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

Chapter 15

Chapter Fifteen

Samara

“This is magical, Leora,” I groaned around a mouthful of tart berry deliciousness. After spending a couple of hours beneath the Fae tree, pillaging the journals for any other bit of information, I’d been in desperate need of a break and something sweet. “I think you’re one of the gods in those old Fae stories. That’s the only rational explanation.”

Leora huffed a laugh and waved off my compliment. I’d missed both her and her delicious baked goods while I’d been at House Laurent. The Moroi who ran the kitchen staff there weren’t nearly as friendly nor as talented.

“Agreed,” Nora said from where she sat across from me at the small table tucked into the corner of the kitchen. She worked in the gardens with her husband and had been taking a break when I’d stumbled into the kitchen, following the scent of freshly baked goodies. The young, pretty Moroi eyed the plate filled with the spring berry pastries. “I think I need one more to get the taste of that tea out of my mouth.”

I nudged the plate towards her. “You definitely do.” I flashed her a look of sympathy as her lip curled at the now empty teacup resting next to the pastries. The spelled brew prevented pregnancy. It lasted until we had our cycle, and then it had to be taken again. Apparently, our human ancestors had gone through their cycle every month. When we’d become Moroi, that had changed to every four months, and our bleeding only lasted for two or three days.

Unfortunately, those two or three days were absolute agony. I had no idea if the monthly cycle of the humans had been as bad as ours was. If it had been . . . then the humans who had gone through it had been tougher than we gave them credit for.

The tea was an old Fae spell that for some reason worked for us too. It tasted absolutely vile, like milk that had gone sour, and it coated your tongue and throat, the taste lingering long after. Nora had slammed the tea back in several gulps and then powered through three pastries. I didn’t blame her at all. My cycle was due in the next few weeks, and I was very much not looking forward to it.

“So you and Floran aren’t going to try for a little one now that you’re an old married couple?” I teased Nora, and she blushed faintly. While our cycle was painful, the week that followed was also . . . intense. It was jokingly referred to as the mating frenzy. Couples tended to hide away for days at a time, and single Moroi would often find someone, or several someones, to shack up with. The tea would prevent pregnancy but did nothing to lessen our lust-addled minds.

“No plans for any young ones yet.” Nora smiled, and the blush deepened across her cheeks. I was about to tease her again when her smile faded and a crease formed in her brows. She picked at the corner of her pastry as her eyes flicked to mine hesitantly. “We’ve heard the rumors about the outposts . . . about some of them falling to wraiths. I know Lunaria is never technically safe, but it feels a little more volatile right now. We both agreed now isn’t a good time to bring a child into it. ”

Shit. It had only been a matter of time before rumors started spreading about outposts being wiped out by wraiths, but since most of the ones that had been targeted were more remote, I’d really been hoping we’d have at least another couple of months before it became common knowledge.

“I can’t say I disagree with your assessment,” I said quietly. Leora continued humming to herself as she alternated between kneading dough and checking the bread baking in the brick oven. I knew she could hear every word we said, but I also knew she would keep it to herself. Leora was happy to gossip about harmless things, but she’d never repeat anything serious, especially if it came from me. “Would you mind sharing how you heard about the attacks? The Sovereign House has been trying to keep it quiet.”

Nora paled at the mention of the Sovereign House. “I haven’t told anyone,” she said quickly and then winced. “Other than mentioning it to you just now.”

“It’s fine,” I assured her. “Personally, I have mixed feelings about keeping this information from the remaining outposts, but I can’t go against the Sovereign House. So I’m trying to solve the issue as quickly as possible, but if people start to panic . . .”

“I don’t think many people know.” Nora twisted the end of her long, blonde braid in her fingers. “Floran’s older brother is a tracker. He was training to be a ranger, but it didn’t work out. There was a girl he was sweet on at one of the outposts that was . . .” She swallowed. “He went to check on her one day and found the outpost empty and some rangers investigating. They didn’t give him the specifics, but wraiths were mentioned. I don’t think he’s told anyone else, and I’ll make sure he doesn’t.” Nora’s breathing quickened, and I reached out and laid my hand over hers.

