could change,” Rhianelle says.

A small, almost genuine smile touches the Aeonian’s mouth. It vanishes quickly.

His sleeve falls back into place, concealing the fractures beneath it. “I apologize for this, but Lilith has finally decided what to do with you.”

Lilith has wasted no time. We have been imprisoned for barely an hour.

The wooden carriage begins to move again. The wheels turn beneath us, carrying the living cage back through the palace.

When the doors of the throne room open, Svenn is no longer in chains.

He stands beside Lilith as though he has always belonged there. I stare at him with enough hatred to burn through bone.

Lilith laughs when she sees us.

“Look at you, little queen.” She rests one hand possessively on Svenn’s shoulder. “I knew Arescaine would come to his senses eventually.”

Rhianelle ignores her. Even as the cage settles in the center of the chamber, she keeps one hand pressed over Landon’s chest, feeding what little magic remains into him.

Lilith’s smile tightens at the slight.

Ruthven notices.

“Our lady is speaking to you,” he snaps.

Rhianelle does not look up.

Ruthven crosses to the cage in a sudden blur. He slams one hand against the wooden bars, hard enough to make the whole prison shudder. Rhianelle flinches, but she keeps her hand pressed over Landon’s chest and refuses to give him her eyes.

Ruthven smiles.

The vampire’s gaze cuts to Thormein. “Open it.”

For the first time since he revealed himself, uncertainty crosses Thormein’s face. His eyes flick toward Rhianelle, then toward Lilith. The enchantress says nothing. She only watches him.

Thormein’s jaw tightens. With a small motion of his hand, the branches pull apart just enough to create an opening.

Ruthven reaches through the gap and seizes Rhianelle’s arm. He drags her into the throne room before any of us can stop him.