The action strikes me as odd. He does nothing altruistically.
“Healing. Perhaps even some sort of potion?”
Fuck.
“And you think that her troll friend does not have the ability to do that?” Castien retorts.
Arion laughs. Then he leans forward. One of his Kingsguard steps to his side, and draws his blade.
My heart stops. The stone inside of me sings, as if it could see exactly what kind of chaos and destruction could explode out of this room. Blood would soak the carpets. And Vesilane? I need to get closer to her room.
“Very convincing. You are quite charming. You come to my court with power, with the offering of help. Everyone told me that you would never work with me, an elven king, after what happened to your family.” Arion tilts his head to the side, and I begin to slowly creep in the shadows of the upper hall toward where Vesilane stays. “And maybe they were right.”
“My king?—”
“We have proof that you visited the dungeons, without authorization, after the interrogation.”
Castien betrays no emotion.
Good. Let them see nothing, I think, still lurking in the shadows.
“I know someone has betrayed me. So tell me, is it you?”
Castien laughs.
“You are right that it would be…ironic for me to serve you after the past. But I am not your traitor.” Castien smiles. He holds all the confidence in the world—he always has. “In fact, I know who it is. Someone who has visited the dungeons often, and your wife’s bedchambers even more frequently.”
King Arion straightens. “Spit the name out or lose your head.”
Castien’s smile grows stronger somehow.
“Warden Thorne.”
My mind races. Thorne the traitor? He took Arlet—it is only right that he should pay for what he’s done.
The king thinks on the response, then stands.
“In respect for all you have done for me in the last month, I will grant you the kindness of checking,” he says. “But if you are lying, I will use everything I have to obliterate you, your family, and your court.”
The shadows in the room bend, shifting closer to Castien. His pleasant features twist into a scowl.
“I would not come into my home with threats, Your Majesty. My kindness has limits,” he drawls. Low.
Dangerous.
I swear, I almost see Arion flinch.
“We shall see each other soon, Castien,” Arion says. And then they brush out of the room. I retreat back into the shadows as they run. I notice then that they seem to wrap around me. Caressing me, as if Castien knew I was watching.
“Till then,” Castien responds. Then he turns to where I stand, and smiles with a wink.
I nod, and he turns off to find Vesilane.
As it has always been.
Chapter 39
ARLET