“It’s okay, Nora. It’d be a good idea to let him know that, simply so he doesn’t run afoul of the Sovereign House, but neither of you did anything wrong.”

“Okay.” She smiled weakly.

“We’ll figure this out, I promise.” I removed my hand from hers and tapped the rim of the empty teacup. “And then you can skip drinking this tea for a little while. If that’s what the two of you want of course.”

She laughed. “Floran wants to have six kids. I thought we could start with one and see how it goes.”

“You always were the wiser one,” I said, drawing a laugh out of Leora as she plopped a plate of muffins down in front of us.

“I knew I’d find you here as soon as I caught wind of the freshly baked deliciousness.” Kieran breezed into the kitchen and kissed Leora on the cheek and then Nora before pulling up a chair beside me and grabbing one of the berry muffins. Alaric followed a second later and nodded at Leora and Nora but opted to stand awkwardly a few feet away from us. “A certain cranky scholar would like to see you. They’re in the library.”

My eyes darted to Nora, who grinned and grabbed a muffin as she rose. “I’ll leave the three of you to your scheming.”

Alaric watched her go before sliding into her seat, then his eyes briefly flicked to mine before falling back to a spot on the table midway between us. I glanced at Kieran, who just shook his head and rolled his eyes. So he hadn’t had any luck convincing Alaric to drink either. Wonderful. Alaric was cranky and difficult on a good day. I somehow doubted he’d be more pleasant when he was running low on magic and refusing to do anything about it.

Argh.

“Where’s Draven?” I asked quietly.

“He’s with Yolanthe,” Alaric answered, still not looking at me. “I met with him earlier. He’s probably going to look for you as soon as he’s done. Something seemed to be bothering him earlier—he was distracted, which is unlike him.”

Probably because he thought I was sleeping with Vail. Another lie I’d have to maintain. Speaking of . . . might as well get that out of the way.

“He’s just being pissy because I spent last night with Vail.” Something slammed into the wood counter behind us, and I looked over to find Leora gawking at me, her discarded rolling pin halfway across the surface. “Apparently, the prince doesn’t like the idea of sharing with the Marshal.”

“That makes two of us,” Kieran muttered, drawing my attention away from Leora’s surprised face. Alaric was staring at me intently, his full mouth flattened into a hard line, but he didn’t voice any objections.

It annoyed me that he didn’t, and then it bothered me further that I cared what he thought.

“It’s not real,” I said quietly as Leora took a few steps closer to us, abandoning her dough as she sent me a questioning look. “But Draven needs to believe it for now.”

Leora studied me for a long moment. “Are you sure about this, dear?”

Reluctantly, I nodded. Leora could help spread the rumor, giving more legitimacy to the claim. I didn’t like that it would be yet another complication between Vail and me. He wouldn’t like it either and would take out his frustrations on me, but it’s not like that would be anything new.

Pushing Vail out of my mind for now, I refocused on our immediate problem.

“We need to distract Draven.” I thrummed my fingers against the table. “Whatever Roth has discovered shouldn’t be heard by him, and I have something I want to discuss as well.”

I twirled the ring on my pinkie, the two embedded gems shining bright against the dark silver band. Rynn, Cali, and I were long overdue for a chat anyway, and I wanted to make sure they were caught up on all the latest developments. Plus . . . Rynn was an important part of what I was planning, as was Vail.

Neither of them were going to like it. In fact, nobody was going to like it, but I was confident I could convince them to go along with it. Mostly.

“Maybe we should wait until late tonight?” Alaric suggested.

“No.” I shook my head. “Draven is clearly keeping an eye on my nighttime habits. We’re lucky he didn’t follow us to the cave, but going forward, he’ll likely be monitoring my whereabouts more closely.” Kieran didn’t say anything, which I thought was odd. I studied his expression as he slowly nibbled on the muffin. He seemed relaxed; there were no lines of tension, and the corners of his mouth were quirked upward slightly. Even his eyes were bright.

