Page 172 of Glow of the Everflame

“I can’t take you through the palace, and we might not be able to distract the guards again. We have to go now.”

I cracked the door open and confirmed my suspicion—the guards had followed a turn in the canal that put them out of sight. I threw the door open and shoved Vance and Henri ahead of me, and the three of us took off at breakneck speed.

In our haste, we abandoned our lantern, and with only the faint light from my Crown to guide us, the walkway was nearly pitch black. One wrong step would send us tumbling to the ground or into the water. Both would cost us dearly.

“Is someone there?” a guard shouted behind us.

The sound of running grew louder. Orbs of magic-made light shot through the tunnel, lighting our way but putting us on clear display if the guards got close enough to spot us.

“Keep going,” I hissed. All my survival instincts roared in protest as I slowed my steps to distance myself from the two men. Getting caught alone, I could talk my way out of. Getting caught showing a secret palace entrance to two mortals was a death sentence—for me or for the guards, and that was a choice I had no desire to make.

Neither man looked back as they sprinted ahead and disappeared through the leafy curtain of weeping willow branches that disguised the canal’s entrance.

“You there, stop!” a guard barked.

I picked up my pace and darted through the thick drape of vines, then shot toward a patch of brush that was still shaking with movement.

As my eyes adjusted to the dim moonlight, I caught sight of Vance and Henri running ahead. I followed in their path until the sounds of pursuit faded and my racing pulse soothed with the relief of a successful escape.

“Henri! Vance!” I whisper-shouted. “Come back, we lost them!”

But they didn’t slow.

“Stop running!” I called out, louder.

Vance threw me a look over his shoulder, and I saw it in his eyes. He was no longer running from them, but from me.

Because now, he knewmyplan. He knew I would blindfold them again, take them on another winding path to disorient them, then drop them off somewhere far away so they couldn’t find their way back to the canal without me.

Vance had seen an opportunity to get more information from me than I was willing to give—and he was taking it.

“Stop,” I bellowed. “We had a deal!”

Vance sped up and vanished into a tangle of foliage, leaving me panting out a colorful string of swears. Henri followed fast behind him.

“Henri—wait.”

He skidded to a stop, looking back at me, then at the spot where Vance had gone. Conflict simmered in his gaze.

“Don’t,” I warned, but my words were ripped away as my fiancé shot me an apologetic look and disappeared into the forest.

ChapterThirty-Four

Shrieks of laughter filled the skies as a blur of golden fur and black scales went whizzing past.

“Sorae, if they get hurt, your hide is going to make a beautiful rug for the library floor.”

The gryvern snorted in amusement, undeterred by my threat, and spiraled into a roll. The downdraft of her wings sent my hair whipping around my face, leaving the echo of Teller and Lily’s giggles in her wake.

Eleanor yelped and lunged forward to hold down the fluttering blankets. In an effort to cheer me up, she had organized a spread of cakes, berries, and sweet wine on a grassy knoll in the palace gardens. Although winter had fully arrived and it was too brisk to comfortably picnic, we had cuddled together under the warmth of the spelled cloak gifted from Montios at the ball. She had even arranged for some musicians to play nearby. I suspected it was no coincidence they only seemed to have the cheeriest songs in their repertoire.

Nearly two weeks had passed since my father’s funeral, and the Period of Challenging was nearing its end. My mood had not improved—every day I woke up feeling more hardened, more numb, and more isolated than ever—but Eleanor was trying so hard, her kind heart so obviously hurting for me, that I had forced myself to at least pretend.

Teller and Lily had joined us, scarfing down as much sugar as they could eat, then begging to take a ride on Sorae. It was the first glimpse of happiness I’d seen in my brother since our father’s death, so I’d had no choice but to swallow my overprotective instincts and agree.

Teller had taken the brunt of Luther’s efforts to atone, and a small army of guards followed him everywhere he went. While it made him perhaps the safest person in the realm, maybe even the continent, it also made spending time alone with Lily next to impossible.

Unfortunately for him, his pleas for me to convince Luther to relax went unanswered. I was both too grateful for Teller’s safety and too unwilling to have any conversation with Luther that wasn’t strictly necessary.

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