Page 62 of A Legacy of Storms and Starlight

“You look like a fool.”

Marcus bristled. “I am still your father. Still King of Feoldran and you will address me with the respect those titles command.”King.He raised a hand to strike her, but quicker than Zylah could blink, Saphi appeared from behind the curtain, her hand raised, Marcus’s stilling in response to whatever she’d done to him.

Saphi walked over to Rose and slipped an arm around her waist, easing her back a step before waving her other hand to release Marcus.

Marcus staggered for a moment, the force of his now unfrozen strike tipping his balance. He straightened his jacket and stood tall. “What did I tell you, little Rose, about keeping what you love from prying eyes. Or will you turn her away, too?” He made for the door without waiting for a response. Perhaps he had seen enough: a weakness in each of his children to exploit.

“Do you think we’re just going to let you walk out of here?” Raif asked, releasing Zylah’s hand and grabbing his father’s elbow.

Marcus stared coldly at Raif’s hand on his arm and shrugged out of his grip. “If you want to see youreminentleader return in one piece before sunrise, yes, I think you’ll allow me to do exactly that.” The door shut behind him, and silence fell across the room for a moment before Raif pulled off his jacket and threw it onto the lounger.

“I saw him in the tunnels,” Rose said as Raif rolled up his sleeves. Zylah knew that look. They were getting ready to search for Holt.

“How bad was it?” Raif asked.

Rose shook her head, and Zylah felt the breath leave her, thoughts of Mala dancing behind her eyes. Holt was strong, yet Rose’s fear of Marcus told her all she needed to know. “Let me go with you.”

Rose raised an eyebrow. “In that dress?”

“Careful, I’ve already been called a whore once this evening.” It must have been the wine, or maybe because now was not the time for one of Rose’s bullshit moods. “Holt’s my friend, too.” Perhaps her only true friend, if Zylah was honest with herself.

“Liss,” Raif cut in, taking Zylah’s hand. “We can’t risk losing any time. Rose’s visions, they change quickly.” He pressed a kiss to her knuckles and turned to the door. “Make sure word of this doesn’t reach the others,” he said over his shoulder to Saphi and followed Rose out of the door into the night.

The feelings Zylah had held at bay rose to the surface, and she shoved off her hood, the dress suddenly too tight, too restricting. “I need to get out of this.” She pushed past Saphi and headed for the stairs. “Can you get me bracers, some extra knives?” All she could see was Mala every time she closed her eyes, and she wouldn’t be able to just sit waiting for the others to return.

“Liss, slow down, you’ll trip on your dress,” Saphi said behind her, clutching at the hem as Zylah bounded up the staircase.

She felt sick, and it wasn’t the wine. “Tell me,” she said, as she rushed into Saphi and Rose’s room where she’d changed earlier. She caught Saphi’s gaze in the tall mirror that stood in the corner. “Tell me what he is to them. Holt.”

Saphi sighed, her eyes narrowed as she bit at her lip. “Holt saved them. It’s how he got his scars.” She brushed Zylah’s fingers away from her neck fastening and took over. “He owes Marcus a life debt.”

Unease washed over her again. The scars on his arm and neck… “Tell me the part you’re leaving out,” Zylah said as Saphi helped her peel the sleeves off, her bracelets jingling and her fingers warm against Zylah’s skin.

Saphi laid the hood and sleeves on the bed, smoothing out the fabric. “The life debt wasn’t for saving them, it was for… something else. When Fae ruled this world, there were four kingdoms, divided into courts, but each kingdom was ruled by two monarchs.” She walked over to the wardrobe, crystal beads tinkling on strings as she reached in for Zylah’s bundle of clothes. “Courts had High Lords and Ladies, and the royalty became greedy. They wanted one High King and Queen. Or rather,Marcuswanted to be High King. Aurelia had already passed, so he sought to take out the other kingdoms, alone. Holt’s parents were among them.”

Zylah stilled as she gathered the hem of the dress to pull over her head.Royalty is everywhere in Virian, Liss,Raif had said. Saphi perched on the edge of the bed, waiting, but Zylah was too busy working through her thoughts. She slipped into her trousers and tunic; the fabric rough against her skin after the delicate silk. Her head was spinning with questions, the effects of the wine overtaken by the unease that had settled in her stomach. “I need weapons.”

Saphi nodded and opened a drawer beside the bed, tossing knives and a set of bracers onto the white sheets as Zylah pulled her boots on. How had Holt saved them from their father?

And the life debt…A life for a life. Nothing less will repay the debt.“How does Arnir fit into all of this?” Zylah asked as Saphi helped her strap the bracers on. Only minutes had passed since Raif and Rose had left, and not once had Saphi suggested she stay. She likely knew the words would do nothing.

Amber eyes met Zylah’s. “Marcus plays a long game. His alliances only mean something to him until they don’t. Until he gets whatever it is he’s coveted, no matter how many years it’s taken him.” The Fae buckled the last of the straps at Zylah’s wrist.

“And are you going to tell me how you stopped him earlier?” Zylah asked as she slid a blade into each bracer and one into each boot.

Saphi grinned, turning her palm up to the light. “My magic is mostly limited to tricks. I made him think he couldn’t move his hand. If he’d really wanted to hurt Rose, my magic would have merely softened the blow.”

“It still looked good,” Zylah said with a smirk. “Is this the part where you tell me not to go?” She fastened her cloak over her shoulders and raised the hood. Something told her Kopi would be waiting outside.

Saphi shrugged, folding the dress out on the bed. “You said it yourself. He’s your friend too. Just don’t get yourself killed. Raif will never forgive me.”

Zylah didn’t wait for more than that. She took the stairs two at a time and was out the door without looking back. Kopi’s quiet hoot told her he was nearby, but it was something else that had her heading for the river. A feeling she couldn’t quite place.

She made her way past boarded-up buildings, rotting wooden beams supporting crumbling balconies or leaning into the next building along. This part of the city was a disaster waiting to happen, and for a moment, she longed for the small homes and establishments of her quiet village.

A selfish voice in the back of her mind told her she was looking for Holt because she needed him. She needed his training, the home that he’d offered up to her. She needed him to kill Arnir, so she could be free. But she knew that wasn’t what urged her down the narrow path along the river’s edge, away from the bridge that crossed over into the main part of the city. He’d saved her life twice, not because he had to, but because he wanted to. Because he was good and kind. And he was her only godsdamned friend in this new life of hers, and she wasn’t going to let anything happen to him.

Kopi swooped down over the edge of the riverbank to her left, and Zylah peered down expecting to see water beneath her. Instead, she saw a second path, lined with insect ferns. She crouched low, listening for anything out of the ordinary but heard nothing. She jumped down onto the lower path, and in the dim light, could make out a wooden door in the stone bank up ahead.

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