“So that’s why you brought him,” Mags whispered.
Janek was the oldest hunter in the pack, not as nimble as he once was, but he was the closest thing Raff had to an expert in Eldritch customs. Before, it was never an issue. The Pax Protocols existed to keep everyone in check, and even if toes got stepped on, there were no grave consequences. Nowadays a diplomatic breach could turn a casual conversation in a charnel house.
“My pleasure,” Lileth was saying.
“I must excuse myself as well. Unfortunately, work requires a little of my attention, but I’ll certainly join the hunt this afternoon.” Thalia smiled and waved, every inch the princess, despite her utilitarian garb.
With that, the Eldritch left them in the courtyard, the first time Raff had been unattended—apart from sleep—since their arrival. Mags took off at once; he presumed she had plans to do some snooping. What she hoped to find here, he had no idea, except that it must relate to the disappearance of the Ash Valley second.
His guards exchanged looks that told him they’d rather not stick to him like gum, so he said, “Feel free to do as you wish. I’m safe enough here.”
He hoped.
As soon as he split from the group and rounded a corner, someone pounced on him from behind and slammed his face into the stone. Under normal circumstances, he’d use his exceptional strength to knock this asshole across the room and then possibly bite his face off. Raff stilled instead. He recognized this scent from Ash Valley, blood and cinnamon.
“Use your words, Gavriel.”
With a sibilant curse, the Noxblade released him. “I warn you, wolf. The princess is not for you. Leave this place before something worse happens.”
Before he could respond, Mags was on Gavriel from behind, twisting his arm behind his back until he let out a furious cry. “I’m something worse,” she whispered, right in his ear. “And Raff is under my protection.”
Funny as it would be to let this situation unspool, he couldn’t afford to start marital talks from a position of damage control. “Let him go. We’ll use our words too, Mags.”
“You brought me as your bodyguard,” she said, tightening her hold.
Any more force and she’d snap the bone. While Noxblades might be tremendous assassins, they probably took weeks, not days, to heal an injury like that. Raff pried her fingers away and Gavriel stumbled back a few steps, eyes blazing hate.
“How dare you bring your mistress here!” He spat the question more like a curse, and Mags balled up a fist.
“I belong to only myself.” She took a step toward Gavriel.
Raff held her back, barely. It required all his strength. “Leave us. He won’t hurt me. He respects the princess far too much to violate her oath of hospitality.”
Gavriel spoke through clenched teeth. “That…is true. Come with me. Now.”
He followed the Noxblade to the ramparts, where a chill wind sliced through his winter woolens like frosted steel. “Go ahead, speak your warning. If I hurt her, you will poison me, so I die in slowest agony, and then you’ll carve out my heart and offer it to crows and so on.”
The Noxblade simply stared at him. “None of that makes any sense. Slow poison makes it more likely that you’ll be caught, an antidote administered. And if you died of poison, why would I feed your heart to innocent birds?”
“You take things far too literally,” Raff said, laughing. “Didn’t you bring me here to threaten me?”
“Much as I would like to, there are more important matters at hand.”
“Then, by all means, continue convincing me not to wed Princess Thalia.”
“You take nothing seriously and you seem to care only for your own pleasure. You are no fit match for her, and you will only add to her burden in time.”
Raff lost patience then, itching to plant a fist in this bastard’s face. “What the hell are you even saying, man?”
“Haven’t you considered at all what a disastrous mésalliance this would be? When she’s still bright and beautiful, she’ll be chained to you, though you’ll be a doddering, toothless old hound by then.”
He had considered the disparity in their lifespans, but he wasn’t about to share his conclusions. His tone was sharp as a naked blade when he replied, “Unless she asked you to speak for her, shut the hell up. It’s embarrassing to see you froth jealousy that masquerades as concern for your lady.”
Gavriel fell silent, his gaze drifting over the walls and toward the cloudy horizon. “I’ll say one thing more, then. She may look cold and strong, but she has been alone for most of her life, fighting harder than anyone can imagine. Please, by all the gods you hold sacred, be gentle with her.”
“I will.” Raff was surprised to find that he meant it.
5.
Seven reports, no good news.
All three houses had forces in the field, trying to discern Thalia’s true strength. After what her father had done at Ash Valley, none of the great families wanted to ally with her in case she turned out to be a traitor as well. Add in the grandiose ambitions of small minds that saw this conflict as a chance to rise to power and the situation became untenable.
With a snap, she closed the final dossier and rose, popping her neck and shoulders. She only had that freedom because she was alone; Lileth would have chided her for revealing the vulnerability. It seemed like a hundred years since she’d slept soundly, more than a few hours at a time, but it was probably only ten.
Only.
The strategy room smelled faintly of smoke, as the chimney hadn’t been cleaned in who knew how long. On schedule, the knock sounded at the heavy door that guarded her privacy, and then her aide stepped into the room.
“Are you ready?” Lil asked.
Thalia inclined her head. “As I shall be. Did you bring my armor and weapons?”
“You mean to participate
