Page 76 of The Evernight Court

“I do.” I nodded. “But doyouunderstand that a man like Valentine would never do anythingwithout a plan?”

He did. I could see it in the way his eyes widened when the words made sense to him. He did understand it.

“Something’s going on here, and it’s not just Valentine. I told you that morning of the duel about Emerald, the red faerie I met in the Aerie. I told you how I heard her and two men talking aboutyouguys, about somethingyouwould never see coming. About somethingbeginning.”

His brows narrowed and he took his glass of wine in his hand again, but he was calmer now. He wasthinking,not just enraged, though his eyes were still bloodshot, and I could have sworn the tips of his fangs were peeking out right under his upper lip.

“Yes, you did tell us that,” he said.

“And there’s something else, too.”

At that, he looked up at me and laughed. “Oh, is there? Here I thought you were hiding away in your tower and going to town to mess around in the woods every day—but no. You’ve been doing work, haven’t you.” It wasn’t even a question.

“It was actually an accident, but I went all the way to the lake behind the woods surrounding the castle one night, and I saw…I saw Sedelis, Romin. I saw the siren speaking to someone with legs, but I don’t know who it was.”

“Sedelis, huh,” he said, keeping that bitter smile on his face, but it didn’t matter. So long as he was letting me speak, I didn't care.

“Yes, Sedelis. And she was talking abouta mistress,and about the red faerie—and I think it’s the same faerie I met that I told you about—Emerald. She said that they were ready to march into the Woods, too—I told you this last time.”

Romin jumped to his feet so fast I almost screamed as I fell back on the chair again. “The siren. When did you see the siren?”

“Eight days ago.”

“And you didn’t think to warn me about it right away?!” he demanded, his voice a goddamn roar.

I stood up, too. “I did! I tried, remember? In this very room, I tried, and you didn’t fucking listen.” He’d just laughed in my face and had tried to kiss me. I’d ended up kneeing him in the balls for the second time, too.

“You came to me with tales about Genevieve,” he spit, but at least he wasn’t coming closer to me. Instead, he was pacing in circles near the wall.

“Because Mama Si warned me about her. Think about it—you know who Mamayka Sionne is, right?” He threw me a look. “So, you know she wouldn’t bewarninganyone about anyone she wasn’t threatened by.” Romin stopped walking and drank the whole glass in one sip. “I don’t know about you, but if a woman like Mama Si is threatened by someone, I’d want to pay close attention to that someone. And Genevieve gave me that ring. Genevieve told me that it would be undetectable by the curse—she and Valentine planned to take me to the Aerie together.” It made such perfect sense to me now that I couldn’t believe I hadn’t seen it before.

Right there, in front of my fucking face.

“Here’s a question for you, though,” said Romin, coming to stand in front of me, that smile on his face, murder in his eyes. His fangs had extended halfway to his chin, too. He looked about ready to break me in half.

“Why?” he whispered.

I lowered my head. “That, I don’t know.” I had no fucking clue why anybody around here did anything. “Butyoucan figure it out, Romin. If there’s anyone who can, it’s you.” He was the ruler. He had everyone on this Isle in the palm of his hand. People would walk all over themselves to please him. His word was law.

“And how am I going to do that?” he said, as if he were talking to himself more than me.

I answered anyway. “Figuring out if there is a way to remain alive when banished sounds like a good start. And I think you know who can answer that for you most accurately.”

Genevieve.Shecould tell him if there was magic that could enable Valentine to escape the Seven Isles when banished. To stop the curse from eating away at him. To survive out there in the human world without magic.

“Maybe I should pay her a visit then,” he said—again, more like he was talking to himself as he looked down at me.

“And the faerie,” I said. “Her name is Emerald. You’ll find her in the Bazaar.” I’d told him this at least twice before.

“Emerald, the red faerie.” He was smiling now, and he looked like a monster with those eyes and those fangs on display—such a beautiful monster.

“And the swindlers,” I said, feeling more conscious of my own weakness against him by the second.

But I wasn’t that weak anymore, was I? No, because I’d given Genevieve my blood in exchange for a power boost.

Shit.

“The, um…the swindlers maybe know something about what Valentine was planning. Maybe you want to question them as well,” I continued, and his smile widened, and he reached out his hand to touch my cheek with the tip of his finger.

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