Page 32 of Beneath the Cursed Veil

Corvo snorted. “As if. Who would fix all your problems if I were gone?”

“Given you cause most of them, that’s a sacrifice I amwilling to make.”

He rolled his eyes. They glowed brighter for a second and his tail flicked like the snap of fingers. The pieces of glass rose from the ground and floated back to the window, resealing as if nothing had happened.

“Let it be known, I am a merciful god,” Corvo declared. Before either Kaia or I could respond, he disappeared again.

“I should get a dog,” I grumbled under my breath.

Kaia chuckled. “He would be an all-out terror if you did that.”

“And he isn’t already?”

She inclined her head. “Fair. What was he going on about with bonds?”

“No idea.” I collapsed back in the armchair just as Kaia finished dressing Meera.

“Hm,” she hummed. “We have to talk about this.” She waved her hand in front of her, motioning to the unconscious woman.

“I’m not sticking her in the dungeon.”

Kaia snorted. “Yeah. I gathered as much. Problem is, Eleanor isn’t just some snotty noble. Her family has a lot of power—and Damon is missing. Like it or not, we need to figure this out.”

I sighed. “I’m aware. I already told you what she said when I found her. When she wakes up, we can question her some more, but I wouldn’t pin his safety on it. I don’t think she knows much.”

“Perhaps.” Kaia stepped back, putting her hands on her hips. “But we need to get ahead of this. If word gets out that the prince was kidnapped out of the castle, people will question you as a leader.”

I shrugged. “Let them. If they can do a better job, they’re welcome to take the crown.”

Kaia groaned. “We’ve been over this. You can’t justhand over your seat of power. Besides, we have dream girl now. Damon aside, you have the chance to get to know her.”

I blew out a breath. “Yeah, because that’s going to be easy when I kidnapped her. I’m sure she’ll be feeling really talkative.”

“Guess you’ll just have to woo her.”

“You sound like Corvo.” It was not a compliment.

“Even a broken clock is right twice a day,” she replied sweetly.

I rolled my eyes. “We’re going to run into a problem there. Right now, she’s injured and dealing with burnout. That’s only going to last a few days though. Then we’ll be right back to where we were at the ball when she persuaded meandDamon at the same time.”

Kaia twisted her mouth, crossing her arms over her chest. “You’ve got a point. We need something that can stop her from persuading while she’s here.”

“Do you know where to get something like that?” I hedged.

“No,” she answered. “But I know someone who might.”

“The exiled one you mentioned earlier?” She nodded. “See if you can find him. He might be able to help us with Damon too.”

“Will do. If he has a solution for us, it won’t come cheap.” She flexed her jaw. “How do you want me to proceed?”

“I trust your judgement.”

She nodded. “Very well, I’ll let you know when I find something.” She turned to leave and paused. “Good luck with dream girl. I know she means a lot to you. Try not to put your foot in your mouth.”

A smile quirked on one side. “Thanks, Ki. I’ll do my best.”

Silence descended at her retreat. I waited for a suspended moment to see if Meera would say anything.

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