Page 39 of Lies Within the Darkest Tower

“I’m afraid of an assassination attempt and retaliation.”

Which was highly likely. Jerika March was small but wealthy and whoever controlled it had a significant say in Erellod’s economic and political discissions.

“I’ve been trying to get a man into the older sister’s entourage but haven’t had any luck.” She’d become far more suspicious since the assassination attempt and had closed ranks, not letting someone she hadn’t known for years and who hadn’t been thoroughly vetted near her son. “We still have a few months, but we might just have to do with the men I have in the Gold Tower.”

Talon’s eyes narrowed. “If this family brings their feud to the Gold Tower, I don’t know if I’m going to have enough men to deal with it.”

And he couldn’t necessarily count on any of the men in the Kings’ Guard who supplemented his guard. They were all second and third sons from noble families in the Five Great Human Kingdoms and any one of them could have a connection to the Jerika family.

Except I only had so many men as well, and Rider had already gone to the kings of the Five Great Kingdoms and petitioned for an increase in the size of the Black Guard last summer and been denied. The human kings didn’t want to sacrifice anymore men, and the High Priestess wasn’t willing to commit more fae to the Guard if the humans weren’t. Then, to top off the bad feelings with the Kingdoms, we’d asked for more names to be drawn in the lottery than ever before.

“The White Tower has been quiet.” Too quiet, but perhaps I was just being paranoid. “I’ll reassign one of my men in the White Tower to help with the Gold Tower.”

Talon sighed. It was the best I could do and he knew it. If we weren’t about to be training novices, I’d also be able to help gather information about the political machinations happening at the Gold Tower, but I’d skipped infiltrating the novices fifteen years ago and had one human commit suicide before his first season of training was done while two more had beaten another one to death.

Rider had sworn that would never happen again and given me the assignment to assassinate anyone who posed a threat to the rest of the men. Here was hoping I wouldn’t have to kill anyone this year.

CHAPTER 25

Sage

Footstepsoutside my door jerked me awake, sending pain throbbing through my chest and head, and for a moment I couldn’t remember where I was. Darkness filled the strange narrow room, the only light coming from under the door and a small, strange glimmer on the wall. Then a loud, deep resonantbongfrom a large bell sounded and my thoughts lurched.

That was the first bell.

I was in the Black Tower.

The people outside my door were men who couldn’t learn who I really was, and I was naked… and boneless and aching between my thighs from the most sensual dream I’d ever had.

Heat burned my face. One eyeful of Talon and I was fantasizing about sex in a way I’d never fantasized about before. Even my legs ached as if I’d actually been trembling and fighting to stay standing while that fae fantasy man had brought me to the most incredible climax.

A distinctly feminine sigh escaped my lips and the sensual ache within me froze. I couldn’t ever make a sound like that again. But Great Father I wanted to. I wanted to go back to that dream, revel in the sensations, and be worshiped by that man’s mouth again and again.

Shadows, what was wrong with me? I’d never wanted those things before.

Except I’d never seen a fae before, and Talon had said his magic awakened desires in humans.

So, all I had to do was avoid Talon. Which had to be why he’d been mean to me in my dream… before the dream had turned erotic and amazing and?—

And I wasn’t going to think about it ever again. Ever.

I unclenched my hands — hands still closed tight like they’d been when I’d been clinging to the fence — and a softly shimmering pink petal slid from my palm.

My pulse stuttered.

I hadn’t noticed any flowers anywhere in the Tower, and while I’d been tired after I’d finally scrubbed my clothes clean and climbed into bed, I hadn’t noticed any in the bed.

What were the odds that the men of the Black Tower liked to freshen their sheets with petals?

More footsteps hurried past my door, reminding me that I needed to get something to eat before reporting to the stablemaster — and that I hadn’t eaten dinner last night —andthat I didn’t have a lock on my door. Meaning I should never sleep naked again. I had no idea if those higher up the ranks like Grefin barged in on the sacrifices or not, and I should have thought of that last night when I’d gone to bed.

Except I hadn’t had anything else to wear and I hadn’t wanted to go to bed in wet or blood-encrusted clothes.

And that was no excuse. It didn’t matter what happened, I couldn’t let my guard down. Sure, eventually I’d be found out. I wasn’t foolish enough to think I could keep up the act forever. But I was damned well going to make sure that didn’t happen until Sawyer was at least out of the Five Great Kingdoms.

I grabbed the strips from my ruined dress to flatten my breasts, but the bruise from Edred’s beating now covered mostof my chest, making me pause. The dark red stain under my skin hurt every time I drew breath and hurt even more when I brushed it with my fingers.

Swell. The next few days weren’t going to be fun, but there wasn’t anything I could do about it. I couldn’t forego my bindings and look like a girl, but I also needed to figure out how to move without looking like I was in pain so I wouldn’t get sent to whatever infirmary the Black Guard had — and with my luck, given that they had water in each room, a bathhouse, and laundry bins, they probably had an infirmary with a fae doctor who’d know the second he touched me that I was a girl.

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