Page 71 of The Crimson Walls Of Algorath

“And Lady Caldwell?”

“I did not see her.” The Lord Governor sipped his drink. “I assumed she was beside herself after everything that happened. She had already been through so much, after all.”

Madan nodded. That was likely the honest truth. If the state in which he saw Ariadne after a week of travel was any indication, she’d been beside herself since. “I heard Azriel’s pyre was empty.”

“And I heard Lady Caldwell was in Monsumbra with you.”

“The Dowager Caldwell is taking care of her.”

“Will she be back for the wedding?” Alek was prying as much as Madan. They were but two Caersan men seeking confirmation from the other to validate their beliefs. “Miss Harlow would be displeased if her sister were not in attendance.”

Alek defended his feigned ignorance with the skill of a lord bred for the Society and raised to play its games. In comparison, Madan had only half the same advantages. Bred though he was by a pair of the most powerful Caersan families, his training had strayed from mere mind games and gossip. He’d been forced to learn how to gather information without being noticed, for he stuck out wildly from the dhemons with whom he’d been raised.

So Madan checked again that they were quite alone before leaning in on the elbow just above the amputation, bringing himself closer to Alek. “You know as well as I that she will not.”

As he suspected, this didn’t seem to surprise Alek, but his eyes darkened. Whether from confirmed suspicions or protectiveness, Madan couldn’t tell. Alek had been, after all, a friend to the Harlow sisters for much of their lives. He’d even courted Ariadne earlier in the season.

Leaning in, Alek leveled that cautionary gaze on him and said, “Where is she?”

“What do you know?” Madan shot back, not daring to reveal everything to someone he wasn’t certain knew it all already.

“You are correct in assuming I was one of the last he spoke to.” The corners of Alek’s mouth tightened. “I gave him a final request, from one Lord Governor to another: survive.”

Satisfied, Madan cocked a brow and said in their low, conspiratorial whispers, “Then you know precisely where she is.”

“And why are you not with her?” Alek’s question stung like venom, and that onyx stare struck like daggers. “She will die.”

“No.” Now Madan sat back, relieving the aching pressure from his stump of an arm. “That’s the problem with you Caersan men.”

Alek said nothing. He merely glared, waiting for the rest of Madan’s thoughts.

But Madan sipped from his glass and smacked his lips, quite satisfied with the way he’d pulled the rug out from under the Lord Governor. “You assume your women are helpless. Quite the contrary, really. Think about what Miss Harlow has done with you.”

For a moment, Alek’s brows furrowed, then eased back up as a small smirk of approval curled his lips. “Miss Harlow is, indeed, devious in her plans.”

“She got what she wanted from you,” Madan agreed, “in much the same way her sister got things from me.”

“Algorath is still a serpent’s den.” Alek no longer had the audacity to feign his emotions. Instead, he returned to studying Madan with interest. “How will she ever free him and make it out alive?”

“I’d never send my sister into danger alone.” Madan smirked at Alek’s piqued interest at the term sister. Now was not the time for that tale, so he powered on, “She is building her repertoire for…survival.”

Alek’s eyes narrowed, understanding. “A sword is useless against magic.”

Madan nodded in agreement. “That’s why I’ve armed her with allies and knowledge on how to strip mages’ power.”

“If you think a Desmo of Algorath is not prepared for such things,” Alek said with a huff, “then you are a fool, Lord Caldwell.”

“I’m quite aware of what a Desmo is capable of.” Madan leaned back in again, forgetting all pretenses in a sudden flash of anger. “And the only reason I’m not going to kill you for sending my brother into that hell is for Emillie’s sake. Her plan was sound…until he was placed with the Desmo most likely to kill him with her own hands and claim it was a training accident.”

When Alek opened his mouth to speak again, Madan raised his hand to stop him and continued, “I need to know one last thing before I go.”

“And that is?” Alek looked almost amused by the threat. The same mistake most people had shortly before Madan did, indeed, kill them. Everyone thought Azriel was the most dangerous of the pair. They had no idea what Madan was capable of, though he feared missing a limb would put a damper on things.

“Can I trust you?”

It obviously wasn’t the question Alek had been expecting. The Lord Governor blinked, his brows flinching together for a beat. “An interesting question—”

“Can. I. Trust. You.” The words hissed from between Madan’s teeth, his gaze boring into the Caersan with a flash of intensity. “Everything we said today stays between us. I need to know that when it’s time to act, I’ll have a powerful ally beside me—in the Council Chamber and otherwise.”

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