Page 46 of A Curse of Breath and Blood

Biting the inside of my cheek, I hesitated. “Oh, um, not like that. We’re old childhood friends.”

Tharan’s face brightened. “Then I guess he won’t mind if I dance with you tonight.”

“I thought you said these parties were dull?”

Tharan tongued his sharp incisor. “Well, now that I have someone to dance with, the night just got much more interesting.”

17CAIDEN

Caiden downeda glass of enchanted wine and then promptly spilled another down the front of his vest before mussing up his hair.

Music echoed through the stone hallways of the palace as creatures indulged in carnal delights. Trails of spilled liquor stained the floors. Wraiths kept watch at the end of every corridor—though much was permitted, some areas were off-limits to guests.

Leaning against Lucius, Caiden feigned intoxication. No one batted an eye as they passed through the circuitous hallways Lucius had memorized before they left. They tried room after room, each filled with sylph and other creatures delighting in the pleasures of the flesh until they found somewhere secluded.

Shutting the door, Caiden sprung to life. “Okay, tell me what I need to do.”

“You need to stay here and pretend to be sick. If people come looking for us. Just make yourself sick in some chamber pot.”

Caiden blinked at the wisp of a man. “That’s it?”

“That’s it. Leave the rest to me.” Closing his eyes, Luciustransformed into a being of smoke. His eyes merely two black holes on an indistinguishable face.

“Fine.” Caiden plopped onto the plush bed with a huff. “Be careful.”

Floating in midair, Lucius passed through the wall and into the corridor above. With most of the staff tasked to work the party, the royal wing sat silent, waiting for its queen to return. Lucius snuck into the nearest room. Shelves of books and scrolls lined the walls. A portrait of Nysemia holding a skull hung above a dormant fireplace. In the center of the room sat a large stone desk adorned with candles perched on spines. Correspondence littered its top.

Behind the desk sat a glass case, a scepter of engraved bone with a crow’s skull perched on a satin pillow inside—arrogant queen. For centuries, no one dared challenge Nysemia, making her lazy and conceited.

Lucius clicked his tongue as he approached the glass case, looking for a protection spell. He wouldn’t set off any physical alarm in his wraith form, but that didn’t mean there weren’t other means of ensnaring him.

Examining the case, Lucius noticed something odd: the script on the bone blurred in places it shouldn’t have—an illusion spell.

Shit.

He needed a spell breaker. He needed Amolie, but there was no way to get her here unseen.

Taking a moment to collect his thoughts, Lucius scanned the room for other hiding places. If this was a decoy, the real one might be hiding in plain sight.

He ran a hand over the skulls embedded in the stone desk. Each one stuck in place.

“Damn.”

Lucius stared up at the painting of Nysemia, his brows knitted. “If I were you, where wouldI—” His shoulders slumped. “No… it can’t be. She wouldn’t be so arrogant as to hide it behind a picture of herself.”

Lucius floated up to the portrait and delicately pulled it down, revealing a cutout with a safe inside. “Oh, Nysemia, you foolish woman.”

He reached for the safe. Cold iron seared into his skin. Shit. He needed to get the key.

Lucius floated back down to where Caiden waited.

“About time,” he said, popping up from the bed. “Did you find it?”

“I think it’s in a safe in Nysemia’s office.” Lucius returned to his normal opacity, smoothing his white hair behind his ears.

“How are we supposed to get in there?”

Lucius tapped his boot on the floor. “We need a key. I can’t penetrate the iron.”

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