Page 109 of Master of Storms
Marduk pushed to his feet, the heat draining out of his face. “We have to find Ishtar. I can’t sense her right now, which means she’s still travelling via portal. She may return to those she knows. If Andri is housing my mother’s wraith, then Ishtar is vulnerable. She’ll trust Andri. She’ll let him get close to her. And if my mother consumes her magic, then she’ll be unstoppable.”
Andromeda sighed. “To hide the two of you in my rooms is one thing. To countermand Draco’s guards is another. I need to speak to the king.”
“No.Please.”
“Draco’s not….” Andromeda winced. “He has… moments of honor. When I came to this court, I had heard rumors of theZilittu, but he is not what the rumors are made of. He is trying to wrest his court into some semblance of a noble one.”
“Considering what Draco has done to his own twin, I have doubts,” Solveig pointed out.
Andromeda gave her an odd look. “What he’s done to Scorpius?”
What was Solveig doing?
Now was not the time to test the fracture between the king and queen ofZilittu.
“Wait.” Andromeda pushed forward, her shoulders straightening. “You know something. What’s going on? What has Draco done?” Her voice softened. “Is Scorpius still alive?”
“He’s alive,” Marduk replied. “Technically.”
Solveig sighed. “Ask your king about the dagger.”
“What. Dagger?”
“Your mate will have that answer,” Solveig said firmly. “It is not our place to provide it.”
Andromeda gathered her cloak and swung it over her shoulders with an angry flourish. “I will. If you’d care to join me, Your Highness, the two of us may be able to talk some sense into him. He respects you and your father. And I think he’sgoingto listen to me. I have a few things to say to him.”
“What about Marduk?” Solveig asked.
“Come,” Andromeda said to Marduk. “We’ll hide you in the tunnels. Because while Draco may grant Solveig time to plead your case, he will not take kindly to another male’s presence. Not right now.”
19
Asound whispered through the tunnel.
Marduk froze.
It could be a mouse. He couldn’t smell such a creature, but it had been a small noise. A mere wisp of fabric shifting.
There. There it came again. And this time he could distinctly hear someone placing their weight on a floorboard.
Easing the knife from his sleeve, he waited with his heart racing….
Whoever it was, they were moving directly toward the armoire where the hidden tunnel was located.
A latch clicked. The second the armoire door opened, he lunged forward, grabbing a handful of silk and shoving the offender back against the wall, with his knife at their throat.
“Marduk!” Big green eyes blinked at him in shock. And then Elin breathed a sigh of relief and slumped against him. “Thank goodness! I was so certain I was going to be captured by a big, scaryZilittuwarrior, and here you are to save me. I was looking for you!”
He tried to extricate her arms from around his neck.
He’d been hoping someone else from their party was free, but he’d hoped for someone a little less… clingy.
“Elin.” Marduk shot a savage glare around the room to ensure they were alone, then tugged her into the armoire, hauling the door shut behind them. His voice dropped. “What are you doing here? How did you escape? Where is Andri?”
The hidden chamber was still lit by the glowing emerald Andromeda had given him.
“I was never captured,” she whispered, glancing around. “I thought everyone else was gathered in Árdís’s chambers. I was trying to see if I could get them out. Malin’s in there. You don’t think they’ll hurt her, do you?”
