A Court of Bones & Sorrow (Lunaria Realms #2)

Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

Samara

I fixed my features into a bemused, somewhat haughty expression as I entered the small dining hall several hours later. When it had become clear earlier that the Heirs wouldn’t be leaving any time soon, I’d excused myself and left Kieran and Alaric to deal with them while I’d arranged rooms for them to stay in.

Really, as the Heir, that wasn’t my responsibility—I should have asked Kieran to do that since he was a courtier of House Harker—but if I hadn’t left that room, I likely would have stabbed either Demetri or Draven.

Or both.

Once the rooms were ready, I’d returned and directed everyone to where they would be staying and threw out a time for when dinner would start. I was sure they’d been conspiring with each other after I’d left them to it, or maybe chatting with whatever spies they had in my House, but I was tired, and there wasn’t anything I could do about it at the moment.

Since then, I’d spent the remainder of the afternoon and early evening diving into all the paperwork that had piled up on my desk, enjoying the solitude and losing myself to the management of the House. Kieran had dropped off tea for me at one point but left me alone otherwise. I suspected he’d been busy speaking with Alaric, who had done his best to avoid looking at me.

I raised my eyebrow at Draven as I walked across the room. As the Moroi Prince, he should have chosen one of the seats at the head of the table, but instead, he’d chosen to sit to the right of it, with Alaric and Kieran sitting opposite. I’d invited Vail, but I wasn’t surprised to see he wasn’t here. He might have come if it had been just us and Draven, but once he’d learned the other Heirs would be joining us as well, he’d likely opted to stay away.

If only I had that option. I had no doubt this dinner was going to be a mixture of frustrating and awkward.

“Sorry, I’m late.” I took a seat at the head of the table. “I got caught up in some reports from the Riverfell outpost and lost track of time.” It wasn’t a lie. House Harker had almost half a dozen outposts that fell under our responsibility to protect, and I took that seriously.

“It’s fine. As you can see, the other Heirs are following the standard protocol of arriving at least ten minutes late to any social event,” Draven said smoothly. “This just gave me and your friends an opportunity to chat.”

“Oh?” I reached for a glass of wine. “Discuss anything interesting?”

“Just the standard topics that arise when running a House.” He cocked his head, his eyes never leaving mine. “Did you get up to anything interesting this afternoon? Was your rest sufficient before the Heirs arrived?”

Both Kieran and Alaric snapped their gazes to the prince, but he just smiled.

“Would it kill you two to be less obvious?” I muttered.

Draven chuckled. “It seems when it comes to you, Kieran struggles to be subtle.” His eyes flitted briefly to Alaric. “And it appears he has similar issues. The three of you should be aware of that. It’s a weakness just waiting to be exploited, and you must know the other Heirs will jump at the chance.”

The muscles hardened along Alaric’s jawline as he swung to look back at me. I didn’t need to have the ability to read minds, because I knew his thought was, See? I told you this was a bad idea.

“How kind of you to warn us. We’ll make a note to practice our acting in the future.” I turned to face Draven and held my wine glass up in salute. “After we rest of course. Very. Thoroughly. Rest.”

“You’re always a delight to play with.” Draven grinned. “I can’t wait to marry you.”

“She’s no—” Kieran started, but I cut him off with a glare, and his mouth clicked shut.

“As I said earlier, I’m considering your proposal, but you’re going to have to convince me. Something you’re not doing a very good job of at the moment.”

“I’d let you keep them.” Draven shrugged. His casual expression was betrayed by the way he carefully glanced at Kieran, who was currently looking at me. “Whatever makes you happy.”

Kieran stiffened, as if he knew who those words were really directed at. Just as I opened my mouth to tell Draven where he could shove his offer, the other Heirs flowed into the room and took their seats at the table. Only Demetri slowed at seeing Draven sitting next to me instead of at one of the head seats. His eyes hardened as he sat next to Alaric. The other two Heirs sat across from him, with Aniella next to Draven and Ary next to her.

“Did you see the report from the Riverfell outpost, Ary?” I asked. Even though the outpost was in Harker territory, I knew the Tepes Heir liked to keep track of all monster attacks in the Moroi realm. A door swung open before he could answer, several members of the staff carrying in plates, setting them in front of us, and then leaving without a word. Though a dark-haired young girl caught my eye on the way out, arching an eyebrow before scurrying after the others.

I hid my grin. Olena. She absolutely loved to gossip and had probably been delighted to be working tonight. I’d need to find her tomorrow morning and see if there were any interesting rumors circulating about the prince’s or Heirs’ visits here.

