Page 46 of Fate Unchained

Lilah stared. Nihova?

“The king wrote this?”

Lilah shook her head. “No. This must be from the king’s mistress.” She pointed at the letter M. “Her name is Morana.”

The three vulk froze. Zann turned slowly from his spot at the desk. “What did you say?”

Why were they acting so strange? She shrugged. “It’s not a secret. The king has a new mistress. He always has one or two, but this one has developed quite a lot of power in a short amount of time.”

Kyril’s eyes glittered red, and he looked like he was about to attack. “Have you seen her? What does she look like?”

“Only from a distance.” Lilah pictured Morana in her head. She’d seen her riding through town with the king in one of the horseless carriages when the weather was fair. It was a barouche style, so the top was open, letting everyone get a good look at the two of them. “Dark hair twisted up on her head. Maybe in her forties. That’s been a talking point around town. The king,” she wrinkled her nose, “typically chooses much younger mistresses.”

“Is she a magicwielder?” Kyril asked.

Lilah’s mouth dropped open. “How did you know that? Yes, she was once a teacher at Herskala Academy. It’s odd because the king hates magicwielders. He doesn’t allow any to make up his protection guard.”

The vulk looked at each other. “How is this possible?” Kyril asked.

Zann snarled. “She’s hiding in plain sight. The vulk rarely mix with humans, and we avoid Coromesto. On top of that, the king’s guards protect her. We’d need to attack or kill them to get to her, which would start another war.” He shook his head. “It’s clever. I should have thought of it.”

“I don’t understand,” Lilah said. “You know the king’s mistress?”

Kyril nodded. “Yes, she’s the one who was bound to a leshak last year and started a huge battle. She disappeared, and we haven’t been able to find her. We hoped she was dead.” He stepped closer to Lilah, his arm brushing hers. “She’s mixed up with Boris. And most likely, this note is about you.” He pointed to the top part where Morana had written about having information on a girl.

Finn opened the last desk drawer. He let out a yelp, and the drawer fell onto the floor with a clatter. A large fist-sized spider clicked its fang-like jaws and scuttled onto the desk. It leaped onto the floor, raced to the fireplace, and went up the chimney. “Great. Of course I find the venomous insect.”

Lilah leaned up to Kyril’s ear and whispered, “At least it’s not a yeti.”

He grinned.

Finn kicked the drawer across the room. It splintered, and something shiny showed through the wood. “Huh?” He walked over and picked it up. It looked like a small silver knife but curved like a sickle blade. He dropped it on the desk as if it had burned him and shook his hand. “A silver cepl.”

“Only one type of spawn uses a cepl,” Kyril said.

“We haven’t seen one of them in Ulterra in centuries,” Zann said. “I thought they were all dead.”

Kyril’s arm snaked around her waist, and she leaned into him. “He’s been up here a long time. The spawn scent is distant and old.”

Lilah looked from one to another. “What are you talking about?”

Kyril shifted. “Boris is a chort. One of the higher-level spawn from the underworld. Smart. Tough to kill. They also look mostly human.” He shook his head. “We should have had a clue with the gambling den because they feed off vices.” He walked to the desk and used a claw to turn the cepl. “This is the weapon of the chort, and somehow he has one in silver.” He glanced at Zann. “Did you meet any in Peklo?”

Wait, Zann was in Peklo? Maybe that explained why he was so fierce. He’d need to be to survive down there.

“One or two,” Zann said. “Down in Peklo they aren’t out fighting, they strategize and leave the battles for others.”

“I see you brought me three vulk, not only one.” Lilah jumped and whirled around. Boris leaned against the doorway, his large frame filling it and his face in shadow from the hall. “Well, you aren’t going to get anything extra for that.”

The three vulk immediately fanned out, Kyril pulling her behind him. Boris’s gaze homed in on her, then flicked to Kyril. His gaze dropped to Kyril’s chest as if he were looking for the rune mark there. But he couldn’t know about that.

Boris smiled smugly. “You did bond with the vulk. Exactly what she said would happen.”

She froze. All right, maybe he did know.

Boris reached into his front shirt pocket and withdrew a small cylinder. The pale object glinted in the moonlight. Finn and Zann lunged, and time seemed to slow.

He tossed the silvery object at the vulk, and it exploded.

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