Page 265 of Kingdom of Ash

They did not waste time. Did not wait.

And even Dorian found himself unable to look away as Maeve flicked a hand at herself and her purple gown melted away, replaced by a sheer, flowing black dress. Little more than a robe. Golden thread had been woven through it, artfully concealing the parts of her that only the one who removed the garment would see, and when she turned from the mirror, her face was grave.

“You will not like what you are about to witness.” Then she slung her cloak around her, hiding that lush body and sinful gown, and swept out the door.

He shifted into a slithering insect, swift and flexible, and trailed her, lingering at her heels as Maeve wound through the halls. To the base of that tower.

He tucked into a crack in the black wall as Maeve said to the Valg posted outside, “You know who I am. What I am. Tell him I have come.”

He could have sworn Maeve’s hands trembled slightly.

But one of the guards—whom Dorian had never once seen so much as blink—turned to the door, knocked once, and strode inside.

He emerged moments later, resumed his post, and said nothing.

Maeve waited. Then strolling footsteps sounded from the tower interior.

And when the door opened again, the putrid wind and swirling darkness within threatened to send him running. Erawan, still clad in his clothes despite the late hour, lifted his brows. “We have a meeting tomorrow, sister.”

Maeve took a step closer. “I did not come to discuss war.”

Erawan stilled. And then said to the guards, “Leave us.”

CHAPTER 74

As one, the guards outside Erawan’s tower walked away.

Alone, the Valg king blocking the doorway to his tower, Maeve said, “Does that mean I am welcome?” She loosened her grip on her cloak, the front folds falling open to reveal the sheer gown.

Erawan’s golden eyes surveyed every inch. Then her face. “Though you may not believe so, you are my brother’s wife.”

Dorian blinked at that. At the honor of the demon within the male body.

“I do not have to be,” Maeve murmured, and Dorian knew, then, why she had warned him before they’d left.

A shake of her head, and her thick black hair turned golden. Her moon-white skin darkened slightly, to a sun-kissed tan. The angular face rounded slightly, dark eyes lightening to turquoise and gold. “We could play like this, if you’d prefer.”

Even the voice belonged to Aelin.

Erawan’s eyes flared, his chest rising in an uneven breath.

“Would that appeal to you?” Maeve gave a half-smile that Dorian had only seen on the Queen of Terrasen’s face.

Disgust and horror roiled through him. He knew—knew there was no true lust in Erawan’s eyes for Aelin. No true desire beyond the claiming, the pain.

Maeve’s glamour changed again. Golden hair paled to white, turquoise eyes burning to gold.

Icy rage, pure and undiluted, tore through Dorian as Manon now stood before the Valg king. “Or maybe this form, beautiful beyond all reckoning.” She peered down at herself, smiling. “Was she your intended queen when this war was over, the Wing Leader? Or merely a prize breeding mare?”

Erawan’s nostrils flared, and Dorian focused upon his breathing, on the stones beneath him, anything to keep his magic from erupting at the desire—true desire—that tightened Erawan’s face.

But if it got Maeve inside that tower—

Erawan blinked, and that desire winked out. “You are my brother’s wife,” he said. “No matter whose skin you wear. Should you need release, I’ll send someone to your chambers.”

With that, he shut the door. And did not emerge again.

Maeve brought Dorian to her meeting the next morning.

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