“Fish.” Draven sighed happily. “You coastal houses have it so lucky.”

Alaric frowned at the slap of white fish meat on his plate. “You get sick of it after a while.”

“No, you don’t,” Kieran and I said at the same time. Then we grinned at each other as Alaric rolled his eyes.

“I agree with Draven.” Aniella shoved in a mouthful and closed her eyes as she thoughtfully chewed. “We never get fish so far inland. It’s all root vegetables or questionable meat I choose not to think about. Maybe some fresh fruit in the summer months.”

“To answer your previous question, Samara,” Ary said, “I did see the report. I’m not sure if you’ve had a chance to review the history of that particular outpost, but?—”

“They had similar incidents last year,” I interrupted, “which means this problem isn’t going to just go away.”

Ary grunted and dug into his food with significantly less gusto than the rest of us. Clearly, he was also not a fan of fish. Draven sent me a questioning look.

“Spine-backed boars,” I explained. “There aren't as many here as in the Velesians' realm, but they do occasionally make their way this far south. Riverfell is almost dead center in Moroi territory, and there are a lot of animal migration trails that go directly through it from the north.”

“I know where it is,” Draven said lightly. My fork stopped halfway to my mouth for a split second before I continued the motion, fighting to keep my expression neutral as I chewed on the fish. It tasted like ashes on my tongue now. As the prince of the Sovereign House, it was expected that he knew all the outpost locations and some basic information about them, but Draven had always come across as more of a pretty figurehead. Did he know the location of this one because the wraiths were planning on attacking it?

My stomach churned. I’d need to find Vail after this and tell him to increase the rangers stationed there just in case. We could use the boar problem as a cover.

“The boars showed up late in the growing season last year.” My voice came out smooth, not betraying even a hint of the panic blooming inside my chest. “The hope was that it was a fluke. Sometimes they venture a little further south than usual, but they always go back.”

“The herd has almost tripled in size from what I’ve been told. That’s a lot of meat,” Ary mused and grinned at Alaric. “Think of all the not fish you could be eating.”

“We need to take care of the herd for multiple reasons,” Alaric replied. “They’ve almost annihilated half the crops of that outpost, which is one of our best-producing ones. Plus, where there is prey, there will be predators.”

“Still, Ary raises a good point.” I swirled my wineglass. “If we can slaughter a good portion of the herd, it’ll make up for some of the lost crops.” I’d looked at the numbers. We couldn’t afford to lose any type of food resource. Most of our food these days came from the outposts, and we’d already lost almost a dozen of them to the wraiths. We’d be okay this year, but if the trend continued, things would get bad. Fast.

“Have any of you ever hunted spine-backed boars?” Draven glanced at each of us curiously. Alaric and Kieran shook their heads, but I just smiled .

“Seriously, Sam?” Kieran complained. “And you didn’t bring me?”

“You’re too pretty for hunts,” I teased.

“She’s right,” Draven agreed, and Kieran’s smile slid off his face. Something flashed across Draven’s face, but it was gone before I could figure out what it had been. “I would love to hear this tale, Samara.”

I took a sip of wine and felt Alaric’s heavy gaze on me. When I met his eyes, he looked quickly at Kieran and Draven before focusing on me again. Ah. So he’d picked up on the weird tension between them. Usually, Alaric was . . . not great at reading people. It was why the two of us worked so well together on House responsibilities. He had a sharp mind and was better versed in the current state of things since I’d been away at House Laurent for years, but he often failed to take into account how people’s emotions could impact their motivations and therefore influence trade negotiations.

Kieran was his friend, and while Alaric and I had our problems, he was a loyal and good friend to Kieran. I gave him the smallest shake of my head, and he looked away. It wasn’t my story to tell, but I would try to convince Kieran to explain things to Alaric so Draven couldn’t blindside him with the information the same way he’d done to me. I also suspected Alaric’s reaction to Draven hurting his friend might be . . . explosive.

“Ary actually knows this story since he was there too,” I said.

He laughed and raised his pint of ale. “True, but why don’t you tell it and I’ll help fill in the details? You were always a better storyteller than me.” He winked at me, and suddenly Draven, Kieran, and Alaric were hyper-focused on the Tepes Heir. He just laughed under his breath and drank half of his honey ale in one gulp in response.

“I was visiting my friend, Rynn?— ”

“Of course you were,” Kieran groaned, giving me a pointed look. Even Alaric cracked a grin, his death glare dropping away from Ary. “Any trouble you get up to always begins and ends with Rynn.”

