44. Reina

Chapter forty-four

Reina

E ldest.

Sister?

I peek around Jasper at the terrifying woman. "Belle?"

"It's Scarlett now." She grins and opens her arms to reveal she has no weapons. "Scarlett the Bloodletter, Spider Queen of the Underbelly, and a Princess of Ruin."

My brain stops working.

"But…" Apparently my mouth hasn't stopped working. "Where have you been?"

She chuckles. "I was hiding, biding my time until I could come rescue you."

"Rescue me?" I ask with much more incredulity than I intended. The brain is still not joining the party.

"Not just you, little sunflower. All the Princesses of Ruin."

"You keep saying that," Jasper says. "What do you mean?"

"Has a nice ring to it, doesn't it?" She shrugs. "It's what we daughters of the dark goddess Ashai call ourselves because we will be her ruin and take her reign."

That name.

"So, you already know?" I ask her.

"It took us a considerable amount of time to get this knowledge, but yes. We know many things, including her plans." She turns toward the tavern we were avoiding. "Would you like to come inside and discuss it over a meal? Alyse had them make your favorite."

"Alyse." My voice breaks on her name and my throat tightens. "She's okay?"

Belle seesaws her head. "More or less. She's a bit deranged, honestly. Even darker than me."

"Deranged!" I shout, unable to stop the fury of injustice. "Alyse is soft and kind and quiet. You know nothing of her! You were never there!"

"So quick to judge." Belle stops on the steps and turns to me slowly, a broad smile plastered on her full lips, but pain lingers in her eyes. "I never knew you'd grow up to have so much fire in you." She reaches out and taps me on the nose.

A blink later, Jasper's pistol is pointed at her face. "Touch her again," he snarls, sounding more like a demon than a man.

Belle rolls her eyes, completely unperturbed by the threat. "Deranged doesn't conflict with soft or kind or quiet. She is still very much the things you believe her to be."

She turns back and ascends the stairs into the tavern, addressing the woman in black that guards the door. "Have their horse brought round to the stables. I'm sure Kor'Tar is looking forward to a new challenge."

The woman in black dips her head, her eyes wincing in a smile. "Yes, Bloodletter."

"She's a beast of a thing. What's her name?" Belle throws over her shoulder.

"Winifred," I say offhandedly, following without really meaning to.

Belle holds open the door to the tavern. "You know, Alyse was on her way to the gate to welcome you. Friendly face and all to lighten the mood a bit. But you just had to run off. Now you get me, the one who knows nothing and wasn't there."

Guilt creeps in but I banish it. My assessment isn't incorrect. Belle abandoned us, and despite saying she was trying to rescue us, she w asn't there.

Jasper looks at me questioning, and I nod. He keeps ahead of me slightly, like he's anticipating an ambush, as we follow Scarlett .

We step through the door guarded by what I can only assume is one of the Spider Lord's loyal followers, and the delicious promise of my favorite food overcomes my senses. My mouth instantly waters and my stomach growls at the scent of roasted goat, potatoes, garlic, and rosemary. Two massive legs of lamb, spit-roasted to perfection, sit on the single table set up in the center of the large room.

At one end of the table is the unmistakable Alastair Brunay, Lily's guard and Cora's son. Lily appears behind him as she comes to set a flagon down on the table. She stretches up and then Alastair leans down and…

Kisses.

Her.

"What the fuck ?" I shout.

"Reina!" Lily wipes her hands off on her pants and runs toward me with open arms.

"What did I just witness?" I ask in much too shrill a voice.

Alastair ducks his head sheepishly.

"We're married!" she exclaims, pushing Jasper's attempt to shield me aside as she hugs me.

My body is a bit numb, and my brain is still checked out. "Oh, congratulations," is what I manage. She was in love with Alastair for years before she swore off her infatuation and left him behind for school. I guess she didn't swear off it hard enough.

Lily beams as she pulls back, then looks at Jasper. "Who's this?"

I shake my head to get the blood flowing and rational thought moving with it. "Lily Hilden, this is Jasper Luvine."

Lily reaches out to take his hand. He accepts the gesture, and she shakes it vigorously. "Nice to meet you! Hope you didn't fuck my sister so hard she can't sit for dinner."

"Princess!" Alastair snaps from across the room and Scarlett snickers.

My cheeks feel like they're on fire as I stammer.

Lily leers. "Oh, no, he did, didn't he!"

"Lily," Alastair warns again, and she only smiles bigger. She loves this.

"No, I think I'm fine to sit," I say. "In fact, my feet are aching."

"Come on, stay for a while!" Lily pulls the straps of my pack off and sets the bag in the corner. "We've gone through all this effort to make this meal again . You were supposed to be here last night, you know, which is how I know you're probably late because Muscles Suntan over here had you screaming—"

"Liliana Hilden, you're crossing a line," Alastair booms, cutting her off.

