Page 171 of The King's Man
Diadre caught my eye over her back, one brow arched as I stammered and urged Caelan to her feet—this wasn’t how things functioned in my home!
What had they done to her while I was gone?
But when I helped Caelan to her feet, she immediately trotted towards my bedchamber, turning only in the doorway to bow again, then close the door and leave us alone.
I blew out a breath and raked a hand through my hair. “This isn’t…” I started as Diadre looked at me. “This isnothow my household runs. I assure you—”
Diadre walked right up to my toes and stared up at me, and my heart went cold—would she think that I’d asked this of Cae, that I’d held her like this? That these stringent rules were part of how I lived?
‘Can she be trusted, Jann? I don’t want to question her, I know she’s helped you, but she’s clearly terrified. Can she be trusted to remain loyal when she’s under this kind of pressure?’
My heart exploded with warmth and gratitude and relief as Diadre didn’t evenaddressthe obeisance and Caelan’s chittering fear.
I cleared my throat and turned her question over in my mind, nodding quickly. ‘She’s proven her loyalty more than once. If you asked me that before this conversation I would have said yes unequivocally: She can be trusted. But she’s in fear. Fearful people are always a risk.’
Diadre nodded. “I’m glad you can see that.”
I swallowed. “Dee, this isn’t how I ask her to act—”
“I know. I can see she’s… in crisis,” she whispered. “But if she’s telling you the truth, things are worse than we thought.”
I nodded and blew out a breath. What the actual fuck was going on here?
Impregnating women whether they were strong or not? Taking women who’d proven their value and making them slaves? Ignoring the lines of household or—
“There has to be a way for us to get close to whoever this is that they’ve installed as King. Jann, it can’t be Gall… right?”
I shook my head, but in disbelief. “I truly don’t know. If you’d asked me if Gall was capable of this kind of cruelty, I would have said no, but… it’s the Fallen, Dee. Who knows what kind of grip they have?”
Diadre’s brow furrowed. “I can shroud you and we can at least get close enough to see—"
But I shook my head. My stomach was heavy, hard with the truth coming home to me. “The time for shrouding is long past,” I muttered.
“What do you mean?”
“You heard her refer to the golden eyes—that’s the Court among the Nephilim. The purest bloodlines and… allies of our traditional views, if you want to call them that.”
“The ones we eradicated with Melek.”
I nodded. “Except Gall. And me.”
There had been a thought in the back of my head—a line of logic that spoke to this entire picture, but I’d ignored it. Focused only on finding Gall and understanding who had their claws in him and what he was doing. But now… this?
Diadre stared at me like I’d suddenly grown a second head. “Your eyes are just because of your bloodline,” she said, stammering. “It doesn’t matter if they’re yellow, you’re loyal to Melek!”
I nodded. “But… they don’t know that. Not for sure.”
She blinked, frowned… then understanding dawned on her face. “Jann, no, you can’t—”
“Someone has to get close to him. Gatherrealinformation and get it back to Melek.”
“They all know you’re his best friend! The moment they see you they’re going to—”
“They also believe I’m ruthless, and that I fled Melek when he tried to claim you. If they’ve been listening to the rumors. Don’t forget, Dee, I served Gault. I was a loyal subject.”
“You gave up your own claim to the throne! They’re going to know—”
“I’ll tell them Melek bested me—and now I want revenge. They only know I went after him when he was taken to Theynor. They don’t know what happened there. I can tell them I went after him knowing he had the power to steal the men from me. Look—I’m here alone, no Melek in sight. I can make them believe it, Dee.”
