Page 26 of The Blood that Binds Us

I bring my glass to my lips and inhale its aroma—hints of cedar and something sweet like nectar—before taking a sip. “Anything new in business? I overheard Singard and his father speaking about Legion this morning. I don’t understand all the jargon,” I say, feigning a nervous laugh and peering up at him through my eyelashes. “Is there any news on that front?” I fling my collective out and latch onto his, a spider dropping onto its next meal. His mind collapses under the weight of mine like a crushed daisy turning to dust in my fist. Not an inkling of magic coats his veins, and his mind opens for me like a freshly bound book.

“The rebellion and their allies are nothing to worry about. Don’t let thoughts of them frighten you.”

“Do they have a lot of allies?” I ask, noting his word choice.

“Hard to say. If they have anygoodones, we wouldn’t know about them, now would we?”

I hold his collective steady, primed to rip any sense of manipulation from it, but it remains limp, unreactive. “Do you have any suspicions?”

A low laugh rumbles from his chest, and he smiles while looking at the table, pondering. “If you wished to continue discussing politics, why didn’t I just invite you to my home?”

“My apologies. I just find it all so fascinating, and I can only imagine the stress you and your family are under with all the unknowns.” The lie comes out as smooth as the velvety wine I pull another sip of.

“I assure you, if we learn of anyone betraying the Black Art, they will be promptly dealt with. The Langstons will not tolerate anyone jeopardizing His Grace’s impending war.”

“Impending war? The kingdom has been at war with Legion for years.”

Bennett raises an eyebrow at me. “I’m not talking about Legion. War against thosethings.”

“Transcendents? Sin is going to declare war againstalltranscendents?”

“He’ll have our support of course, but Sin knows he needs to weed out any lurking enemies of the throne before making any official declaration. He doesn’t like to be caught by surprise, and I don’t blame him. Surprises lead to mistakes which lead to lost coin. As soon as he gathers everything he needs, the transcendent problem will be quickly eradicated.”

I go rigid, my blood hardening into a cardinal sheet of ice, the wind nipping my skin suddenly too cold, the air swelling my lungs too dry. I knew—Iknewthis would happen. The kingdom has been dragging their feet, slowly building prejudice against the shifters little by little, biding their time so that as soon as their immediate threat was dealt with, they’d set their sights on their next target. Transcendents.

My family.

And the Black Art has me out here doing his bidding like some kind of humble mercenary. White spots cloud my vision, my fists tighten, my breaths short and labored. I resist the urge to bare my teeth.

“You don’t need to be frightened,” he whispers, misreading the sudden lack of color in my face.

The sudden shift in his energy snaps my attention back to Bennett. Before I can react, he presses his lips against mine, his hand finding my calf again and wrapping itself around it. He slides his palm up my leg and squeezes my thigh as he tries parting my lips with his.

I clamp my hand down on top of his.

Pulling my mouth away from Bennett’s, I let my collective snap back to its place behind my eye, not wanting to feel hisdesirea second longer.

“Was I—was I too forward?” he stammers.

“Yes. Don’t do that again,” I bark, not editing the hostility from my tone. “I should be getting back.” I rise from my chair and tug the hem of my dress downward.

“I apologize if I alarmed you, my Lady. I suppose I thought your choice of dress was indicative of your interest in… in me. I clearly misread the air between us.” He clears his throat loudly and looks away before continuing. “May I call on you again, Miss Wren?”No. No you may not.

“I think it’s best you allow me to call on you should I be interested in your attentions again, Mr. Langston. Thank you for dinner.” I dip into a quick curtsy out of obligation, though any respect I still harbored for Bennett before the date is long gone.

“I’ll walk you back.”

“No need, I made note of the way.”

He nods. “Very well. Please send my regards to Sin and his lovely lady.”

I incline my head in acknowledgment and carry myself back to the carriage, still parked where the driver let me out.

Against those things.

Sin sent me out here, having me believe I was vetting the Langstons for information that would allow the kingdom to close in on Legion, protecting my family. But it wasn’t his war on Legion he was concerned with. He wanted to use me to gain information that would benefit his war on the transcendent race.

His war on my family.

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