House of Secrets and Vows (Crown of Deceit #1)

27. Evil Incarnate

27

EVIL INCARNATE

N ot only did I not kill the prince as Felix instructed, but now Nevan and I are temporary allies.

To keep appearances, I should wait for Maddox to escort me back, but the long walk back to the Temple is exactly what I need to process everything.

So I leave a note, thanking the younger prince for the hospitality, and slip out of the castle as the sun begins its ascent.

Aella might be alive, trapped in the House of Blood all this time.

My chest tightens at the thought.

I should have gone into the Silver Lady and found her body.

If I had, I would’ve known my friend hadn’t been left behind with the others, and I could have searched for her then. But the thought of seeing her there, dead on the floor and drained of blood had been too much for me.

I’m the worst kind of coward.

Dwelling on the past will do me no good. I have a plan to find her now.

Unfortunately, that plan relies on the soon-to-be Heir to the Valazican throne.

Will trusting him prove to be a giant mistake?

Only time will tell.

But he had the perfect opportunity to kill me and didn’t. Even I wouldn’t have blamed him. I’d drugged him and held a dagger to his throat as he awoke.

Not killing me was unwise, though I suppose not killing him when I had the chance was just as foolish.

And yet, we’ve both spared each other.

Nevan agreed to help me search for Aella, leaving me in his debt.

By the time I reach the Temple, my mind has cleared only a little. I sneak through the building without being noticed, heading straight to my room, where I strip down to my undergarments and collapse onto my bed.

By some miracle, I fall asleep and sleep until dusk.

When I awake, I have just enough time to put a fancy black dress on under my priestess attire and sneak back out of the Temple.

After I hide my priestess robes and the dagger Felix gave me to kill Nevan behind a hedge on the backside of the Temple I always use as a hiding place, I walk as fast as I can straight to the Red Raven, only to arrive before the prince.

Person after person passes me and enters the lounge as I wait.

Nevan gave me his word, and even if I could count on him to keep it, what if I didn’t word my bargain right?

As I wait for the prince outside The Red Raven, I recall the bargain.

He is to help me find Aella, and I swore never to share his secret or interfere in his crowning or reign.

I didn’t set a timeframe, though. Perhaps he will help me in fifty years when he’s old and no longer cares about being king. Or maybe his curse grants him immortality, and he simply plans to let me and Aella die.

“Zariah.” His voice pulls me from my thoughts.

I turn to see him standing next to me, dressed casually in a gray tunic and black pants. “I thought you might not show.”

He shakes his head, a small smile quirking his lips. “Such little faith.”

“Word of your upcoming ceremony,” I start when he reaches out and covers my mouth with his hand.

His skin is scorching.

“Let’s not draw attention to ourselves.” He retracts his hand and gestures to the entrance. “Shall we?”

We skip the line just like the last time.

The Red Raven is busier than before, and as we weave through the full room, the scent of sweat mixes with the heavy aroma of perfumes and colognes that only the wealthy can afford. I step on the train of a woman’s dress, and she glares at me as I mumble an apology.

When we’re halfway through the crowd, I hear the first whispers of Nevan’s name.

“So much for lying low,” I whisper as we spot his group of friends all sitting at the same table as last time.

“Nevan.” Eilley claps as we approach. “And you brought Zariah again!”

The sides of her hair are pulled back and clipped with hair pins that resemble leaves.

Nalanie looks at Lachlan, and I can’t help but wonder if she and the prince have a history. She is stunning and elegant, with a regal air, as if she were made to be royalty.

I hadn’t expected to meet up with his friends again. The prince and I are supposed to be plotting how to find Aella—if she is alive, that is.

But I can’t exactly confront him about it in front of everyone, forcing me to suck in a breath of patience.

“Welcome back.” Phelps scoots over and makes room for us. “I hear congratulations are in order.”

Nevan raises a finger to his mouth, and I say, “Nevan doesn’t want to draw any attention to himself.”

“How modest.” Lachlan shakes his head. “You know pretty soon you won’t be able to come here without being recognized.”

“What do you mean?” Eilley asks.

“After the Heir Ceremony, everyone will know who he is.” Lachlan eyes the prince. “He shouldn’t even be here now that the announcement has gone out.”

“You’ve never been concerned before.” Nevan’s arm presses into mine, and even through the fabric of his tunic, I can feel his warmth. “People have whispered about me replacing River as heir for months.”

“And now it’s been confirmed.” Lachlan meets the prince’s glare. “The Heir Ceremony was announced at the Solstice Ball. After you two slipped away.” He glances at Nevan and then at me. “Word will spread.”

Eilley leans forward and rests her forearms on the table. “What’s the difference?”

“He’s much more valuable now.” Phelps rubs his fingers together in front of his face. “If someone wants to extort the crown, kidnapping a declared heir is worth more than just a prince.”

