Page 24 of Lady of the Lake

The firelight ignites her red hair with warm hues. “More than you. No one’s watching every step of the princess’s sister. They’re watchingyou.”

I grip my teacup, feeling the warmth through the porcelain. “It won’t be long before Talan’s hunt for traitors bears fruit.”

“It’s not as bad as you think,” Nivene says. “There’s a schism in Perillos’s forces. Some are loyal to Auberon, some are loyal to Talan, and no one knows who to trust. They spend a lot of effort spying on each other, and it’s slowing them and sowing confusion.”

“So, what do we do with the time we have?”

Her expression darkens, her voice dropping to a whisper. “First of all, we’ve got to make sure Brados and Mariadec and the rest of them stay the fuck out of The Shadowed Thicket. It’s only a matter of time until Talan figures out the whole tavern name.”

I nod, thinking it over. “Right. And I can plant false leads among the Fey soldiers. Throw off Talan’s search and get anyone I can to spread fake information until he has no idea which leads to follow.”

“Perfect. We’ll tighten our network. We’ll burn anything we have in writing. We’ve already sent agents to Lauron, but we’ll make sure they’re kept up to date about the new threat. They’ll operate under heightened alert. They’ll have to set up a lookout, posted at all times for Talan’s movements, and deal with any new threats. And if the worst happens…” She hesitates, staring at the flames. “We’ll carry hemlock. It’s better if we can end it all before the real questioning begins.”

The words hang heavy in the air between us, the fire crackling softly.

At last, I break the silence. “Okay. As soon as I can, I’ll plant some fake rumors.”

“And try to keep Talan enamored of you. Seduce him if you have to. As long as he likes you or lusts after you, he’ll be less likely to suspect you. Men think with their dicks, you know?”

My stomach swoops. “That might be a bit of a problem.”

“Why, exactly?”

I clear my throat. “I explicitly rejected him and reminded him this was all fake.”

She stares at me over her teacup, her expression hardening. “And why the fuck would you do that?”

“I thought he was going to kiss me.”

Her eyes sharpen. “And? You’re his wife. What’s the problem with that? You’re polite to everyone but him. Can you explainyourself, please? What is going so wrong in your head that you would alienate your target while we need you closer to him more than ever? Not to mention the fact that he’s not going to keep confiding in you if he fucking hates you. You’re a skilled spy. So, explain it to me like I’m five, Nia. Give me the real Nia for once. Why did you tell him you rejected him?”

I lean closer to her. “My job is to kill him. And I can’t do that if I get close to him, can I? If I get close to him, I won’twantto kill him. I’ll be compromised.”

“And you can’t fake closeness because…?”

“Because he gets in people’s heads.”

She frowns. “But not yours. You’ve managed to shield yourself.”

I sigh. “I don’t mean literally.”

“Well, it’s a shame you can’t just say what you’re thinking, but I’m pretty sure I know.” She arches an eyebrow. “You find him tempting. You can’t fake it because you want him, and you’re scared that if you want him too badly, you’ll wind up protecting him instead of killing him. That’s it, isn’t it?”

I tap my teacup. “It really doesn’t sound great. There’s a reason I didn’t want to say it out loud. I’m afraid I’ll like fucking the enemy so much, I’ll destroy the entire mission.”

She nods, staring into the fire. “I suppose men aren’t the only ones who think with their metaphorical dicks, but the first step is to admit you have a problem. Here’s what you need to do next. Don’t fuck him. Be his friend. Give him a day or two to let him think you’ve had time to change your mind. He’s lonely. Everyone is terrified of him but you, and I’m sure he’s more desperate for companionship than he is for yet another woman to shag. He has plenty of those. So, go out there in a few days, Nia, and get him on your good side again.”

With my cloakwrapped around me, I walk, feet crunching the snow.

The soldiers said I could find my husband by the eastern gates.

I follow his footprints in the snow. They follow me, taking long strides to keep up.

On the way here, I managed to plant some seeds into their malleable minds, absolute lies about the resistance and the anti-monarchy spies. As far as they know, Lumos is involved—the Marquis of Klarven himself. As the king’s nephew, Lumos wants the throne for himself, and he’s working with Arwenna’s father to make it happen, operating out of a castle called Val Sans Retour.He’s been working to undermine the crown’s military efforts. If anyone is to blame for the intelligence leak back in Scotland, it’s Lumos.

From the castle gates, I cross onto the snowy, cobbled roads of Corbinelle, where houses spread out under the icy trees like sugar-dusted pastries.

The moment I see Talan, my heart skips a beat. He stalks the path ahead, his black cape floating on the wind behind him. His sword is drawn, and crimson drops dapple the blade’s metal sheen. He must hear my footfalls because he turns and stops in his tracks. Seeing me, he wipes the bloody sword on the white snow, turning it pink, then sheaths it.

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