Page 66 of Reaper's Ruin
I bowed stiffly, every instinct screaming that this interaction would lead to our exposure.
Prince Alaric studied us both. “Eastern Reaches... near the borderlands?”
“Yes, Your Highness,” Soraya answered without missing a beat.
The prince nodded, seemingly satisfied. “Well, Lady Soraya of the Eastern Reaches, the Storm Court is in your debt.” He looked at the healer who had finally arrived and was now attending to his brother. “I cannot adequately express my gratitude, but please, allow me to at least offer you our best accommodations during your stay. The guest quarters in the eastern tower are far more comfortable than wherever you might currently be staying. It’s the least I can do.”
“We don’t—” I began, but Soraya’s elbow discreetly connected with my ribs.
“Thank you, Your Highness,” she said with a gracious smile. “We would be honored.”
I forced my face into what I hoped resembled gratitude rather than the dismay I actually felt.
The prince rose, signaling to an attendant. “Ensure Lady Soraya and Lord Rhyker are moved to the eastern tower immediately. They are to have everything they require.”
With a final nod of thanks, he turned his attention back to his brother, who was now being carefully lifted onto a stretcher.
As the crowd began to disperse, I pulled Soraya to a quiet corner of the ballroom.
“This is bad,” I muttered in her ear.
“Excuse me? I did a good thing! I totally crushed that! I was freaking out because no nurse is supposed to do that, but I nailed it! And I saved his life, got us a sweet place to stay so we don’t have to sleep in the cellar like you planned, and we’re inside the inner circle now. We don’t have to sneak around.”
“You’re known now. You’ve made a spectacle.”
“I saved a life.”
“You scared the hell out of me,” I admitted, surprising myself with the honesty. “And now everyone’s looking at you. Listening. And someone’s going to ask you a question you don’t know how to answer.”
“Like what?”
“Like where you trained. Or who you serve. Or who your family is. You’ve never heard of half the places they’ll ask you about, Soraya. All it takes is one slip.”
She bit her lip, the gravity of our situation finally seeming to sink in. “Okay, yeah. That could be a problem.”
I was about to suggest we retreat to our newly acquired quarters to regroup when I noticed her face had gone pale beneath her mask. Her eyes, fixed on something across the room, had widened in shock and fear.
Instinctively, I pulled her against me. “What is it? What’s wrong?”
“That man,” she whispered, her voice barely audible. “The one in the silver mask with black detailing. Near the column.”
I followed her gaze to a tall figure standing apart from the crowd, watching the dancers with apparent disinterest.
“What about him?” I asked, though a cold foreboding was already settling in my gut.
“Those eyes.” Her voice trembled. “I recognize those eyes. I think that’s him, Rhyker.”
Every muscle in my body tensed. The urge to cross the room and tear the man apart with my bare hands was nearly overwhelming. But even as I considered it, the figure turned and disappeared into the crowd, lost among the sea of masks and finery.
“Are you certain?” I asked, my voice dropping to a dangerous octave.
She hesitated, staring at the spot where the man had disappeared into the crowd.
“No, I mean... maybe? I would swear I’d recognize those eyes anywhere,” she whispered, her voice thinning to a thread. “Those were the last eyes I saw before I died. But he was far away and in a mask, so I can’t be a hundred percent certain. Still... Rhyker, I think that was him. I feel it in my gut. I think that’s the man who killed me...”
Her voice cracked.
“Killed my mom.”
