Page 84 of Sworn to the Shadow Throne

Cam bowed exaggeratedly.

Nisien had been completely silent thus far, but now he raised one hand. “I will accompany the men you’re sending to escort her.”

I eyed the prince of Darreth. I couldn’t do a damn thing to stop him without starting a war—and he knew it.

“Why?” I ground out, fighting back the wave of jealousy crashing over me.

He shrugged. “This is exactly what I came here for,” he said lightly—as if all the little choices he’d made since arriving in Selmont hadn’t been steering us toward this moment all along.

Nisien never entered a room without intending to rearrange it.

A slow smile spread across his face. “Neither you nor Camrick can leave with Berian as sick as he is. Won’t hurt to have another battlemage around to escort them out of the borderlands. I’ll make my way to Tir Gelida immediately after.”

The moniker “Golden Prince” did little justice to Nisien, who’d be better called a serpent or a master web weaver. In my absence, and with surprising speed, I’d learned that he’d started to persuade my court to see me in a more favorable light.

Was it too much to hope that he might do the same with Lunette?

I’d beg him on my knees and owe him a life debt because he might actually be saving mine if she was my mate. Nisien seemed to enjoy operating behind the scenes, so he’d get my approval at the very least. “All right… Thank you, Nisien.”

“Fine. But you,” Reina said, jabbing a finger at me, “will be the consummate gentleman. We will protect her, but we will not make her feel caged in a situation not of her choosing. I won’t have the future princess’s reputation start out with her justifiably throwing sharp objects at you.”

Future princess. Reina didn’t say things like that lightly. Half of me felt like I was soaring on wings of triumph while something ancient, pugnacious, and irrational rose at the word caged. Still, she was right on all counts.

I’d be fighting a multi-front war. Knowing how I should behave and actually doing it were going to be two entirely separate battles. The struggle between paralyzing regret and the quiet acceptance that my dark action had been necessary would see me battling my inner demons. On top of that, I would have to fight to win Lunette back.

No matter what battles came, no matter the sacrifices required, I would have her.

Chapter 25

Lunette

The scent of bacon drifted through the room as my breakfast cooked, but my focus was on the hearth, where the fire flared and died in erratic, surging pulses. It was reacting to me. My magic had been unraveling at the edges for more than a week now, like a hem coming loose—slowly at first then faster and faster. I’d reinforced the wards three times this week already, only to wake each morning and find the protection thinning once more.

I watched the window as the villagers headed out to rob the dead. They left me to my silence, which was a mercy I desperately needed. I was more of a threat to them now than when I’d been directly threatening them. If they riled me up like they usually did, I wouldn’t just be a nuisance; I’d become a murderer in truth.

I was just dropping the eggs I’d cooked in the bacon fat between thick slices of bread when I heard the unmistakable sound of hoofbeats. I tossed Muffin a scrap and watched as he scrambled up into the rafters to enjoy his treat away from whatever trouble was coming our way.

I didn’t have that luxury.

Judging by the icy wind whipping down from the pass these last few days, a harsh winter was on its way. I wasn’t going to waste this meal for the inconvenience of helping one of my horrible neighbors. Each bite was a defiance against their scorn, against the bone-deep fatigue that no amount of sleep had been touching lately.

Nothing strengthens the will to live quite like spite.

As I ate, the snuffing and metallic clanking grew closer until I was sure there were multiple horses and multiple riders. Had Selmont finally formed a mob to take me down? I grinned, a dark amusement flickering within me at the grim thought.

The pounding on my door was violent enough to shake the frame.

My pulse raced wildly as fear’s icy grip tightened around me. Something told me that whatever waited beyond the latch wouldn’t just break the door, it would break me. After wiping my sweaty palms on my apron, I opened the door to see a soldier in forest green and gold.

His gauntleted right hand was still raised to knock. Under his left, he carried a cage of wood and metal. A soft blanket lined its bottom.

My eyes narrowed first on it then on him. This wasn’t the same man I’d seen talking to Owain the day he left. He was just as massively built but dressed more like a common soldier…if a well-paid one, judging by the state of his armor. But this visitor was a mage. The air around him hummed with a buzz of magic that felt like fire to my senses, setting my teeth on edge.

Evoker then.

He looked a bit startled at my furious expression. But really, what did he expect when showing up at a person’s house so early in the morning carrying a veska cage? Me to smile and welcome him in for morning pastries?

“Lady Lunette,” he said in a basso voice.