Page 68 of Invidia

He mumbled a disinterested answer in response, which was about as much as I expected, and I pushed open the cracked circular door, leaving it wide so some much-needed fresh air would circulate in the single room residence.

Caius blinked disinterestedly from the bed before realizing I wasn’t alone.

“What is he doing here?” Caius snarled, jumping to his feet and glaring at Roan, who was hovering in the doorway, taking in Caius’s living situation in horror.

“He’s here because I asked him to be here. We can return to the bitterness tomorrow. Right now, I need help. I need my brothers.”

In an instant, Caius straightened, a clear, sober look in his eyes that I hadn’t seen in years. This was the authoritative oldest brother I remembered. The one who’d been raised to lead the family, to uphold our legacy, before Roan had slyly issued a challenge and usurped him.

“What happened?” Caius demanded.

“The Hunters have taken my—” I broke off with a strangled sound, the word mate getting stuck in my throat. Tallulah wasn’t my mate. She should have been, but she wasn’t.

“My Tallulah,” I said eventually, my voice hoarse. “My love. My future mate. The mother of my child.”

“What is being done to retrieve her? Where is the captain?” Caius demanded, looking horrified.

“As much as possible, considering the circumstances.” I exhaled heavily. “A new contingent of Hunters has arrived, claiming they were an agreed-upon exchange for the loss of Tallulah and Austin. They were given instructions to seek out Aither if there was any confusion.”

Roan cursed loudly in our mother tongue while Caius’s shadows flared dangerously.

“Aither and I are competing for the same position on the Council of Shades. We were both tasked with undertaking projects for the greater good of the shadow realm, and expected to report back on them this week,” Roan explained.

“And you think this was his version of the greater good?” Caius asked sharply.

“It’s ten Hunters in exchange for two,” I pointed out as Roan shifted uncomfortably. “I suspect Aither would not have been so eager to cooperate with Lochan—the Hunter traitor—if not for the fact that he’d failed to initiate a courtship with Tallulah. He was probably… displeased that she chose me. I imagine he’s not alone in those views.”

“Fuck all those idiots,” Caius growled, as though he hadn’t been the first to remind me of my lack of horns every time he suspected I had developed an iota of confidence. “You have my full and unwavering support in this, Evrin. Whatever you need, I will be at your side.”

“As will I,” Roan volunteered quietly. For a moment, I almost thought I saw approval in Caius’s expression, but then it was gone again. “He’ll be at the apartment he keeps in Cartava, I imagine, in an attempt to lay low. I should be the one to approach him—Aither won’t expect me to be working with you.”

Undoubtedly, because Roan had said so many terrible things about me in his company in order to distance himself from me. Whatever. It would work in my favor now.

“Then, let’s go,” Caius said, naturally falling into his old role as leader. “Aither can give his presentation to the Council of Shades from the Curia during his trial.”

Chapter 25

With no windows and constant, glaring light, the passage of time was impossible to track. I definitely had to pee, my eyelids were heavy, and my muscles burned, so I assumed that at least a few hours had passed since Lochan had left, but there was no way of knowing.

Austin had been snoring quietly for a while, and I hoped he stayed asleep and that his dreams were pleasant.

I was so exhausted that my brain mostly didn’t have the energy to go into a panic spiral, so that was nice, at least. There was definitely plenty of fear at the forefront of my mind, but I was almost at peace with it, because right now, there was nothing I could do.

If there was so much as a minor chance that we could fight back, then I was going to. I would go down kicking and screaming, and causing as many headaches for as many people as I could.

But until then, I was conserving my energy.

The stairs creaked, and I hissed at Austin to wake up, though he didn’t until the door flew open with a bang.

This time Lochan was alone, and he looked furious about it.

“How’s it going?” I asked him cheerfully, emulating Austin’s confidence from earlier. “All alone this time, I see. Not facing any fallout from your terrible choices, I hope?”

Austin snorted.

“People don’t know what’s good for them,” Lochan muttered furiously. “They should be grateful. At least someone is taking decisive action. Until they realize that this is the right plan—the only plan—apparently, I’m on babysitting duty.”

“I just want to know if Sebastian and Cora were part of this plan,” I said, keeping my tone light and nonconfrontational as Lochan unlocked the cell door and let himself in, not making any effort to hide the dagger he held in one hand.

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