It was a lie. I knew that mask. It was the one he slipped on when he knew he’d have to do something he didn’t want to. Usually, I saw it when he made the rare journey home to visit his parents.

“Kier?”

His eyes flicked to mine, and he sighed before putting down the half-eaten muffin. “I’ll distract him.”

“No,” I said immediately. “You don’t have to do that.”

“Well, I’m not planning on doing that .” His lips twitched into a wry grin. “You know there are other ways to distract people, right?”

I pursed my lips stubbornly. “You don’t have to do this—whatever this is—if you don’t want to. We can find another way.”

“This makes the most sense.” He shrugged with a casualness that made me want to scream. I knew this plan bothered him, and I hated that he was trying to hide it. “You don’t need me for whatever conversation you all want to have.”

“I always need you.”

Kieran’s eyes softened. “While I have many skills, we all know the three of you are far smarter than I am. My skills are suited towards being a decoy, and if I ask Draven to go for a ride with me, he’ll go.”

“I bet he will,” I grumbled, still not liking this one bit. It wasn’t that I was jealous of anything that might happen between them, but Draven was a complication, and while I suspected there was more going on than we were seeing, he was technically the enemy right now. One who had betrayed our people.

He’d hurt Kieran before as well. I loved Kier with all my soul but he was also the most kindhearted person I’d ever met. It was difficult for him to trust people, but once he did, he did so absolutely. Draven had broken that trust and his heart. Kieran would forgive him for it though, whether the prince deserved it or not. I just didn’t want to see him hurt again.

“Will one of you please tell me what is going on?” Alaric finally asked, raising his gaze from the table to glance back and forth between me and Kieran.

“I’ll explain later.” Kieran grimaced before rising and grabbing one of the folded-up towels Leora kept stacked throughout the kitchen, then he stuck a few muffins in it. “How much longer do you think he’ll be meeting with Yolanthe?” he asked Alaric.

“They’ve been talking for almost an hour already, but you know Yolanthe, she’ll go on forever. Could be thirty minutes, could be another hour.” Alaric stared at his friend for a long moment. “Are you okay?”

“You know me.” Kieran shrugged. “I’m always okay.”

Alaric narrowed his eyes. He knew just as well as I did that Kieran had a tendency to suppress his feelings around us, like we would think less of him if he presented anything but a strong, confident front.

“I need to get some things from my room.” Kieran leaned down to kiss me on the cheek before straightening and looking at Alaric. “I’m guessing they’re meeting in Yolanthe’s study?”

Alaric nodded, still studying his friend, trying to figure out what was going on that he was missing. Kieran ignored his best friend’s gaze and headed towards the back stairwell, his bundle of muffins in tow, and left without another word. I wasn’t any happier about this than Alaric, but I had to trust that Kieran knew what he was doing.

“Let’s give him some time to get Draven out of here. We can meet in two hours.” I snatched up Kieran’s discarded muffin and tore off a chunk full of berries. Mmm . . . so tart and yummy. The spring berries didn’t last long. They flowered, grew, and ripened over a two-week period, and that was it until the next year, but they were the first fruit of the season to grow and always marked that spring was in full swing. Hence the name. “Any chance you can find Vail and bring him with you to the library for the meeting?”

Alaric frowned. “Why can’t you do it?”

“Because Vail isn’t in the best of moods and will probably say no just because it’s me asking.” I let out a bone-weary sigh. “Given that we want the rumor of Vail and me sleeping together to spread, him rejecting a simple request from me in public would be less than ideal.”

I shoved the rest of the muffin into my mouth and closed my eyes while I savored the flavor.

“Fine,” Alaric ground out. “But I don’t appreciate being blindsided by this plan. You’re playing it up like it’s all pretend, but I haven’t missed the heated looks Vail has sent you since returning from the temple, and I know there is something else going on with Kieran that the two of you are keeping from me. I’m tired of being kept in the dark. ”

“Oh?” I cracked an eye open from my pastry-derived bliss. “Care to enlighten me as to why you’re refusing to drink blood then?”

“I’m not refusing.”

