Chapter 30

Chapter Thirty

T allon had left shortly after his revelation, telling me to rest while I could. Sleep came easily as the sun broke over the horizon, and I slept undisturbed by nightmares. I wouldn't allow myself to ponder what that meant, that I had slept well after Tallon had murdered another servant and spent hours spilling gut-wrenching truth after truth.

Perhaps I would be able to move past it. Gods knew I wanted to. He had said I made him feel alive, but he made me feel the same. Being with him made me forget all else, and that was part of the problem.

What I could focus on, though, was what would come next. Rhyon was dead, and perhaps some part of my soul had known that, had understood what the nightmares truly meant.

While my heart ached knowing my brother had passed, the grief was manageable in a way I hadn't expected. I'd expected to be angry at Tallon and the world and Emyl for hiding it, and in some way I was, but the grief felt cold, a frozen stone set atop a gaping pit of blackness rather than the raging and volatile inferno I'd come to know.

Emyl was my focus now. Despite Tallon's insistence that he'd lied—and despite my quickness to believe Tallon over believing Emyl had simply made a mistake—I was more motivated than ever to get that treatment. He was truly the only family I had left in the world. The only person who was mine . And he would not want me if I could not redeem myself in his eyes.

Pushing the blankets to the foot of the bed, I began to dress for the party. I wanted to trust Tallon's assertion he would help me, especially after all he'd told me just hours ago, but until I had the treatment in hand or in sight, I would always be suspicious. Despite having all the power, he had none here, exactly like the rest of us.

Another part of me—the part that did not spend the entirety of my life aching for the approval and love of a family—might have forgiven him with just those words. But I could not. My mother had not been perfect, but she had been mine, and he'd taken her, no matter whose choice it had been. He had nearly killed me as well.

I had entered Castle Auretras with a mission, one that would not be complete until I had left it and returned home with the treatment for whoever remained.

Tallon had agreed to help me, and despite everything he'd lied to me about, last night there had been nothing but truth in his eyes. And I wasn't sure what scared me more: that or the certain hells I would face going up against Prince Eadric and his possessed castle.

My steps faltered as I approached the kitchen entryway. Licking my lips and tasting no ash, I finally took the last few steps inside.

The others looked up, and the room was silent and heavy, Talyssa's death hanging over us all.

"Is anyone else planning on doing anything stupid?" Maricara asked, pinning her gaze on me. Her voice might have almost been intimidating, if it hadn't wavered on the wave of unshed tears shining in her eyes. In that moment, I knew Maricara better than she likely ever wanted me to.

"Nothing that will come back to any of you," I admitted. This truth, I could give them. Too late, I had realized that Talyssa could have been an ally, that we could have made far more progress with each other than alone. I wouldn't make that mistake again, not even for the risk of Eadric discovering our plans. I would give no details, but I could give the truth.

She startled at my honesty, covering it with narrowed eyes. "See that it doesn't."

A silent agreement passed over the four of us, and without any further words or any taste of ash and smoke, we gathered our things and made our way to the ballroom just as the music began.

Another night in hell, for everyone involved.

Each face I passed, I now wondered if they were here under their own choosing or if they were prisoners just as we were. It hardly mattered at the end of the night, but it made me curious, nonetheless. Regardless of whether they felt trapped, they relished in the opulence around them, drinking and eating their fill, dancing their worries away while the world around them suffered.

Tallon, at least, made it clear he wanted nothing to do with the opulence, choosing instead to blend into the wall each night, watching over the party like a silent sentry. Waiting for instruction from his master.

Turning my path towards the table along the wall, I had spoken of the devil too soon. In front of me, Tallon and Prince Eadric were gathered away from the crowd, behind the table and nearly concealed by the columns once more. Yet again, the prince was upset with Tallon, and he stood there and took it.

The anger I'd been waiting for earlier, the one that spit flames into the void and consumed everything, flickered to life as Prince Eadric poked his finger into Tallon's chest. Beneath the mask, Tallon's jaw flexed, no doubt his teeth grinding together.