“That’s not true,” I said defensively. “Sometimes it’s Cali’s fault.”

“Yeah, but I would never say that.” Kieran’s eyebrows shot up. “Calypso scares the shit out of everyone except you and Rynn.”

“Calypso scares the shit out of everyone,” Aniela agreed around a mouthful of fish. She’d almost cleared her plate, and I waved at the servant hovering inside the room to bring her a second helping.

“You’re friends with Calypso Rayne?” Draven cocked his head at me.

“She’s my best friend.” I raised my chin and dared him to say anything about her. It’d been years since a Furie had lost themselves and turned on us all, but everyone remained wary of them and was more than happy they preferred to stay within their borders of the badlands.

Except Cali. She traveled all over Lunaria and practically flaunted her shadow magic.

My friend was from the most powerful of all the Furie bloodlines and the one most known for going insane, which would not be happening. I refused to lose her, and Rynn felt the same. If Cali ever lost herself to the rage she kept chained within her soul, we’d just drag her back with our fangs and claws.

“The Rayne bloodline—” he started to say carefully, but I cut him off with a wave of my hand.

Then I leaned forward on the table, placing both hands flat on the wood surface as I let a little more of my bloodlust out. I had no doubt my eyes had darkened to black pools as my nails grew and hardened until claws dug into the hard wood .

“Sam,” Kieran warned, but I ignored him, not taking my eyes off the prince. Draven’s eyes had turned almost completely bloodred as the predator in him watched me carefully.

“Calypso fucking Rayne has single-handledly turned the tide of more than one fight that would have ended in the slaughter of Moroi and Velesians if she hadn’t stepped in,” I snarled. “She’s never asked for anything, and she doesn’t say anything as you fucks whisper behind her back while also begging her to help. I will not tolerate you or anyone else talking shit about her.”

I pointed a clawed finger at him in warning before sinking back into my chair and letting my bloodlust fall away, taking with it my claws and black eyes. I kept the fangs out though and flashed them at Draven before swiping my wineglass off the table and taking a deep drink.

Ary snickered. He was used to me letting my bloodlust loose and often did the same. Aniella was eying me curiously, no doubt noting how easily I could slip in and out of bloodlust. I didn’t bother looking at Demetri. He would no doubt be horrified.

The red faded from Draven’s eyes as he picked up his own glass. “I was going to say, before you interrupted, that the Rayne bloodline is a powerful ally to have.” He raised his glass. “And that your powerful alliances are just another reason why the marriage between us makes so much sense.”

“Perhaps you should work harder on convincing me what you would bring to the marriage.” I raised my own glass in salute. “Other than your pretty looks.”

Someone, I was pretty sure it was Aniella, choked on a laugh.

“Well, at least you acknowledge that I’m pretty.” He smiled, and fuck me, it was a very nice smile. Too bad the Moroi it was attached to was responsible for so many innocent deaths. Even if his mother were the mastermind behind all of this, he still went along with it.

“It’s hard for me to picture Rynn hunting spine-backed boars,” Alaric said, and it took me a minute to realize he was steering us back to the original conversation. “She’s so . . .” He furrowed his brows, as if searching for the right word. “She’s just Rynn. Soft-spoken and thoughtful Rynn.”

I laughed. “That she is, but our dear, sweet Rynn shifts into a nearly five-hundred-pound wolf whose bite will give you nightmares. Have you ever seen her lycanthrope form?”

Alaric shook his head. “I haven’t actually been around many Velesians in their shifted forms.”

“It’s impressive. They’re all ridiculously large but can move with absolute silence. As if the wilds favor them over every other creature that wanders the forests.” A small, playful grin tugged at my lips. “Rynn, in particular, is very good at sneaking around. When the three of us were at Drudonia, we’d often sneak out at night and play our own version of hide-and-seek in the forests. Two of us would hide, and the third would hunt. It would drive Cali insane because Rynn always won. We could never find her if she didn’t want to be found, and she’d always find us unless Cali cheated and took to the air where we couldn’t follow.”

“The three of you went into the woods at night on your own?” Draven stared at me in disbelief. Apparently, I’d finally managed to surprise him.

“The wilds surrounding Drudonia are heavily patrolled.” I shrugged. “It’s rare for any of the beasts to get close, and avoiding the rangers only made it more fun.” I glanced at Alaric and then Kieran in panic. “Don’t tell Vail.”