Pastry bliss officially over.

I leaned across the table and extended my arm to him, my wrist facing up. “Then have a drink.” Turquoise flashed across Alaric’s light green eyes so fast, I barely caught it. When he made no move to take my offer, I withdrew and crossed my arms. “Kieran will tell you when he’s ready. I’m not telling you his secrets, just as I wouldn’t tell him yours.”

“Fair enough.” Muscles flexed along his jawline. “And Vail?”

“Honestly . . . I don’t understand what’s going on between me and Vail. He might actually be more confusing and frustrating than you at this point.” Alaric snorted, and I gave him a tired smile. “It’ll just be easier if you ask him. Trust me.”

“Alright.” Alaric stood and straightened his midnight blue tunic. “We’ll meet you in the library in a bit.”

I nodded, my thoughts already drifting to my plans and what Roth might have discovered. It took me a minute to realize Alaric was still standing there and looking . . . nervous. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d seen Alaric look nervous. In fact, I wasn’t sure if I ever had. “Is there something else?”

“If . . .” He trailed off and swallowed. “If the offer of your . . . blood . . . is still on the table later . . .” Alaric released the buttons he’d been fidgeting with and met my eyes. “I’ll take you up on it.”

I blinked. “Really?”

“Yes,” he rushed on. “But it has to be somewhere private.”

“Damn,” I drawled. “There go my plans of straddling you in the hallway of the main tower entrance.”

“Samara,” he said warningly, and I grinned as some of the tension eased from his face .

“Whatever you need, Alaric,” I said before he could change his mind. “We can do it after the meeting if you’d like.”

He hesitated for a moment before jerking his head in agreement. “Alright.”

I watched as he practically fled from the kitchen, and then I rose and wandered over to Leora, who had returned to the large workstation and was rolling out dough in perfect rectangles. She shot me an amused glance before passing me a bowl of raspberry jelly. “Spread this in a thin layer while I roll out the next one.”

“Sure.” I set to work, spreading the thick, dark purple filling across the dough. Leora had been in charge of the kitchens of House Harker for longer than I’d been alive, and I always enjoyed coming in here. Not just to sneak treats but because there was something relaxing about helping her cook and bake things. Sometimes I’d be here for hours and we’d barely talk. I knew others did the same. There was just something calming about being in Leora’s kitchen.

“Any advice?” I asked after I’d moved on to the third rectangle of dough.

Leora smiled as she started rolling up the first piece and then sliced it into thick discs. “You really did go out of your way to get yourself a complicated assortment of lovers.”

I huffed a laugh. “Exactly how many lovers do you think I have? Because last I checked, it was actually only two.” I thought about Alaric joining me and Kieran in my study. “Two and a half.”

The older Moroi slid me a sly glance. “Trust me, it’s a solid three. He just hasn’t realized it yet.”

“We’ll see.” I scraped out the last of the filling, put the bowl aside, and started rolling up the dough. I could never get it as perfectly even as Leora, but it’d still taste fine.

“Alaric will come around.” Leora paused, and I felt her concerned gaze on me, so I glanced up from my less than perfect rolled out dough. “It’s the Marshal and the prince who worry me.”

“Leora—” I started, but she waved her hand in the air, cutting me off.

“I know you can take care of yourself.” She patted me on the cheek. “But you always worry about everyone else, Samara. Many of us care deeply for you, my darling girl. So we’ll worry about you too.”

She went back to rolling her dough, and I did the same. When I finished, we moved on to the next round. “I can’t help but notice that wasn’t advice,” I pointed out.

Leora laughed. “That’s because I don’t have any, and I was hoping you wouldn’t notice. I think you’re fucked in more ways than one.”

“Thanks.” I shook my head ruefully because she was probably right.

My damp hair soaked into my robe as I contemplated all the things we needed to discuss at the upcoming meeting. I’d returned to my suite to rinse off because I’d somehow managed to get flour all over me and raspberry jelly in my hair.