Nevan glares at Phelps. “Soon-to-be declared heir.”

“It really changes his value that much?” Eilley asks.

Phelps answers, “When he had no claim to the throne, there was a question that the king would care enough to save him. He used to have three sons and Nevan was the middle child, important but only so much. Now, the king only has two sons, and the people favor Nevan much more than Maddox.”

“The king favors him too,” Eilley adds, and no one denies the claim. “Weren’t you the heir as soon as River died?”

A shadow flickers in Nevan’s eyes as Lachlan answers, “Technically, yes. But up until the king officially announced the ceremony, there was still a chance he might have chosen Maddox.”

I had never considered the politics behind being a prince. All I’ve ever seen when I looked at Nevan is a man given anything he could want.

“I’m going to go get us another round of drinks.” Nevan stands and, shaking his head, heads toward the bar.

“I’ll help.” I catch up with him.

“Coming to protect me from all the bad people ready to capture me or do you plan to aid them?” he asks. “You have experience with drugging a prince, after all. And a dagger on your thigh?”

The steel of the blade cools my skin. “Well isn’t someone taking a dive into the sea of self-pity.”

“Last night I was drugged and awoke to a dagger at my throat, and now I’m a valuable commodity to extort the crown. I think I deserve some pity, wouldn’t you say?” The usual humor in his tone is gone.

I grab his wrist and halt us both. He stares down at me.

“You’re a prince who has all the luxuries in the world at your fingertips while people in your kingdom starve. I’ve seen men fight to the death over a moldy loaf of bread.” I release his arm. “There might be some downsides to being heir to the throne, but if you have any decency in your bones, use your power to make a difference.”

As I turn away and continue toward the bar, I add, “Be happy I didn’t kill you.”

He follows behind me, and after the barmaid takes our order, we lean our backs against the bar and wait for the drinks.

“Clearly errors in judgment aren’t foreign to me,” Nevan says. “But I actually thought we were developing a friendship before you drugged me.”

“You aren’t as horrible as I thought you’d be. But I thought you killed my best friend.”

“Do you believe that I didn’t?” The tendons in his neck tighten as he avoids my gaze.

“Might be my biggest mistake ever, but yes, I believe you.” I scan the packed crowd in front of me. “Still doesn’t make us friends.”

“Noted.”

“I don’t break my promises. Help me find Aella and my lips will be forever sealed. I’ll never bother you again.”

I’m not sure what I will do if we find out my friend really is dead. Perhaps I’ll beg him to kill me then.

The barmaid returns with five glasses of deep red wine on a tray.

“We need six,” Nevan says, his tone sharper than usual.

Most of the time, he wears charm like a second skin, but it’s clear that everything weighing on his mind is taking its toll. Or perhaps that is the curse etching its way to his soul a little more each day.

The barmaid stares at us and mouths one through five. “I’m so sorry.”

She leaves to get another drink.

“You take these, and I’ll wait for the last one,” I offer.

Nevan hesitates, but then he does as I suggest.

Once the prince has left, the barmaid returns and apologizes again before telling me she needs to go to the back to get another bottle of wine.

I sit in one of the chairs at the bar while I wait, crossing one knee over the other and resting my forearms on the mahogany counter.

The amount of luxury in this single lounge is disgusting. At least ten crystal chandeliers hang from the ceiling, their candles dimly lighting the space. All the tables, as well as the bar I now sit at, are made of polished mahogany, imported from the Whisperwoods, just south of Elderburn.

The cost of a single glass of wine could feed an entire family in the slums for a week.

As I pull my thoughts back to my alliance with Nevan, someone slides into the chair next to me.

I fully expect to see the prince there, but a chill skitters through me, deep to my core, when I see Mavet staring down at me.

“Hello, lovely.” He crosses one leg over the other, mirroring my position, and smiles at me with unnaturally white teeth that seem to glow in the dimly lit room. “It seems our esteemed prince has friends just as pretty as he is.”

Up close, his pale skin appears almost translucent, and his cheeks are completely void of color. There is no mistaking him as supernatural.

“Can I help you?” I ask, willing my heart to slow.

I pride myself on my ability to play any role and stay calm, no matter the situation. It’s why I’m one of Felix’s favorites, or at least I was until he learned of my sharing Quin’s bed.

But here, as evil incarnate stares at me with a curious grin, I can’t mask my fear and rage completely.

He tilts his head and eyes my chest. Not my breasts, but the dip in between where my heart now races like a wild stallion. “You know who I am, I take it?”

“You’re clearly not human.” He must not know I escaped the tavern, and I want to keep it that way.

Anyone with eyes would sense his inhuman qualities—even without sight, a vile aura hovers around him like a cloud.

He licks his lips as his crimson eyes meet mine. “Neither are you.”