“You’re asking us to lie?” Kieran’s expression was full of mock horror. “To our beloved Marshal?”

“Feels like we should get something for putting ourselves in such potential peril,” Alaric chimed in. “Lying to Vail is a risk. Even a lie of omission. So what would you offer us, Samara?”

My mouth hung open in what I was sure was a very unattractive way, but I couldn’t help it. Alaric was joking. With me. About sex. Maybe there was hope for us after all.

Ary and Aniela were watching the exchange with amused expressions, no doubt filing all this information away in case it was useful later, while Demetri’s gaze kept bouncing between Kieran and Alaric, like he couldn’t decide which one of them he hated more.

“I’ll think of something worth your while.” I finally recovered and winked at Alaric, and the corners of his lips quirked into the barest of smiles.

Maybe whatever conversation he’d had with Kieran this afternoon had helped him come to terms with us. A little bit of hope filled me.

“Sometimes, Rynn would help me avoid Cali while we played this game of hers, so I was used to being around her when she was in her wolf form. I was visiting her in Narchis territory when a hunt was declared, and she invited me along. Well . . . I invited myself along, but she went with it.”

“And you?” Draven looked at Ary. “How did you get involved in this?”

Ary smiled politely. “I like to get a bit of exercise now and then. Since Tepes’ lands border Narchis’ ones, they occasionally invite me on hunts.”

I snorted. Currently, Ary was dressed in a beautiful, deep red tunic with gold threads, and glittering rings lined his fingers. He’d taken the time to shave and clean up before dinner, and now he appeared as nothing more than a handsome and well-kept Heir . . . but I knew he was far more comfortable covered in blood with his claws buried in the gut of a monster.

The Velesians loved to go hunting with Ary. He was insane and feared nothing. I really hoped he wasn’t mixed up in this wraith business, because he was not someone I wanted to have as an enemy. If I could sway him to our side though . . . he’d be an excellent ally.

“It was invigorating hunting under the moonlight.” I smiled at the memory. “Rynn’s birth pack was hunting that night, so it was mostly lycanthropes with a few ailuranthropes mixed in, but the panthers stuck to the trees, and I rarely saw them.”

“How did they bring the boars down?” Draven rose and grabbed the wine bottle at the center of the table to refill his glass before walking around to refill mine. He glanced at Alaric, who shook his head, sticking with his honey ale. Kieran pointedly ignored Draven, who eventually sighed and returned to his seat.

“Easiest way is to get them on their backs—their bellies are their weak spot,” Ary explained.

“I’m sure that’s not hard at all,” Draven quipped.

I huffed a laugh. A full-grown boar weighed close to eight hundred pounds. They were named for the nearly foot-long spikes they could raise down their spine, but those spikes actually covered most of their body, shorter below the spine but every bit as sharp. Their legs and belly were vulnerable though, and if you got too close, they would basically throw their body at you, relying on both their weight and spines to inflict damage.

Boars might technically be prey animals who preferred to root around for nuts and berries rather than tear flesh from bone, but they were ill-tempered and highly aggressive. Lunaria was a land of monsters. Some of those monsters just happened to be herbivores.

“The pack would split up,” I explained. “Half of them would get the boars into a panic so they would run, then the other half would run at them head-on and slam their bodies against their sides. It takes careful timing, and the angle has to be perfect, but if you hit the boars right, you can flatten the spikes back down against their body to avoid getting impaled and cause them to stumble, ideally falling completely.”

“Exposing their undersides,” Draven mused. “Clever.”

“And what were you doing?” Alaric cocked his head.

“She was being insane.” Ary lifted his wine glass to me, and I raised mine back, a wicked grin on my face.

“There is another weak spot you can exploit. The spines that run along their back and neck are longer but less dense than the rest of the ones on their body. If you shoot an arrow at the base of their neck, you can sever the vertebrae and take them down in a second.”

Alaric frowned. “You’d have to shoot at the same angle as the spikes, which means you’d need to be both behind and above them.”

“There are dried-up riverbeds all over their territory, and they create narrow channels. Rynn convinced a few pack members to chase some of the boars down them. I would run along the edges and leap across to the other side. At the apex of my jump, I’d have the perfect angle. Could bring down three or four each time,” I said smugly.

“You’re good with a crossbow?” Draven asked.

Alaric and Kieran snorted, but it was Kieran who answered. “Samara isn’t good with a crossbow. She’s excellent. Pretty sure she’s a better shot than any of our rangers, Vail included.”

