Page 62 of Lady of the Lake

She hesitates, then shakes her head. “No. Avalon Tower is staying tight-lipped about the plans. They’re worried about leaks, especially after someone in the resistance got Meriadec killed. I don’t know who the assassins are, and they don’t know who I am. Avalon Tower gave me sealed instructions that I handed directly to Brados unopened. I only know the passwords we were supposed to exchange.”

“You didn’t read the orders?”

“No.” She furtively looks around. “According to new intel, I’m under suspicion by Auberon on the King’s Watch. I’m sure you are, too. The king has people trailing us. It’s too dangerous for us to know the entire plan in case…” She trails off and sips her tea. “You should start carrying hemlock on you. Nia, the second this is done, we need to get out of here. Understood?”

“Understood.” Neither of us could be captured alive. I clear my throat. “Nivene, I’m starting to suspect that some of the stories about Talan and his campaigns of torture…they might not be what they seemed. I think he’s taken the blame for things his father has done.”

She arches an eyebrow. “Okay. But he’s still trying to slaughter our army and invade the UK.”

“Right. It’s just that…he’s more complicated than I thought.”

Silence falls between us again, broken only by the sound of the rain. I drink my tea.

After another moment, I ask, “What else can you tell me? Do you have any details at all about the timing?”

She shrugs. “All I know is what Avalon Tower told me. It’s going to happen soon. We need you to ensure the prince is in his roomeverynight. And the assassins will need you to unlatch and open the bedroom window so they can get in. Visit his room tonight, open the window.”

“That won’t be a problem. We’ve been practicing magic in the tower next to his room.” I warm my palms on the teacup. “But won’t it looks suspicious? Opening a window?”

“I thought he trusted you.”

I swallow. “He does.”

She leans back in her chair and takes a big bite out of an oatcake. “So, make it convincing. Let’s get this done, and we can leave.”

“What about Auberon? How will they get intohisquarters without me opening the window?”

“No idea. They simply said that it’s being handled.”

My mind churns. “I don’t like this, Nivene. I understand the reasoning, but I don’t like that we weren’t involved in the planning.”

She purses her lips. “I’m not enamored with it, either. But remember that Raphael, Sir Kay, and Amon are all working on this with some of the Tower’s most experienced agents. They’ve been planning this operation extremely carefully. Have faith in them. It’ll be fine, they’ll get it done. We don’t need to know the details. Trust Avalon Tower.”

“As long as they get it done,” I echo hollowly.

Get it done. Kill the king. Kill the prince. Leave the kingdom.

CHAPTER 30

Istare out the window at a kingdom bathed in moonlight. Stars flicker in the sky.

We spent another hour practicing his dream magic, and I can’t brush off the horror of his nightmares. In his dreams today, we stalked the streets of a town in Brittany, and the dead lay all around, eyes gaping up at the skies, bodies already rotting from a massacre.

They say he was the master of that horror, but I didn’t see that part. The dreams only showed me the aftermath.

I take a sip of mead and glance outside. “Do you mind if I open the window again?” I say lightly. “It’s so pleasant today, and the view from here is so pretty.”

“Open it.” He drops into a chair with a glass of wine, then flashes me a knowing smile. “It’s a charming excuse to linger around my room longer. Farm girl, you might as well just admit the obvious and jump into my bed.”

He’s right about that, at least. I do want him. But he’s wrong about trusting me. For the past three nights, I’ve come into his room to practice the dream magic, and I’ve been opening the window every time, hanging around for a few minutes before leaving again. He never questioned it. Not even once.

I push open the window, and the chilly night air stings my face. Regret leaves a hollow ache in my chest.

I stare into the dark night and wonder how I will feel if this plan works. My eyes mist, and I blink hard, trying to clear them.

A silver of light flickers outside, a twinkling silver moth. I desperately want it be a regular moth drawn to the bedchamber’s light, but there’s no mistaking that metallic sheen and shimmering wings. Mordred wants my attention.

The little moth is fluttering frantically back and forth outside the window.

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