Page 16 of The Robin on the Oak Throne

“She is off-limits,” Graves said. He moved between Kierse and Estelle. “I am not sacrificing Kierse to your machinations. She is much too precious for that. I will play the game, and I will win my reward.”

“No,” Estelle said with another cruel twist to her lips. “It’s her or nothing.”

“Then it’s nothing,” Graves said.

Estelle reared back in surprise. Kierse could see that she’d been certain that Graves would fold. That he would love nothing as much as his own pride and prize. But he’d gone against her script, proving to her that Kierse mattered to him and he wouldn’t use her as a bargaining chip.

“This is your answer?”

“Yes,” Graves said defiantly. “We will go if that is yours.”

“Ah, you think me devoid of hospitality. You will stay the night.” Estelle glanced between them in confusion. “If you would like.”

Graves turned to Kierse and held his hand out. “Come along.”

Kierse swallowed and then put her hand in his, letting him pull her against him. Her heart hammered in her chest, wondering if this had really been the right play.

“You will change your mind,” Estelle said.

“Don’t count on it,” Graves told her.

Chapter Six

They remained silent as Estelle’s servant escorted them to a small, grated elevator that whisked them to a higher floor, then led them down the hall to a wooden door.

“Your usual room,” the woman said.

“Merci,” Graves said. He pushed the door open for Kierse. “After you.”

She stepped inside and found a grand guest suite overlooking the Eiffel Tower, complete with an adjoining bath and a four-poster bed.

Kierse hastily turned away from the bed as Graves shut the door and pressed his hand against it. A second later, the crush of magic around them diminished. Kierse gasped in a breath. She hadn’t realized quite how oppressive it was until it was gone. The house wasdrippingin magic. Pervasive and all-consuming.

“Holy shit,” Kierse said as she sank into a chair. “How much magic is she using?”

“Too much,” Graves said. He shot her a wry look. “She’s showing off.”

“For you?”

“Me. You. It’s all a bluster.”

“She must be incredibly powerful,” Kierse said.

“She would like you to think so.” He swept his hand out, and for a second she could feel his magic wash over her andthen disappear.

“Now who is showing off?”

“I don’t want her to be able to listen in.”

While Graves’s main magic was knowledge, his secondary magic was noise distortion. Even another master warlock wasn’t going to get through his magic to hear their conversation. Which was for the better. Since they were lying.

“That was quite a performance,” Kierse said.

His expression remained hard as he looked at her, but she could see a question in those swirling irises. As if he wasn’t quite sure whether she was complimenting him. “It went as planned.”

“Stirring,” she praised drily. “The way she was shocked that you’d risk your precious objects for a lover.” Kierse almost laughed. Instead, she bit the inside of her cheek and glanced away, inspecting the room. “When we both know you wouldn’t.”

“Hmm,” was all he said.

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