“And let’s not forget the bloody knives,” Alaric muttered, drawing a grin out of me.

“There are no helpful riverbeds down here, so it’ll be difficult for me to pull out that trick,” I said.

“I could throw you.” Ary sent me a heated look. “It’s not exactly how I’ve always wanted to get my hands on you, but I’ll take what I can get. Perhaps offer to rub down your muscles after the hunt . . .”

“You should stick to hunting, Ary.” Aniela laughed. “Your flirtations continue to be awful.”

“They worked on you.” He arched a thick, dark brow at her.

My eyes widened as I looked at the two Heirs who I’d always thought hated each other. “Did you know that?” I gave Kieran a wide-eyed stare.

He shrugged. “Old news. Happened two years ago, not long after Aniela was named Heir.” He looked at the beautiful Moroi female who wore a simple, emerald green dress that did wonders for her red hair. “Summer equinox, if I remember correctly. You’d just been dumped by that cute blond boy you’d been seeing all spring.”

Aniela glared at him. “He wasn’t cute , he was hot , and I wasn’t dumped. We mutually agreed to end things.”

“Of course.” Kieran smiled, which only pissed Aniela off more.

“So,” I cut in and waved my hand between Aniela and Ary, “hate fuck then?”

They looked at each other for a long moment before nodding and saying, “Hate fuck.”

Everyone at the table laughed, and some of the tension dispelled. I didn’t think anyone else caught how Ary’s gaze lingered on Aniela for several seconds after she’d already looked away.

I thought about asking some probing questions to start feeling out where everyone might stand on the wraith situation, but it would be easier if I could talk to them one-on-one. Before I could think of anything to say, Demetri leaned forward and caught my eye.

“Perhaps we should try it?” he suggested.

“Try what?” I arched an eyebrow .

“Hate fucking.” He smiled. “It might do wonders to repair our relationship.”

Ary looked at Aniela. “Okay, compared to him, you have to admit that I’m charming as fuck.”

I took a sip of wine, keeping my expression relaxed even as I fumed internally at Demetri’s words. The audacity of that male. Beside me, Draven, Kieran, and Alaric had all gone completely still. I needed to play this down before they did something foolish. As the Moroi Prince, Draven could do whatever he wanted, but if Alaric or Kieran did anything against the Heir of another House, there would be consequences.

“The only relationship we have is the one that exists between all Heirs,” I drawled. “There is nothing beyond that, and despite what antics some might engage in”—I glanced pointedly at Aniela and Ary—“I have no interest in hate fucking any of the Heirs.” I slid my hand across the table, and Kieran immediately grabbed it, intertwining our fingers. “As you pointed out earlier, I’m already getting quite thoroughly fucked. There is no reason for me to slum it anymore.”

“You’re fucking a courtier who was a throwaway from House Corvinus and an advisor who came from nothing .” Demetri sneered. “The Lockwoods are outpost trash who have no business living in a House, let alone advising one.”

My fingers curled around the knife next to my plate, but Draven’s hand found mine before I could do anything with it, and Kieran’s fingers tightened around my other hand so all I could do was glower at my ex-husband and envision slicing his throat open. It wasn’t enough. I opened my mouth to tell him off, but Alaric beat me to it.

“House Laurent is going to run out of malachite by the end of the year,” Alaric said calmly. “Which means you’ll have to rely on other crystals to power your wards, ones that won’t last nearly as long. Since you foolishly didn’t pursue Samara’s proposal of trading with the Velesians—who have malachite in abundance—you have no reliable way of getting more.” He took another sip of wine. “She sent that proposal to the Order of Narchis as soon as she returned here, by the way. So House Harker now has one of the best trade deals for malachite in all of the Moroi realm.”

“I’d love to speak with you about that tomorrow,” Aniela cut in. “I believe House Salvatore can offer favorable terms in exchange for some malachite.”

“Of course.” Alaric nodded at her. “We can speak after breakfast.”

Demetri’s hate-filled gaze tore from Alaric to land on Aniela, but she just sent him a polite smile in return. I found myself liking the Salvatore Heir more and more.

“Your House”—Alaric returned his cool, even gaze to Demetri—“thinks of itself as better than everyone else. You forget the reality of our situation, perhaps because you live far enough down the southern coast that you rarely have to fight off any monster attacks. Because we do it for you. The Velesians do it for you as well. As do the Furies. At the end of the day, House Laurent is nothing but a bunch of freeloaders. And when your House falls, and it absolutely will fall, a new line will rise. Perhaps one from an outpost. Most will forget you ever existed. But don’t worry.” Alaric raised his wineglass in salute. “The Lockwoods will remember you and present you as an example of the terrible fate of mediocrity.”

