Page 107 of A Crown of Tears and Treason
EVIE
Phoenix Peak was silent in the first hours of night. The moon slowly crawled over the treetops as we neared the imposing wall.
“Did something happen to Adara while I was gone?” Zandyr asked, the first words he’d said since we’d left his tower. We timed our exit with the changing of the palace guards, two shadows hidden by the statues and trees.
Neither of us had mentioned whatever had almost happened back in his room. I wasn’t about to be the first, though I could still feel his warm breaths across my cheeks.
“She’s been acting strange for a few days.” Right after she’d heard those whispers in the bar. “More protective.”
“That’s her duty.”
I shook my head. “There’s an edge there. Like she’s expecting something truly sinister to happen.”
“That’s always a probability in Clans.” Zandyr stopped in front of a jagged brick in the wall and placed his palm on it.
“She told me to ask you about it.”
“Me?” He frowned his mighty brows. “I can’t imagine how I could’ve upset her while hundreds of miles away.”
“Maybe she was upset that I didn't know about the advisors,” I whispered. It was endearing that she worried about me, but the way she went about it only rattled me more. “She kept saying I needed to be more powerful to face what was coming.”
“Perhaps,” Zandyr said slowly, as if not quite convinced. His frown only deepened. “Imminent death can rattle people in ways nobody can anticipate.”
“How come we always end up talking about death?”
A corner of his mouth ticked up. I tried to ignore just how close that mouth had been to mine. “Are my conversational skills not up to your standards, precious Protectorate Daughter?”
The opposite. They were sharp and, damn him, I’d missed them. “We’re getting married in a few weeks. What do fiances usually talk about so close to the wedding?”
“Parties, flowers, and jewels, most likely.”
“If you don’t count my first wedding–” Honestly, nobody should. Ever. “–I’ve never been to a party. I’ll come in style this time around, though. The crown Leesa showed me was spectacular. I never knew pearls could look so good.”
“They will look even better on your head.” Zandyr gazed down at me, a smile playing on his lips.
I was grateful for the darkness hiding my reddening face. I really needed to find a spell or a concoction to keep me from blushing around him.
Zandyr touched the massive wall in front of us. It began to unstitch with a groan, brick by brick. The show of magic amazed me now just as much as it had that first day in Phoenix Peak, which felt like a lifetime ago.
“How can it do that?” I asked.
“It recognizes royal touch. Unless they go through the gates, nobody can get in without us or the advisors knowing about it.”
“And nobody can get out,” I whispered just as I stepped through the small passage.
This wasn’t the road the carriage had rattled on. There was no road. Only a small path wound to a set of narrow stone stairs, hidden between the thick bushes.
If it weren’t for the metal lantern waiting at the end, I probably wouldn’t have noticed it. Zandyr picked it up and raised his open palm toward me. “Do you trust me?”
“Do I have a choice?”
“There’s always a choice, menace. You can always run back behind the walls, to the safety of Phoenix Peak.”
Ironically, I was probably safest with him. I took his hand, his warmth instantly searing into my veins. We walked in silence, our heartbeats a steady drum where our fingers touched. The stairs were jagged and sleek with evening dew. At some points, they were narrow enough for only one foot. Zandyr and I navigated the path with ease, holding on tightly to each other as our feet darted to the safest parts of the stairs.
Finally, we reached the clearing down below. Phoenix Peak and the jungle towered above us on top of the cliffs. A beautiful beach stretched out, bordered by two boulder formations that came alive with the splash of the waves.
The white sand was fine and soft as flour, with turquoise pebbles strewn through it. Small, colorful shells glowed, like they’d stolen the stars’ shine, competing with the moon’s glimmer.