I glanced at the large, upright clock that rested between my book cases. Thirty minutes to go. Draven’s meeting would be wrapping up soon, and Kieran was waiting to intercept him and get him out of our way for a while. I still wasn’t thrilled about that plan, but if Kieran said he could handle it, then I trusted him.

A few scenarios of just how Kieran could keep the prince distracted flashed through my mind. Great. Now I was anxious and horny.

Then again, they would probably just ride around the property. Kieran was really pissed off at Draven. As much as he wanted him, I wasn’t sure if he’d be willing to let anything happen between them. Once again, concern for Kier bloomed in my chest. I didn’t want him to get hurt, and Draven had already caused him such pain.

“What the fuck are you up to, Drav?” I muttered.

We knew he was working with the wraiths—whether he was only doing so because he was being forced was still something we had to figure out. But that didn’t explain why he’d treated Kieran the way he had. I’d known Drav for most of my life, and while he could occasionally be short with people and was excellent at delivering well-crafted insults, I’d never known him to be cruel.

And what he’d done to Kieran had absolutely been cruel. Once again, I wondered if I was letting my attraction to him and our past friendship blind me to the truth.

My gaze fell on the memory ball still resting on the table in my sitting area. What memory had he planted in it? I glanced at the clock . . . I did still have time. And I could always pull out if it was taking too long.

Before I could second guess myself, I strode over to the table and picked up the glass sphere before plopping down on the settee. I leaned back and rested the ball in one palm with the other lying across the top. Memory balls like this one weren’t exactly common, but all the Houses had at least a few in their possession. None of them contained Fae memories, but they were useful for recording meetings and other information.

Typically, we locked those memories to our blood so no one else could access them. But I could feel Draven’s memory floating inside this one, trying to tug me under. He’d deliberately left it unlocked so I could access it without him.

I closed my eyes and let myself be pulled into it.

“When I said I wanted to escape the party for a while and you said you knew just the place, this wasn’t what I was expecting.” I held a warning finger up at the chestnut stallion, who laid his ears back in the stall on the left. The horse snorted like he wasn’t the least bit impressed before trying to bite me.

No. Not me. Draven. I was seeing this memory from Draven’s point of view. Well, this was a bit disorientating. Normally, when we used memory balls, we just recorded our voices. But Draven had included so much more than that. I could make out some of his thoughts—although many were muddled and I couldn’t understand them. But I could get a sense of what he was feeling.

Longing and confliction. Some contentment. He enjoyed my company. But also . . . fear.

Why had he chosen this memory? And why was he afraid?

I tuned back in, letting myself fall back into the echo of Draven’s psyche.

“Quit antagonizing him.” Samara held up a warning finger in the same way I had just done to the stallion. When I snapped my teeth at her, she laughed and spun away, sending her dark hair flying. That moonsdamned laugh stole my breath. Hearing it was like coming home after being lost in a storm for weeks.

She’d be married to that asshole from House Laurent in a few weeks. Truthfully, I didn’t actually know much about him. Only that Samara was too good for him. But it’s not like I could marry her. Samara had no idea how I truly felt about her and Demetri . . . Demetri was the safer option.

“I’m just saying”—I followed after where Samara had moved deeper into the stables—“we could have swiped a bottle of wine and been up on the roof right now.”

“We can do that after,” she tossed over her shoulder. “I wanted to see them first.”

“Them?”

Samara stopped in front of a stall and leaned over the door. “Them,” she said in a soft voice.

I stepped up beside her, letting my arm graze hers briefly before resting it on the door. A black mare eyed us warily but didn’t move from where she was standing over two identical dark bay foals. Both were passed out and sprawled across the straw bedding.

“One of the servants told me about them earlier,” Samara whispered, her dark purple eyes full of wonder. “It’s a miracle they survived.”

“They look very small. Ranger mounts have to be strong and robust. The weak don’t survive.” A hint of bitterness crept into my voice, and I winced. Samara loved horses—I should let her have this moment of happiness instead of bringing my dreariness into it.

“So they’ll be quick and resilient,” Samara shot back. “There’s more than one way to survive in Lunaria. Don’t count them out yet.”

