Page 70 of Ira

“Hey, rebel,” she said with a catlike grin. “Started any revolutions today?”

“No, but it’s still early,” I replied, giving her a wry smile. Ophelia relaxed slightly, though I could tell that the tension of the situation was still bothering her. Levana looked ready to string me up with some shadow magic, and I remembered Verner mentioning that they were old friends. Shoot, maybe I shouldn’t be taking advice from Verity. Maybe this whole idea was idiotic.

“We were just dropping Orabelle with Iris,” Ophelia said with a tentative smile. “Iris mentioned she’d seen you.”

“Yes. I, um, didn’t get a chance to talk to her about everything yet.” I cleared my throat, glancing at Levana before returning my gaze to Ophelia.

“Is no one going to say hi to me? Am I just invisible now?” Verity complained with a dramatic sigh. “This is what I get for moving away from the palace. You all just forget about me.”

It was the perfect distraction—Ophelia immediately felt bad and fell over herself to make Verity feel welcome.

“I’ll just go change,” I mumbled quietly, ducking around them and heading down to my room. I wasn’t surprised that Astrid followed behind me, slipping in as I shut the door.

She waited in silence, averting her eyes as I changed into a somewhat presentable-looking sundress and brushing my hair.

“Are you going to track him down?”

“Who?”

She shot me a disbelieving look. “Come on, now. I’m not an idiot. I noticed it weeks ago, and even if I hadn’t, he left begging me to keep you safe.”

He’d done that?

“So, what is this about? Are you warning me not to go?”

“No. I mean, would it help if I did? Apparently, you’re far more impulsive than any of us realized,” she added dryly.

My face heated. “Those were special circumstances.”

“Bullshit. You look ready to march into battle right now.” She sighed. “Listen, I feel bad for the way this has all unfolded. You could have communicated with me, but I could have definitely been more patient. More willing to hear what you were trying to tell me—I realize now how hard that conversation must have been for you. And the Verner thing… Honestly, Soren is pretty salty about it. It’s a big deal in the Guard to abandon your post. He really let Soren down.”

I swallowed thickly. “I understand. I don’t know if it would help at all to point out to Soren that it was entirely my fault. IaskedVerner to take me to the human realm.”

“He could have said no,” Astrid pointed out.

“Could Soren have said no to you?”

Astrid reeled back, though the gesture was subtle because it was her. “It’s that serious between you guys?”

“It is for me. And I don’t know if I can give him what he’s looking for, but for Verner, I’d try.”

Verity threw the door open, marching in with a brilliant smile on her face. “Don’t you fucking steal my thunder, Astrid Bishop. I see that look on your face—your resolve is crumbling. But, alas, it is too late. ForIwill be the one to bring this knight in shining armor to the beleaguered prince in the palace so she can free him with true love’s kiss.”

Astrid wrinkled her nose. “Yeah, that’s all you. I don’t want to do that.”

“Beleaguered prince?” I repeated, fiddling with my hair as if it would magically look full-bodied and not frizzy for the first time in its life.

“You’ll see,” Verity replied airily. “Let’s go, madame knight. Your prince awaits.”

Chapter 24

The chamber was my least favorite room at Sunlis. The walls, floor, and the large rectangular table that dominated the space were all made of the same black marble, and the room was built underground—it meant to function as a safe place for strategizing in the event of an attack.

While there was an abundance of silver orbs to keep the place safe from shadow walking, it still felt incredibly oppressive, and I’d barely left this room for the past week. Talks had gone on all day and well into the night, every night, as I tried to convince my father to renounce his abdication, and he tried to convince me to merely live my life exactly the way he did and never complain about it.

“We’ve been too lenient on you,” Mother sighed, not for the first time. Not only were my parents here, but an assortment ofrelatives from both sides of the family, all buzzing around like insects, pushing their own interests. Osric had made sure he was here, of course. While my father and I sat at opposite heads of the table, Osric was around halfway down, his claws touching lightly where he clasped his hands over his stomach, looking like nothing could have amused him more than these discussions. My uncle stood supportively behind his son, one hand resting on Osric’s shoulder.

It was clear what they wanted. They were hoping that Father wouldn’t back down, in which case I’d be forced to step aside also, and then the position would be Osric’s.

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