Page 94 of Under the Lion Star

I made my way back through the house, bursting out the door as the adrenaline coursed through my body. Nima was nearly knocked over in my hasty escape.

“Gods above,” she gasped. “Did you find anything?”

“Nima,” I panted, meeting her eyes. “I need you to take these to the castle. Do not read them. Do not let anyone except for Leor take them out of your hands. You have to give these directly to the king. No one else.”

“Okay,” she dragged the word out as she took the papers from me.

“No one, Nima. Do not give anyone even an inkling of what we’ve been doing until you find Leor.”

Her eyes studied mine in the flickering torchlight of Corrin’s front steps. She nodded her agreement with a stern expression. Or at least what I assumed Pullam would look like if he were ever stern.

Cloaked in the darkness that only night could provide, I moved along the house's edge, willing my footsteps to be silent. The glamour had since faded but lasted long enough that I was able to make my way through the city streets without being recognized.

There had been no movement inside Gamril’s home in the ten minutes I’d watched it. No lighting or dimming of candles or torches. I took that to mean no one was home.

Finding an unlocked window wasn’t difficult, given how safe this area of Galvord was. The large home loomed overhead while I carefully stepped through a meticulously maintained garden. I had been able to peer in enough to find that his office was next to the room I had access to.

Leaving the window ajar so I could escape the way I entered, I moved silently across the wooden flooring. My hand rested on the doorknob, listening for a few additional moments to ensure there were no sounds in the home beyond.

With a steadying breath, I stepped into the hall, traversing the glossy wooden floors as quietly as possible. The door to the study was unlocked, and I winced at the hushed creak of the hinges. My feet made haste toward the desk, stained in some sort of a cherry color that reminded me of blood.

The painstaking care I took with opening each drawer as silently as possible was wasting time, but if Leor had thought I was in danger before, he was going to implode once Nima reached him. I hoped that I could get to him before he figured out Sanna’s role in our plan.

Just as in Lord Corrin’s office, I found a drawer with a false bottom. I tipped the thin slab of wood up and moved my hand inside. The other half of the damning correspondence were stashed in a neatly organized pile. Each word confirmed that Corrin and Gamril had been working to kill the king for some time.

I frowned in confusion as I read over an older letter, the words discussing murder but of a different target. Targets. The warmth fled my body as I read, in detail, a letter from the late human King Morlan. He was pleased to know that the castle would be ready for his men on the set date.

Blood rushed through my ears as I realized what I had just uncovered. I returned my hand to the drawer, ensuring I had gotten everything. Leor and his family needed to see this letter, and I wanted as much evidence as possible so that we could put an end to Gamril once and for all.

My fingers caught on a solid lump, and I hooked my finger through it, pulling it out. The object glinted in the moonlight from the window to my side. It was a golden signet ring featuring the red viper of House Voldair. The creature was coiled on itself, made of countless tiny rubies inlaid into the gold—an oval of silver bordered the image.

A snake in an egg.

My stomach flipped, and my face went hot. Every inch of my body came alive, vibrating as a restless, tingling sensation crawled over my skin. My eyes were fixed on the ring as flashes of my mother’s battered corpse infiltrated my thoughts. The visions inundated me, and I pressed my eyelids tight in an attempt to stop the deluge.

A snake in an egg.

My mouth went dry, and my head swam. Lord Gamril killed my mother. The harsh breaths that exploded over my lips, coupled with the ringing in my ears, made it impossible to hear anything else. Certainly not the quiet footfalls as they approached. Not the slosh of liquid as it soaked the cloth. The only sound from around me that made its way through my racing thoughts was the dark chuckle of the man behind me as he pressed the rag over my mouth and nose.

Chapter 32

Leor

At the rate I was going, I would be out of feldor within the hour. Why I had agreed to play cards with these three escaped me. At the time, it seemed like a good idea.

Zialda had spent the afternoon with Sanna and a few of her sisters. She encouraged me to take some time to spend an evening with my brothers and Atlas. It had been ages since the four of us could have a night to relax and enjoy each other's company.

Although enjoy wasn’t necessarily the word I would use. Despite losing all of my money to Orin, I was in good spirits. The sting of defeat I felt was tempered with a gentle undercurrent, knowing that Zialda fucking loved me. It seemed surreal. To think that I had somehow won the heart of such an amazing woman, but I chose not to question it.

I had it, and I would do whatever it took to keep it.

“You’re up,” Liras gestured to my cards with his chin.

I’m being swindled by two teenagers and a thirty-two-year-old who would rather be out getting laid before he takes my sister to Keldsfen.

Studying the cards in my hand, I glanced over the tokens on the gameboard, trying to figure out a route of comeback.

Commotion from beyond the hall stole our attention, each of us glancing up at the sound of shouting voices. Atlas looked at me, raising his brow, before leaving his seat and peering out the doorway.

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