“Like I said, we learned from your hard lessons. And a particular kind of cleansing spell was sent from the Keep—the same spell you were given to use here. That helps Marian. And it helps me, because I don’t have to live apart from her as much.” Lucivar gave him a tired smile. “You’ve already got shields on shields around this square, so I don’t have to be as careful—or as vigilant against unwanted attention.” He shook his head. “I shouldn’t have made the decision to use the suite without talking to you first.”
Daemon stepped forward and rested his hands on Lucivar’s shoulders. “It’s all right. I didn’t think about . . . Hell’s fire, Prick. You never said anything.”
Lucivar gave him that lazy, arrogant smile that always meant trouble. “And you didn’t notice. That’s been a comfort.” He hesitated. “I also had another reason for wanting to stay in this square.”
“What’s that?”
“Discretion. I need the Sadist’s help.”
Daemon eased back and studied his brother. “Why?”
“Because the Sadist knows how to inflict pain—and how to find pain.”
“Your back is bothering you?”
“Yeah. Not as bad as other times, but since I’m here . . .”
“After dinner?”
Lucivar nodded. “Once all the pups are in bed.”
“Speaking of pups . . .” Daemon looked up at his balcony. Breen looked down at him and wagged her tail.
“You going to let your darling come down and help me dig out weeds?”
He winced, remembering another darling who used to kneel beside him as he and she weeded one of the gardens and planted the annuals she wanted in her little patch of earth. “I’ll change out of these clothes, and we’ll both give you a hand.”
“Doesn’t Holt have a list of things to review with you?”
“Probably. But if he scolds me for not reporting to my study, I’ll just blame you.”
Lucivar laughed. “Fair enough. You can help me weed, and I’ll tell you about the trouble I caused.”
EIGHT
“Here,” Titian said. “Let me do that.”
Zoey stopped struggling to close her dress and turned around so that Titian could do up the buttons in the back. “I’m so nervous. Are you nervous? This has to be about the spell that went wrong, although I still don’t know what went wrong. What if we’re expelled? Grandmother always made sure I had good teachers—except she didn’t know about some things that were going on at the school in Amdarh because I didn’t appreciate that it was more than not getting along with Delora and her friends, so I didn’t say anything to her—but I’m learning so much here. Has Daemonar found out anything? Would he tell you?”
“All Daemonar knows is that the seven of us who tried that spell and the five Warlord Princes are to report right after sunset,” Titian replied. “Uncle Daemon didn’t say anything else.”
Zoey didn’t want to leave the Hall. She really didn’t. She had the same small group of friends that she’d had at the school in Amdarh, but everything felt different here. She felt different here. Maybe trying some of the spells in that Craft notebook she’d found tucked behind some books in one of the Hall’s libraries hadn’t been her best idea—not without checking with Prince Sadi first—but something about seeing that handwritten page had made her feel bold. Feel daring. But not reckless. They’d obviously made a mistake, but they hadn’t been reckless.
Still, she should have been the one who told Prince Sadi that they’d broken a wall instead of letting Daemonar go in her place. She was a Queen after all. How could she stand up for her people if she wouldn’t stand up for herself and accept the consequences of her own actions?
“There,” Titian said, doing up the last button, and pressed a kiss against Zoey’s cheek. “We’ll get a scolding, but it will be all right. Uncle Daemon won’t tell you to leave. He won’t.”
Taking Titian’s hand, she really hoped her friend was right.
They all followed Daemonar since he seemed to know where they were supposed to go. An out-of-the-way section of the Hall, not so different from the section where they had set up the table and tools for that bit of Craft. When they reached an odd archway leading to an open area, Daemonar and the other four boys stepped aside, letting the girls enter first.
Nothing threatening, then, not if Warlord Princes were allowing a Queen to enter first, but . . . Hell’s fire, Mother Night, and may the Darkness be merciful!
Zoey had expected Prince Sadi to be there for this . . . discipline. She’d kind of expected that Prince Yaslana would be there as well. But she hadn’t expected the Gray-Jeweled Black Widow Queen with the ice-blue eyes and spiky white hair who was also waiting for them.
“Kiss kiss,” Lady Karla said.
*Do you know her?* Titian asked on a distaff thread.
*I’ve seen her.* Once. Was she here to take back the gift she’d delivered before Zoey had come to the Hall? Please, no. Not before she had a chance to ask even one question.
“We’ll talk about your adventure in a few minutes,” Karla said. “Right now, you’re all standing witness to the unraveling of a different spell.”
“You found an answer?” Prince Sadi asked.
“We think so,” Karla replied.
“First we have to find the damn thing,” Prince Yaslana growled.
“Unless it will come when it’s called,” Karla said brightly.
Prince Yaslana swore.
Daemonar sucked in a breath and whispered, “Hell’s fire.”
Karla held up a small wooden frame that contained a crystal chip woven into the center of a simple web. The chip began to shine and . . .
That voice! Soaring, summoning. A single phrase, sung over and over in a language Zoey didn’t recognize.
The Scelties howled. The wolves who lived in the estate’s north woods howled. The stallions who were in paddocks near the Hall bugled a challenge.
The singing stopped.
“Lucivar, darling, would you tell the kindred that the Lady wasn’t calling them?” Karla asked.
“Yeah,” Lucivar sighed. “I’ll do that.”
But there was another sound. A muttering that had Prince Sadi focusing on one of the windows that overlooked this open area.
Karla vanished the wooden frame and called in another frame that held another crystal chip woven into a web. When that chip began to shine, Karla said loudly, “Our apologies, Uncle Saetan.”
A second voice, the same voice that had sung that summoning, said at the same time, “Our apologies, Papa.”
“We should have paid more attention to the spell we were working on,” Karla and the other voice continued, “and we should have considered how to undo that bit of Craft before we tried it. And we’re very sorry that the explosion knocked down that wall, but we did get the hole shielded before the second floor collapsed.” Karla waited a moment before her voice, and only her voice, added, “Kiss kiss.”
Nothing. Nothing. Nothing. Then . . .
Weird streaks of black appeared in one window. A moment later, a corner of the pane changed to white sand and spilled out of the window frame. More glass changed and spilled to the ground until there was a small mound beneath the empty frame where the pane had been.
“Well,” Karla said. “That was unexpected.” She turned to Sadi and gave him a bright smile. “But it did solve your problem.”
“I’m delighted,” he replied dryly.
Zoey didn’t think Sadi was delighted, but Daemonar breathed a sigh of relief, so hopefully he would explain this later.
“Now,” Karla said, turning to Zoey. “Where did you get the spell that went awry?”