Page 99 of Crown of Briars
Varius leaned closer until his mouth was mere inches from mine. “Do you not recall the way my bodyresponded to yours at the revel?” His voice was low and sultry and made my blood heat. “That should be answer enough.”
My eyelashes fluttered, but I didn’t want to look away from him. I didn’t want to break this moment.
“No!” shouted one of the soldiers, jolting Varius and me from our heated moment. “Warwick, it’s too soon. Wecan’t.”
Shit. We had missed something important. Cursing myself for being such a fool, I loosened my grip on Varius’s hand and shifted slightly away from the alluring warmth of his body.
The Shadow King was far too distracting.
Other soldiers were shouting now, their protests melding together until Warwick stuck his fingers in his mouth and whistled loudly. The crowd fell silent.
“I know you’re all concerned,” Warwick said loudly. “But with Murvo dead, our timeline has to be adjusted.”
Beside me, Varius went perfectly still.
“We need to rally whatever forces we have,” Warwick continued. “We still have the element of surprise on our side.”
“What if your contact isn’t ready?” asked a soldier.
“He’s been ready,” Warwick said. “I’m in direct communication with him. As of yesterday, he had a thousand men ready to march on the Shadow Court’s doorstep.”
My breath hitched, and my blood turned to ice in my veins.
Shit, shit,shit.
But which court was planning to invade? How could Warwick have rallied so many allies willing to attack Varius?
And who was his contact?
Warwick’s voice lowered, so I had to strain to hear what he said next. “In three days’ time, we’ll rendezvous at Chesser Road. I’ll give the signal for the all clear. And from there, we can make our move.”
Horror pooled in my gut, churning so violently I thought I might be ill. Varius sensed it and looked at me with a question in his eyes.
I couldn’t speak. If I did, I was certain I would be sick.
“What?” Varius whispered. “What is it?”
At long last, I found my voice. “Chesser Road… is the road that leads directly out of Terrona Castle,” I said in a shaky voice. Slowly, I looked up at him with grief and regret swelling in my chest. “Mycastle. The kingdom that’s invading is the Earthen Court.”
Thunder roaredin my ears as I stared hard at Sybelle, trying to discern if she was lying to me. Her face was ghostly pale, her lips thin and her eyes flaring wide. She was shaking.
The scent of fear on her was pungent. It was so foreign, coming from her. I’d frequently anticipated her fear before, but she had always surprised me.
Right now, with her stunned gaze pinned on Warwick, it was as potent as ever.
A million questions raced through my mind. I wanted to yell. To smash things.
I couldn’t do any of that here. Already, my shadows were oozing forward of their own accord, drawn out by my rage.
“Varius,” Sybelle whispered, her breath a mere plea.
I closed my eyes, trying to reel my shadows in. “We need to leave. Now.”
“Wecan’t,” she hissed. “If we move, the camouflage breaks. The stone doesn’t turn us completely invisible, and these are trained soldiers. They will notice.”
Damn it. She was right. I shot a glance behind us and swore under my breath.
It was the only way. My shadows were rippling, moving across the grass. Any second now, the soldiers would notice.
