Page 29 of Lady for Embers

Unsure of how to respond to that, Talwyn said, “Then what were the others?”

“I was the fear and the favor. Scarlett was the pain and the justice. Juliette was the mercy from her wrath. Unfortunately for you, Juliette will not be here to grant you such a thing.”

“And yet here I stand while Scarlett ?ees to the west, to the very kingdom who started this entire mess centuries ago,” Talwyn spat.

“Did you know Scarlett hunted down the assassin who killed Eliné?” Nuri asked, ignoring her verbal tirade.

Talwyn stiffened. “Why would that matter to me?”

A grin that was as insane as Nuri surely was ?lled her face. “Because that assassin killed a woman who wasn’t even her real mother,” Nuri said simply, that knife twirling in her hand again. “Can you justimaginewhat she is going to do to the person who took her king, husband, and twin ?ame from her? I thought you might like to hear the story of what she did to Dracon. You know, to prepare for what will surely be a thousand times worse, especially with those fancy magic tricks she possesses.”

Talwyn stared at the new Contessa, her features carefully neutral and betraying nothing of the unease that had slithered down her spine.

“I know she will come for me. I have magic tricks of my own,” she retorted, lifting a hand and letting vines form, reaching for Death’s Shadow.

“You and your prince sure do like these pretty plants,” Nuri mused, clearly unconcerned as the vines began to snake up her legs.

“Tarek is not a prince.”

Nuri’s fangs snapped out as a vine began to wrap around the wrist of the hand that held her knife. Faster than Talwyn could track, Nuri tossed the knife to the other hand, slicing down thevines on her legs while simultaneously biting through the ones on her wrist with those fangs.

“I wasn’t referring to the wanna-be Fae prince.”

“Azrael?”

“Yes. The tall, moody one who also likes to grow green things and tries to bind me with them,” Nuri quipped, stepping from the pile of vines at her feet and continuing to climb the steps. “Anyway, once we tracked Dracon down, we took him to a more secure location. So his screams wouldn’t draw unwanted attention,” she continued. “And she certainly took her time with him. Hours. Days. We weren’t trained as healers, but we de?nitely knew how to torture and make sure one stays alive and awake to feel all of it. Isn’t it delightful that our training was so thorough?”

“Yes... delightful,” Talwyn ground out from between her teeth.

“Do you want to guess her favorite weapon to use? I don’t think it is one you would expect,” Nuri said thoughtfully, as if Talwyn would actually want to play this inane guessing game.

“Why are you telling me any of this?” Talwyn asked in annoyance.

Nuri shot her a look that made it clear she thought she was speaking with someone who was dense. “Were you not listening? I am the fear and the favor.”

She turned to tell the Night Child she could stop speaking, but she was gone. How she had disappeared in the middle of a stairwell, Talwyn had no idea. She turned back to step onto the third ?oor landing to ?nd Tarek standing there, waiting for her.

“Talwyn,” he said, pale green eyes scanning her from head to toe. “We were starting to get worried when you did not—”

“Come running like a dog being summoned?” Talwyn cut in, her head tilting.

Tarek paused. “I was going to say when you did not return my message.”

“I have other things to do. I run four entire Courts. I cannot simply drop what I am doing when I receive a message that the Assassin Lord would like to hold an impromptu meeting,” she said, brushing past him and continuing to make her way to the council room.

Tarek fell into step beside her, his hands sliding into his pockets. “You did not sleep at the White Halls last night... Again.”

She said nothing, wondering why they had to meet in the council room at the end of this ridiculously long hall.

“I waited for you, Moon?ower.”

She fought the ?inch that wanted to overtake her, her jaw aching from how tightly she was clenching her teeth.

“Where do you disappear to every night?”

“I have things to tendto.”

“Where?” he pushed.

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