Page 11 of Avaritia

That idea made me… displeased.

Rainy stayed here by choice, unshakeable in her belief that she would overthrow me someday and be the mistress of this house—a notion I had encouraged because I wanted her to be strong and self-assured—but she was still technically a guest at this point. Perhaps I should send for Mother to collect her for a few weeks, just until Verity was settled in.

“This is Verity. You will treat her with respect.”

“No, I won’t.” Rainy flounced off in a blur of shadows, slamming her bedroom door behind her.

Aderith’s gaze tracked her, disapproving. She had always warned me that I was too indulgent when it came to Rainy. “Come, Verity. I will take you upstairs.”

“Um, sure,” Verity replied faintly.

My gaze lingered on Verity’s back as she climbed the steps, admiring the shapely curves of her body, though I couldn’t help but wonder how such a fragile being would be able to take me. Would it be enjoyable for either us? I imagined not. Sex was not an act I had much bothered with thus far. The types of lovers that a former, now disgraced, crown prince attracted were usually not the kind that I took any pleasure in spending time with.

I was allowed to plot against my brother, but I wouldn’t allow the crown to be disrespected by anyone else.

Once Verity and Aderith had disappeared to the second story, I began the ascent myself, pausing every few moments to steady my shaking limbs. We could not go on like this. The energy stores were low as it was, and they weren’t for fit, healthy Shades like me. They were for children and the elderly. For invalids, who would struggle to feed any other way. It was an insult to the strength and independence of every full-grown Shade to even suggest they drain community resources in such a way, and I’d thus far managed to get by without sacrificing my morals.

But barely.

The shadow realm deserved far better than Allerick’s irresponsible idealism. We needed strength. We needed a leader who was willing to make difficult decisions and face the wrath of unhappy citizens when it was the right thing to do.

The shadow realm needed me.

Chapter 4

“That was the duke’s sister,” Aderith murmured, leading me in the opposite direction the young Shade had gone. “Melody-Rainywillow. She lives here.”

It took me a minute to place it, but eventually I remembered where I’d heard her unusual name before. This was the teenager Austin had told us about once in an ex-Hunter wine-and-cheese gossip session.

Her attitude had sounded a lot funnier when I wasn’t on the receiving end of it.

“I guess I’ll get to meet her properly later then. How long have you worked here?” I asked Aderith, hoping I sounded cool and casual as I tried to get the lay of the land.

Historically, I wasn’t great at reading people—or Shades—so that I was struggling to figure Aderith out wasn’t all that surprising. I was definitely curious about both her and Wilder though. Were they cool with all of Theon’s… Theon-ness? Were they anti-Allerick too? I guess it wasn’t out of the realm of possibility since Captain Soren’s sister had accumulated a whole ragtag army of rebels at one point.

Aderith glanced back at me over her shoulder. “Wilder and I have been married for many decades. The former king asked us to run this household for his infant son and presumed heir.”

She turned away, a clear sign that she didn’t want to discuss it any further. Was… was Theon the infant son? He’d once been the heir? I guess the anti-Allerick stuff made some sense in that context. It was like sibling rivalry on steroids.

Aderith led me to a nondescript wooden door at the end of the landing, pushing it open and gesturing for me to enter. Fester had been very quiet in the carrier, though I felt it shifting in my hands as he stood and moved around.

It was a nicer room than I’d had in Elverston House. Smaller, but that was okay. The stone was paler and less grim looking, and the curved ceiling made the place feel more intimate. The bed was an enormous four-poster monstrosity with heavy gray velvet drapes—not exactly my aesthetic, but I could roll with it—and there were nooks and wide window ledges all around the walls that Fester would have a ball with.

“There is a bathing chamber through there,” Aderith said, gesturing at one of the three wooden, coffin-shaped doors. “Shall I run you a bath?”

“Just show me how it works, I can run it myself.” I deposited the cat carrier on the ground, confirming the door to the hallway was closed before letting Fester out to take a sniff around.

“This is Fester. He’s very friendly, I promise,” I told Aderith, who looked less than impressed as I quickly set up his litter box. “I mean, he can basically be bought with meat, so he’s pretty easy to manage.”

Fester immediately sprang up onto the window ledge, narrowly avoiding an ornamental candle holder, and yowling loudly in disapproval.

“I know, I know. Wait here, Momma is going to figure out how to use the bath.”

“That’s a strange-looking ostecta,” Aderith said, hovering by the bathroom door.

“A what? Fester is a cat. From the human realm,” I clarified when she only looked more confused.

“Ah, I see. On reflection, I think I may have encountered these animals on my trips to the human realm to feed.”

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