He is suspicious and intends to use the magic in this shell to prove himself right.
I drop the necklace into its pouch, sliding the drawer shut. That’s it. I’m out of here. Odissa is royally fucked, and I will not stick around to die for her.
I step toward the balcony, and the blood oath seizes my limbs. I groan quietly, irritated at the magic for its indecision.
Leaving will help her succeed! He will not fall for her if I stay.
The magic doesn’t budge. My feet solidify to the floor. I pull at them, grasping each thigh and yanking. Nothing.
Am I helping her, though? If I know about the magical necklace—if I know it might kill Odissa—am I leaving it behind for her to fuck around and find out?
I should take the damn thing with me. Drop it into some crag in the sea where no one will find it again. Or sell it on the black market. It would give Odissa the best shot at her bargain, at least.
I reopen the drawer, snatching the necklace but leaving its pouch, and stow it with the rest of my treasure. The magic eases, appeased by my choice.
Soren snorts from the bed. I jump at the sound. A sleepy hand lifts to rub his nose before it collapses back onto his pillow.
My heart skips a beat. I’m going to miss him, but this is for the best. I’ll be dead soon by blood price, and as much as I’d love to spend my final days with his cock tucked between my thighs, I will not risk Odissa discovering our secret. She’d kill him.
My stomach lurches at the thought. If Soren died because of me, I’d never forgive myself.
I hurry to the balcony, slinking down the vine, hardly feeling the prick of it or the scrape of stone as I slide into the streets below. Nothing compares to the pain that tears through my heart, like flesh caught between teeth, slowly ripping apart.
Chapter forty-four
Soren
“Who calls an emergencymeeting the morning after a ball?” I yank open each drawer of my desk. I lift the books, set them down. I toss the cushion of my chair to the floor, and it slides to the edge of the room.
“Do you need help, Your Highness?” Hugo twists his fingers, the first time I’ve ever seen him flustered by my behavior. “The queen does not like to wait.”
I’m acting erratic, I know. But the council has demanded my presence, Lord Almar has requested I bring the pendant to the meeting—the pendant that is nowmissing—and Enna is gone.
She’s gone.
I can still taste sweet remnants of her cunt on my lips. And still she is not here.
She left her dress sitting in a pile on my desk this morning, taunting me with its emptiness. The shape of her—luminous and perfect—abandoned it, leaving a deflated heap, only good for proof that she was here.
I shouldn’t be surprised. I’d been a stupid, hopeful fool to think she would stay until morning. She’s slippery as shadows, and I will need to fight to pin her down—and even then, the likelihood of my success is slim. Enna isn’t the type to be pinned down. I can’t expect her to stand stoically at my side, take orders, and do what she’s told. I wouldn’t want her to.
WhatdoI want from her?
I rub the sleep from my eyes, dragging a hand down my face, flexing the soreness from my jaw.
“Your Highness?”
I drop to the floor, crawling on my hands and knees. The cool marble does nothing to stave my rising panic. “The necklace, Hugo,” I growl. “Can’t find Amura’s godsdamn pendant.”
Hugo joins me on the floor, and we crawl around, our hands sweeping out in wide, reaching arcs.
“Can you spell for it? It’s naturally warm, is it not?”
I shake my head. “It’s an undetectable magic heirloom. I already tried.”
“And you’re sure it’s in this room?”
I slide my hand under the bed, finding nothing but dust. With a grunt, I lift the mattress, toppling it onto the floor.