I loudly set the tray down, rattling the glasses on it and the surrounding table. Though I kept my head down, seemingly entrenched in my work, I felt when both of their eyes fell on me and bit back a smile. This distraction, my own show of solidarity for Tallon facing off against the prince, I could do.

It was foolish, given that Eadric could do whatever he wanted for whatever reason, but despite it, I wanted Tallon to know that I was here for him, that while I had not forgiven him, I did understand him, and we would help each other as we'd promised.

Prince Eadric huffed loudly, stomping away from Tallon. I raised my chin and met his gaze, not bowing or looking away as I should have. He froze and his eyes scanned me over, from the top of my veil to the ridiculous satin slippers beneath my dress.

"You have a meeting, Your Highness," Tallon interjected before Eadric could speak. "I will address the mishap with this servant."

He looked back at Tallon. "You'd do well to teach this pet some manners. Before I do."

The music reached a crescendo and swallowed whatever reply Tallon gave with his usual smirk, but as the prince stalked away, cutting his path through the crowd, Tallon made his own path to my side. I offered him a wry smile through my veil, a deep purple tonight, and continued setting out fresh glasses and food. "What did you say to him?"

"I'm sure I don't need to tell you how foolish that was, little wolf," he said, his body so close to mine I could feel the heat through the veil. "Why did you do that?"

"What did you say to him?" I repeated.

He sighed heavily, correctly realizing his question would not be answered until mine was. Beneath his mask, pink flushed his cheeks slightly. "I told him that I might like you with no manners."

If we'd been alone, I would have laughed, loudly and openly, but we weren't, so I bit down on my lip to keep from smiling too widely. "And you say I will get us in trouble."

His hand found mine beneath the fabric of the veil, warm even through my gloves. He tugged me away from the table to face him. "Don't do that again, please. If he ever got it in his head to be rid of you…" He grimaced. "Just don't give him ideas, please, Odyssa."

His thumb ran over my hand, tracing the line of the marks we both knew were there but were concealed by lace. The truth settled over me, and it was horrific. I couldn't let Tallon or myself stay in that headspace, thinking of all the ways he could kill me and have no choice. I squeezed his hand. "Didn't you hear, Tallon? I am quite hard to kill."

The chuckle he let out warmed my soul. "I hope you remain that way, little wolf. Now go, do your work and stay away from him. I will meet you later."

He didn't give me a chance to answer before he, too, was slipping into the crowd, following Eadric's path.

He'd barely left my side when Zaharya filled his place, snatching the tray from the table and thrusting it into my hands. "What was that?" she hissed. "Have you listened to nothing I've told you? Everyone is talking about you two, how he was holding your hand."

The blood rushed from my face, falling along with the smile that had been born of Tallon's humor. "Everyone?"

"Did you think no one was watching? They are always watching him." She paused from unloading her own tray. "They either want him, or they are afraid of him. And nothing good comes from being associated with either of those things."

"It is nothing, Zaharya. I am a game to him, nothing more," I muttered. I knew the words were a lie now, but before last night, they'd been my unquestionable truth, and I could still remember what holding that truth felt like. I could still emulate it to hide behind. Tallon was playing a game—we all were—but one of Prince Eadric's design, not his own.

"I suspect you are far from nothing to him, Odyssa," she said gravely. "And that's exactly what concerns me."

"I—"

"I know you see a kinship in him with the marks. I know he has been mostly kind to you. But last night should have proven to you more than anything that you cannot trust him. He is an executioner, and everyone knows it." She spun on her heel and left me standing there, speechless.

Slowly, I returned to my work, her words echoing in my head.

Now that she'd said something, I felt the eyes on me from the party, and they made my skin crawl. I could only hope my own mask was as solid as Tallon's, because based on the smirk I could feel him shooting my way, I was going to need it later during our hour in his room.