Demetri’s face turned bright red, rage simmering in his eyes while Aniela cackled and Ary started to slow clap. Draven and Kieran released me so they could join in on the clapping.

I let out a husky laugh, and Alaric’s gaze flicked to mine. “Honestly, Alaric,” I purred, “I could fuck you right here.”

“I’d watch,” Kieran offered.

“Same.” Draven sent me a heated look.

Alaric cleared his throat and looked away, focusing on the wineglass in his hand, but I saw the corners of his mouth curl upward.

“This was definitely worth the frantic ride here.” Aniela raised her wineglass to Ary, and he bumped it with his.

“Fuck all of you.” Demetri shoved his chair back and rose, sending me one last glare. “You and I aren’t done.” Then he stormed out, and we all watched him go.

“I’m confused,” Aniela said after he left. “From everything I’ve heard, he didn’t put up much of a fight after you left House Laurent. So why is he pursuing you now?”

“No idea.” I frowned in the direction Demetri had run off to. “Our marriage has been officially dissolved.”

She hummed thoughtfully as she sipped her wine. “Well, he’s doing a shitty job of wooing you back, which is good for me because it means one less House for us to compete against for your affections.”

“You want my affections too, Aniela?” I asked dryly.

She tilted her head back and let out a musical laugh. Interest flashed across Ary’s face before he hid it behind a mask of indifference. There was definitely more than just hate fucking there.

“You’re beautiful, Samara, but I don’t swing that way. My House needs malachite and a few other things. I believe we can make you a good offer.”

“Wonderful,” I said truthfully. “Perhaps I can come visit your House soon. It’s been a while since I’ve spoken to Dominique in person.”

“She would enjoy that.” Aniela smiled. “Our closest neighbor, aside from the Sovereign House, is House Devereux, and they’re not exactly chatty.”

“I’ll speak with your Marshal tomorrow about the boars,” Ary wiped his mouth with the back of his hand after taking a long drink of wine. “They almost certainly went through our territory to get to yours, which means they could easily turn back and wreak havoc at one of our outposts. We’ll help with the hunt.”

“Thank you.” I gave him a nod. “I’m sure Vail will appreciate that. We’ll split the meat of course.”

“Something must have driven the boars out of their territory. They prefer the thicker forests of the Velesian realm,” Ary mused and looked at Draven. “Wraith activity is definitely increasing. Does the Sovereign House have any information about that? I’m assuming the increasing attacks on our outposts have been your main priority lately.”

“It’s all my mother and her consort work on,” Draven said evenly. “I know she’s seeking Carmilla’s wisdom on the matter as well. There hasn’t been much I’ve been able to do to help. I’m not a particularly gifted fighter nor was I ever a good student.” He gave me a self-deprecating smile. “Not all of us were considered a prized pupil by the scholars at Drudonia.”

“You’re definitely gifted at bullshitting,” Kieran drawled. Instead of being insulted, Draven just looked happy that Kieran had said something to him.

“Vail and a good amount of House Harker’s resources have been focused on solving the issue of the increased attacks on our outposts.” I fixed my expression into one of concern, which wasn’t exactly hard considering that’s how I felt. It was slightly more challenging to keep the suspicion hidden away. “But we haven’t learned much, and the attacks only seem to be increasing. Has the Sovereign House learned anything useful?”

Draven shrugged. “I’m sure you know more than I do at this point. We’ll figure it out eventually.”

I set my wineglass down so I wouldn’t shatter it in my hand. “Eventually isn’t good enough. Entire fucking outposts died.” And you played a hand in that, I thought but kept that to myself. “We need to stop these attacks now.”

The charming mask slid off Draven’s face, and something dark and predatory replaced it. “This is Lunaria. People die every day. Often in horrible ways.” I opened my mouth to argue, but the red bleeding through his deep blue eyes silenced me. “We might be monsters, Samara, but we’re far from the biggest or the baddest. You’d be wise to be selective with who you choose to protect, because you can’t save them all.”

“And you’d be wise to not tell me what I’m capable of,” I said coldly. “Some of us can do things you only dream of.”

Draven looked at me for a long moment. That feral, predatory gleam still in his eyes. “That’s what you’ve got wrong, Heir. I know nothing of dreams. The only thing I’ve ever known are nightmares.”