Page 49 of Joined By Magic

Anger surged, and I didn’t bother to hide it. “Is that what you think of me too? That I’d sell out a friend for cash? From what I’ve seen, nobles are greedier than any commoners.”

I expected a sharp rebuke, but none came. Instead, he sighed hard against my back. “I had to punish you, and you enjoy pain too much for a beating to be effective.”

Was that his version of an apology? “Lucky for me you’re so creative.”

I was pushing my luck, but I couldn’t make myself care. I braced for a slap, so his softly spoken words shocked me.

“Just don’t take any more risks. I meant what I said about my father.” A long pause stretched out. “My mother took her own life because of his cruelty. Imagining you in his hands . . .”

I held my breath. He’d never spoken to me of his mother before, except in the most general terms. My anger dimmed, tempered by sadness. “I’m sorry about your mum.”

“It’s been over thirty years.”

I risked a question, curiosity forcing me further out of my black mood. “Do you remember much about her?”

His fingers drew circles on my skin, and this time, I relaxed into his touch. “She was always kind to me. She enjoyed painting, though my father destroyed everything she made to torment her. Sometimes when she knew he was gone for a few days, she’d paint with me. It delighted her that I had an aptitude for shapes and angles.” He paused. “I have her to thank for my skill with magical creations. The basic ability is the same.”

The longing in his words pulled at my heart. “She’d have been proud of you.”

He sighed again, and when he spoke, his voice had a rough edge. “Anyway, my point was to take the danger seriously. You don’t understand what my father is capable of. No one does.”

His open mood had passed.

“I won’t do it again.”

“See that you don’t. Good night, Talia.”

Stiff and formal. “Good night, Your Highness.”

As silence fell, I tracked through the events of the day and couldn’t find a correct course of action. I was endangering us by keeping quiet about Katrin, but I also couldn’t bring myself to put her in the prince’s sights. I didn’t know how far he’d be willing to go to avoid discovery.

Despite my exhaustion, sleep took a long time to come.

Chapter Twenty-Three

Liv

Aweekafterourescape to Atar, I squinted at a vid screen. “Erazmul Components has sent through another list,” Atalie sighed. “Liv, can you take that one?”

“Sure.” It was boring, but at least I was helping to find Adante. Peter had bribed his contacts in the tech components industry to send over lists of sales along with names and addresses. Garron was confident Adante would be building something. Our job was to search for anomalies—multiple parts being sent to addresses that made no sense.

It sounded simple, but the lists were huge and progress was slow. I opened the new document. Thirty pages of tiny text. Two hours later, my eyes ached almost as much as my shoulders. Time for a break.

“Does anyone fancy a walk? I need to clear my head.”

Andrew’s head shot up. More accustomed to books, Andrew tried to help but found the process slow and frustrating, always losing his place. He got to his feet and held out his arm, a gentlemanly gesture that made me smile.

He smiled back. “I’d never allow a lady to take a stroll by herself.”

I took his arm, and we set off down the corridor. Despite my instinctive dislike of Atar, the palace was growing on me. Wide passageways were interrupted at regular intervals by courtyards, illuminated during the day by the sun streaming in through the transparent, magical ceiling. It made exploring fun.

We walked in no particular direction. We proceeded in companionable silence for a while, until Andrew cleared his throat. “Any word from Dexia?”

My cheerful mood dimmed. “Ellory Griffin has been sworn in as Lord Commander. Unanimous vote.” The words hurt less if I spat them out fast. “Every attempt Leo’s made to tell his side of the story has been blocked. The Griffins must have been planning this for months. They’ve bought controlling interests in every media company, and there’s been nothing but silence from the Guardians.”

In a way, it wasn’t surprising. It was human nature to respond to the threat in front of you, and to people outside of noble circles, one Lord Commander was much the same as another. And Leo’s controversial decisions hadn’t made him popular.

Andrew’s shoulders sank, and he expelled a heavy breath. “My contacts are blanking me too—people I’ve known all my life. It goes to show what most friendships are worth.”

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