Page 177 of The Jasad Crown

I laughed without opening my eyes. Metal clanged as feet shuffled back, a litany of gasps ringing in the room.

“The four came first and slipped through mists of story,” I hummed in the voice that wasn’t mine. “Children of silver, beware, beware! Those legends of lies and glory.”

I slipped away.

CHAPTER SIXTY-THREE

ARIN

Arin wasn’t sure how much time had passed before a thud on the other side of the passageway roused him from his light slumber. It couldn’t have been more than a day.

Light scorched the inside of Arin’s eyes, and he raised his hand against the torch moving toward him from the other end of the hall. When it stopped in front of the Capsule, illuminating the person on the other end, Arin found himself momentarily stunned.

“Layla?”

Tears had dried in streaks down Layla’s round cheeks. The gold bracelets around her wrists shivered beneath the unsteady hand holding the torch aloft.

Blood coated the front of her gown.

“They’re coming. I told them they were coming, and they didn’t believe me,” she gasped, and Arin moved fast to catch the torch before she could drop it on herself. “I was out by one of our holdings, and I saw—”

“What is it?” Arin caught her elbow, drawing her upright. “What’s coming?”

“The Ruby Hounds.” A wet sob. “She brought them back. The Sultana—she left the Mirayah with hundreds of Hounds at her back. The Ivory Palace has been retaken, and she marches toward Nizahl as we speak. I watched her slaughter an entire regiment.The Hounds just—they just shredded through the soldiers, and I couldn’t help any of them, I couldn’t—”

Behind his alarm, a reckless burst of wonder spilled through Arin. She had really done it.

“A Ruby Hound.” Dancing shadows moved across the walls as he stood, twisting with the path of his torch. Layla dropped to a seat at the high edge of the Capsule, gripping the stone. “Good.”

“Good?” Layla gaped at him. “Their coats are made of pure gemstone! Our swords cannot harm them. Nothing can!”

When Arin didn’t react with the appropriate fright, Layla reared back. She regarded Arin with dawning horror. “Did you know what the Sultana would do?” she demanded. “Did you know she would bring an army of Ruby Hounds down upon us?”

“I knew it would be an army.”

She will never win a war with Nizahl. Not if she spends three lifetimes preparing.

“I did not know an army of what.”

Something has convinced her she can.

“So you have a plan?” Layla reached out, catching his sleeve. Arin dropped his gaze to the point of unwelcome contact. “I knew you would.”

As he watched Layla lean toward him, the familiar clash of fear and fascination playing out over her expression, Arin’s long-brewing frustration finally edged out his manners.

He pulled his sleeve away. “What would you have done if I had ever returned your interest?”

Layla blinked. “My liege—”

“Layla. At this very moment, I am not your liege. Consider this a narrow window to speak to me freely.” Arin studied the blood-splattered diplomat. In many ways, Layla would have been his ideal match. She enjoyed unraveling the twisting politics of court and handling frail-tempered nobles. Kind and even-handed, she would have softened Arin’s image to his people and helped rule with a firm hand.

She would also have led a life of singular misery with a husband whose nearness she yearned for and feared in unequal measure.

Layla was an essential component of his plan, which made the timing for Arin’s patience to finally hit its limit less than ideal. “You collect these bracelets from your suitors and speak of how you long for the perfect match. I have listened to you say time and time again how your only wishes are a peaceful love with a good man.” Arin crouched, the bottom of his coat settling into a black pool around his boots. “My love would never have been peaceful for you. How could it be, when you find peace in nothing else about me?”

When Layla flinched, clearly poised to protest, Arin tried another tack. “Why did you come to free me?”

There was no hesitation this time. “You are the Commander. Nizahl is under attack, and we need you.”

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