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While misguided, I’d chosen to accept a lot of Cornaith’s demands when he put Rae to trial in Cholian for the sake of duty and the safety of my brothers. I couldn’t blame Rinlora for doing essentially the same thing.
I understood her now. That didn’t erase what she’d done, but I couldn’t condemn her without acknowledging how many times Cornaith had forced us into the same kind of choice.
It’d be hypocritical not to give the woman a chance to redeem herself.
“Then there’s Kavina,” Ezra said.
“What happened to Kavina?”
“Father tasked her with reporting any magic or signs of transformation after your arrival in Niemna.”
I took Rae’s hand. “She admitted it to us when she came with Rinlora to get our help in rescuing you. I was unconscious, but the guys told me about it.”
“She didn’t lie to you or do anything to you,” Zeke said. “She just didn’t tell you what her job was.”
“She asserts that she developed a genuine affinity for you, which made her uncomfortable continuing Father’s task without informing us.”
Rae glanced down at her lap, her expression oddly void of emotion, but her scent soured in the air momentarily. When she looked up at us, her jaw was set.
Zeke frowned. “Rae?”
“Cornaith is an asshole. If she didn’t do her job, he’d probably do something awful to her like the rest of you.” Her fists clenched. “At least she told the truth.”
The way Rae understood each of our betrayals said a lot about her character.
Cornaith controlled us so tightly that if he wished, he could compel us to act against our true selves, harming those we loved most. And Rae was there, accepting all of us regardless.
Each time she resisted Cornaith’s power, not allowing his game to break her and her relationships, I found myself falling deeper in love with her.
Zeke looked between us. “So, what do we do? If Cornaith is the one behind all this, what can we do?”
Rae’s expression changed then, as did her scent.
Ezra coughed, and my lip curled.
Cyn reached out and grasped her leg, likely without thinking.
Zeke shifted on the bed. “What’s wrong?”
“We’re trapped here until they come get us, right?” Rae looked to Ezra for confirmation. At his nod, she said, “Then we can’t stop him. What if Cornaith sends more guards to come get me for the Sephra clan?”
“I’m not sure the ones we fought in the Jinphni District are from the palace,” Ezra said.
“Then who were they?”
I hated how her voice wavered.
“Likely Dugorigi’s guard. Still part of the Elyrdin Guard under our control, but under assignment for the large Sephra compound in northeast Elyrdin.”
“So why wouldn’t they come for me?”
“That isn’t happening,” Cyn said, gripping her ankle. “I won’t let it.”
“None of us will,” I reassured her as chimes from the door downstairs echoed through the house.
55
THE GAME
