Page 10 of Path of the Dark
“I think you have some other … darker … purpose for traveling north,” she continued. “I’d wager you’re here to cause trouble.”
Elias’s gaze narrowed. He leaned in toward Ryana, deliberately invading her space. She didn’t pull back. “That’s a bold accusation,” he said softly, all trace of flirtation gone from his voice. “Do you have proof?”
“I think you’re here to kill the king,” she replied, ignoring his question and doggedly pushing on, “or perhaps to finish what you started in The Forest of the Fallen … with Ninia.”
“Careful,” Elias growled. The woman was uncomfortably close to the mark. Comely or not, she was starting to get on his nerves. “You’ve a sharp, impudent tongue … mind it doesn’t get you into trouble.”
Ryana withdrew from him. “I’m expected to ask questions,” she replied. “I took a vow to protect my king’s interests when I joined the Order.” With that, she shifted her goblet to her left hand and raised her right palm. An eight-pointed star stared back at him, its depths unnaturally black.
Elias stepped back from her, his pulse quickening. He’d let a pretty face and a lush body lure him in. Her cleverness and bladelike tongue should have warned him. Ryana wasn’t like the other women in the room.
He should have realized she was an enchanter.
Ryana strode away from Elias of Anthor, a smile curving her mouth.
She’d enjoyed that. She hadn’t managed to get much out of the prince, but she’d liked seeing the shock in his eyes when he realized who—or rather what—she was. She was used to some men reacting that way when they saw the Star of Darkness upon her palm. A few were even superstitious about female enchanters. In some pockets of The Four Kingdoms, folk still believed that if a man lay with an enchanter his cods would shrivel.
Ryana’s smile widened.
Resuming her position near the pillar, she took another sip of wine. Unable to resist, she found her gaze dragged back to the Prince of Anthor. There was no denying he was handsome, more ruggedly so than Saul though. Elias was watching her now, his dark brows knitted together. He hadn’t liked how their exchange had ended. She could see he was the type of man who preferred to be in control.
Elias had taken news of his brother’s death well, although she’d noticed the tension in his big frame, the shadow that had moved in the depths of his eyes. Ryana had been tempted to tell him she’d been the one to end Saul of Anthor’s life—but something had made her keep that information to herself. She hadn’t taken any pleasure in killing him; she didn’t want to gloat over it.
Instead, she’d gone for the jugular and accused him of plotting to kill Nathan. His reaction had been a little disappointing, although she’d succeeded in angering him. He hadn’t liked her boldness.
Ryana met Elias’s gaze across the crowded floor, and she favored him with a taunting smirk.
I’m watching you.
Elias leaned against the pillar, cradling his goblet of wine, and feigned nonchalance.
However, inside he was seething.
The enchanter had put him on edge.
He was also aware of the King’s Guard lurking in the shadows behind him, hard gazes boring into his back. Their presence was oppressive, a constant reminder of his position here.
Ninia stood just ten feet away, laughing over something with Asher and Mira had said. He’d spotted the tall blond man dressed in flowing white, and the striking woman with dark hair in a form-fitting black gown, the moment he’d entered the throne room. And he’d also noted how often Asher and Mira glanced his way.
Ryana and the King’s Guard weren’t the only ones watching him tonight.
The fingers of Elias’s right hand tingled. His nerves were stretched tight.
Maybe I should just get this done with, he thought recklessly. Go out in a blaze of glory … for Anthor.
Yet Elias knew he wouldn’t. He was loyal but not self-sacrificing. His gaze shifted across the crowd, back to where Ryana still observed him. He wouldn’t give that bitch the satisfaction of being proved right—not right this evening anyway.
“Elias!”
Tearing his gaze from Ryana, Elias spied Ninia of Thûn crossing the hall toward him, cutting her way through the sea of coiffured hair and glittering jewelry. The girl had made a point of keeping her back turned to him for the past hour, but it had all been an act.
Curiosity had likely gotten the best of her.
The princess stopped a few feet away, her gaze scrutinizing. She wore a determined expression he remembered well from their time in the Dim Hold earlier in the year. She was young, but others under-estimated the princess at their peril. The fact that, unlike other enchanters, she could wield both the Light and the Dark, made her the most dangerous woman alive.
Elias pushed himself up off the pillar and stepped forward to meet her. “Good evening, princess.”
“I was surprised to learn of your visit,” Ninia greeted him. “I never thought I’d see you again.”