I smiled. “You’re right of course.”

She slid me a cocky glance. “I know.”

We both backed away from the door to let the foals sleep in peace. Samara went to each stall, giving every horse a scratch behind the ears—even the ornery chestnut stallion, who was more than willing to let Samara pet him while giving me the evil eye.

“Would you like one of the foals?” I blurted out.

Samara looked over her shoulder at me, dark eyebrows raised. “I would never separate them. And even if you gave me both, it’ll be years before they’re old enough to ride.” A hint of sadness crept into her expression. “I’ll be in need of a mount sooner than that. Mine passed away last year from old age. He had a good, long life, but I miss him. I’ve been using temporary ones, but I’ll need to figure out a more regular solution when I move to House Laurent.” Something flickered across her face—too fast for me to catch what it had been—then she shrugged. “I’m sure they’ll have something there that will work.”

“What would your dream horse be?” I asked, unable to stop myself.

She turned around to face me, leaning her back against the stall door. The chestnut stallion nudged her shoulder, and she absently stroked his cheek. “Dark like the storm clouds. With a loyal spirit and a fiery temper.” She grinned. “And fast enough to outrun death itself.”

“That’s a tall order.” I smiled back at her.

“You said dream horse.” She leaned over and kissed the stallion on the nose. “I suppose we should get back to the party. My aunt is probably wondering where I slipped off to.”

“Of course.” We walked out of the stables, but I halted after a couple of steps. “Actually, I need to check in with the rangers about something. I’ll see you back at the party.”

“Okay . . .” Samara eyed me suspiciously. I couldn’t say I blamed her, it was rare that I did anything that looked like work around her. Usually, we would just split a bottle of wine or two and talk about random things. Well, I’d ask Samara about her life and then redirect the conversation anytime she asked something about mine.

With a wave, Samara set off towards the main tower of the Sovereign House, where the party was no doubt still in full swing. I waited until she was out of sight before doubling back to the small building behind the stables and rapping my knuckles against the door.

An older-looking Moroi male swung the door open. His light grey hair hung loose around his shoulders. “My prince!” His bushy eyebrows shot up. “I, uhh—” he brushed some crumbs off his shirt, and his posture went ramrod straight. “My apologies. I was just having dinner and wasn’t expecting company—definitely not you. Not that you’re not welcome her ? —”

“My apologies for interrupting your meal, Stablemaster.” I held my hands up in an apologetic gesture. “I was hoping to intrude on you for just a few minutes and ask for a favor.”

“Oh?” A puzzled crease formed between his eyes. “I mean, of course!” He held the door open and waved me inside. “Whatever you need.”

I stepped into his simple but clean home, his interrupted meal still on the table. “I’m looking for a particular horse, and I was wondering if you could reach out to the stablemasters of the other Houses to see what they have available—and arrange for me to go see them. I’ll need to inspect all the options myself.”

“Sure.” He nodded slowly. “What type of horse are you looking for?”

I gave him a small smile. “One made of dreams.”

The memory faded, and I was vaguely aware of the glass sphere slipping out of my hands to land with a thud on the carpet before rolling away.

Zosa. My hot-tempered and beloved grey mare. Demetri had given her to me as a wedding present, but I’d always suspected he hadn’t been the one to find her. That he had just told the House Laurent Stablemaster to find me a horse, and they had done as commanded.

I’d forgotten all about that conversation in the stables with Draven. The weeks leading up to my marriage had been a blur, and then I’d been busy fighting to make space for myself at House Laurent. Not to mention missing Kieran terribly.

One of the few things that had kept me sane had been riding Zosa on the beach. Draven had given me the horse of my dreams. And until now, he’d never said one word about it.

I stared at the Fae memory ball as it slowly rolled across the floor before coming to a stop against the clock. That memory hadn’t been at all what I’d expected, and I didn’t understand why he had chosen it. Part of me wanted to track down wherever he was with Kieran and demand answers—but another part of me was scared of what he might say.

Because I was absolutely falling in love with Draven . . . but I still didn’t trust him.