Page 213 of Lady of Ashes

Talwyn shifted, setting her elbow on the armrest and resting her chin on her hand, watching Tarek. He leaned forward, eyes searing into hers as if he were speaking solely to her. “I would have never left you willingly, Talwyn. You have to know that.” When her only reply was a slow blink, he sat back slightly. “Iwastaken captive. When the Night Children realized they had not killed me, they took me to the ones they were working for— the Assassin Lord and Lord Tyndell, the leader of King Theodore’s armies.”

“Mikale Lairwood?” Ashtine asked.

Tarek nodded. “He is one of them as well, but he is new to his position. The others outrank him.”

“Others?” Ashtine asked airily. “Only Alaric and Balam?”

Tarek blinked at her. “I was unaware you were on a ?rst name basis with them.”

“You have not been gone long enough to forget how Princess Ashtine speaks,” Talwyn said coolly. “It is rather unforgettable.” The sound of her voice had Tarek’s head whipping back to her. “Answer the question. Are there more besides those three?”

He looked to Azrael, then glanced once more at Ashtine, before saying, “Let me speak to you alone, Talwyn.”

Azrael huffed a laugh of disbelief as Talwyn said, “No.”

“Please,” Tarek said. “There are … things you should know.”

“That is why we are here,” she answered without an ounce of warmth.

“It involves Avonleya. Your plans. The Courts …”

Tarek trailed off, glancing pointedly at Azrael.

“You speak of his Avonleyan lineage?” Talwyn asked.

Tarek started slightly. “You know?”

“I do.”

“For how long?”

Talwyn arched a brow. “Does it matter?”

Tarek pressed his tongue to his cheek. A thick silence hung in the air for several minutes while they all waited for him to continue speaking. Finally, he said, “I have information to share, things to explain, but I will only do so with you alone.”

“Then you can fuck off back to a cell,” Azrael spat.

“I was unaware you spoke for the queen now,” Tarek replied snidely.

“You were my Third, Ordos,” Azrael said, his palms slamming onto the desk as he leaned forward. “The queen is not the only one you betrayed here.”

“Do not speak to me of betrayal,” Tarek sneered, his lip curling slightly in disgust. “Sins of the fathers and all that. Not to mention whose bed mytwin ?amehas been sharing since I have been gone.”

“You no longer bear such a Marking. Neither of you do,” Ashtine lilted. “That would lead one to believe you are not twin ?ames.”

“We were obviously unable to complete the Trials in time,” Tarek drawled.

Ashtine only hummed in contemplation.

“Whose bed I have been sharing should be the least of your concerns here,” Talwyn cut in coldly. “You have let me believe you weredeadfor an entire decade. If I chose to fuck others in those years, you really have no say in the matter.”

Tarek clenched his jaw but wisely said nothing else, his head dropping forward.

“On that note, you let me believe you were dead forten years,” she reiterated. “Why would I believe anything you have to say tome?”

Tarek slowly raised his eyes back to hers. “Because I know you, Talwyn. I know what you desire. I know what you seek. If I had any choice in the matter, I would have found a way to inform you I survived. Everything I have done these last ten years was to not only get back to you, but to help you achieve what you so desperately want.”

“And what is that?” Azrael sneered.

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