She rolls her eyes as she takes Jasper's pack. "Oh, no, will it be extra spankings tonight?"

Alastair covers his face with his hand and sighs.

"Somehow you've come back from finishing school cruder ," I say to her.

She smiles wider. "Thank you!"

"Kazimir, stop it." Alyse's voice reaches me from outside.

I whirl around, my breath caught in my chest and my heart waiting. The door bangs open and a lithe man with white-blond hair and an imposing scowl stares me down. He looks somewhat familiar, but I can't place him.

"Move aside," Alyse snaps, pushing the tall man into the tavern.

Tears blur my vision as I behold her, alive and well. "'Lyse," I croak.

She runs toward me and I meet her in the middle. We slam together and I wail, desperately pulling at her hair and shirt as I hug her closer. My arms shake and my knees give out, but Alyse holds my weight as we slide to the floor.

"I thought, you, died," I manage through tearful gasps.

She smooths the back of my head and rocks us side to side. "I did. They had a funeral and everything."

"What?" I ask, pulling back a measure. The white-haired man—possibly Kazimir—is looming behind Alyse like the Grim Reaper, staring down at me like I'm a threat. I gasp at the sight of him, but then his gaze flicks up to something behind me. I look over my shoulder to see Jasper, pistol held at the ready and opal shimmering in his eyes as he glares at Kazimir.

Alyse wipes some of my tears, pulling my attention back to her. "Our men are just feral, aren't they? We should have them go to the stables where beasts belong," she says with a laugh.

Kazimir glances down at her and takes two measured steps backward.

"What happened to you?" I ask, tears swelling again.

"Let's have some dinner and we'll share everything," she says, pulling me up to stand. "I'm sure you have quite the adventure to tell us, too."

We turn to the dining table and another man is there standing next to Scarlett. His face is expressionless as he takes me in. It's as if he's looking at an object and not a person. I'm so very used to that…but it still puts me on edge.

"I'll start," Alyse says as she pulls us down to the family-style bench. She grabs the plate in front of me and begins loading it with crispy potatoes, creamy dill goat cheese, slices of roasted meat, and fresh bread. I'm so happy I could cry again.

Alyse sets the plate in front of me, then gestures to the tall, silent man who watches over her like she's precious. "This is Kazimir, by the way."

And then it clicks. "The palace archivist?"

He looks at me with a hawkish stare.

"Formerly," Alyse says as she loads up another plate. She sets it down and then gestures at Jasper to join me.

He sits on my left and Alyse plops down on my right. Kazimir stands behind her, touching her shoulders gently.

"Kazimir rescued me from my fiancé Ladron, but I had to pretend to die to ensure I could escape for good. I was buried a few days after you were abducted." She pauses, glaring at Jasper around me. "But fortunate that you were because our wretched mother was more interested in going after you than attending my funeral. Kazimir dug me up and brought me back here, our new home from which we will launch the war."

"But you were bleeding—everywhere," I whisper as visions of Alyse, nude and sullied, crying for help, flash before my eyes.

Alyse's brow furrows and her voice whispers in my mind, "Sweet sister, don't dwell on that terrible vision."

I gasp. "You spoke in my mind. Leesy, have your powers grown?"

She nods. "I can hear the thoughts of everyone in this room easily. I try not to intrude, keeping a barrier up most times, but some things are just too loud to ignore. Like your distress and fear." She tilts forward and wraps one arm around me. "I'm sorry I did that to you. It had to be believable."

I lean into her. "It was."

"All right, I'm going mad," Lily says as she sits down across from me. She grabs a thick knife and points between me and Jasper. "I want the story of this ."

I look at Jasper. How much can I tell them? Does he want to keep his true identity a secret?

He grabs my hand under the table. "Do you trust them?"

I look between my sisters, then Scarlett, still standing a few paces away from the table with the other man, who must be Zane, the Spider Lord.

She puts her hands up. "Suppose I'll take my meal back to the Nest."

I huff. "No. If they trust you, I suppose by extension, I can too."

"By extension," she chuckles. She approaches the table and sits farthest from us.

"Reina, don't be upset with her," Alyse says. "She has a very good reason."

"I suppose if she wants to explain herself," I say with vitriol.

"No!" Lily declares. "I need the hot, juicy details first." She stops cutting off hunks of meat to point the knife at Jasper again. "He stole you from the palace like a common thief! How are you in love with him? Please, I need to understand."

I take a deep breath. "Where to begin…"

"I'll start," Jasper says, squeezing my hand. Then he gives me a scoundrelly smirk. "You were unconscious, anyway."