Red Ruse

Chapter Sixteen

Shade shadows me, gliding as if he were Elane. What his ability is, I don't know. I had been so focused on my vengeance I hadn't listened to his introduction. But it doesn't take long for him to show off, disappearing when I lunge for his arm and reappearing just out of reach. It's a game, one where I thought I held all the cards.

He leans against the wall. "You can't kill me."

"I figured."

"But we have goals in common."

I laugh. "I sincerely doubt that."

"I don't want him fucking with my sister. You don't want him fucking with my sister."

Sniff. "Hold the 'with', dear."

He ignores me, sliding along the edge of the wall. His uniform is oddly spotless, gleaming as no rebel's attire should. I scowl. "You stole those clothes, didn't you."

Shade hums, skipping. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"You were living in a mud camp."

He chuckles. "So you say."

"Whatever," I hiss. "What business do you have here? Besides scheming with that sister of yours."

"Now, why would I spoil the fun?" His smile doesn't waver, yet it no longer reaches his eyes. "Unless you have something to offer."

I could kill him. I could slip a blade from my shoulder and take his head, leaving all to mourn his absence. Though "mourn" might be the wrong word. "Nothing I would be willing to give."

"What a shame." He rounds the corner, only to draw back, flattening against the wall. A chill creeps through the air, growing deeper as I stride forward. Shade holds up a hand. "Don't."

I breeze past him with a sniff, peering down the corridor to find Mare and Maven entangled against the wall. Their voices are muffled, yet still audible. Maven shakes. "You knew him."

Mare studies her nails. "And?"

"He knew you."

I watch as they dance around each other, as Shade grows stiffer and stiffer until he seems to break. She asks about Ara Iral. She gets no answer.

"I must say, she's sharper than I expected." I chuckle. "Still hasn't managed to make him kneel, though."

Shade gnashes his teeth, and I wonder if he'll bite his tongue off. "He's using her."

"She's using him."

"This isn't right." He bites his lip. "My sister is not a toy."

I shrug. "She's certainly not a queen."

"No." He crouches, ready to pounce. "Not if I have any say in it."

"You don't." I haul him backwards. "You're barely welcome here as it is. You piss off the king, you say goodbye to your head."

"Better than saying goodbye to Mare."

I hiss. "If anyone blows your cover, it's going to be me."

Shade looks at me, startled. "Why?"

"Because you're not a threat, now, are you?" I flash my teeth. "You want what I want: Mare gone, far from my throne, without any newbloods to call her own."

His eyes darken. "We are not toys."

"Ask Maven." I lean back, studying my nails. "I'm sure he has thoughts about that."

He wavers. "Ara Iral. Who is she?"

I twirl the nearest blade. "The greatest spy of her generation, slain on one of her missions. Missing, you could say."

His brow furrowed. "He said she was alive."

"Good news for me."

"If we find her, Mare might leave with me." His eyes bore into mine. "You wouldn't have to worry she'll take your place."

I sniff. "She couldn't if she tried."

"Why risk it?"

I pause. There's little reason to refuse, not when I already plan to find her. "Come with me. And keep quiet."

"Come with me, Volo, and keep quiet."

Mother beckoned past me, a cluck of tongue and quiet unease. The day had started without me, Tolly long off to helm the search for Cal. I straightened. "May I come with?"

She waved a hand. "Sit, my dear."

"I am to be queen." I bit my lip. "How can I serve this house if I don't know its secrets?"

She hesitated, on the brink, yet something made her draw back. "Why don't you busy yourself with Corros?"

I blinked.

"Surely you've heard of Corros?" She pursed her lips. "The prison we built, by order of the king."

I had not. Nor did I hear much of their conversation, however much I strained to hear it. I caught wind of "Anabel" and "girl", and my mind flickered back to Barrow. How she had visited her, some foolish hope, and came away with empty hands. Perhaps they weren't as empty as I thought.

Shade presses forward as I linger behind, thick doors looming up ahead. We've left the palace for the road to Delphie, the faint scent of death and decay in the air. I grab his arm. "Stay behind me."

He nods, prying my fingers away. I tighten my grip. "You're not running loose here."

Smirk. "No intent to."

This was a bad idea. Still, I stride through the gates, flashing my Samos colors to anyone who dares question us. I am Evangeline. I am their hope. I am the taste of what power they could have. And I have every intent on wielding it.

"Give me a tour." My chin juts, Shade sweating beneath my palm. "Make it thorough."

One by one, he shows us the cells. One by one, Silver captives glare at us. But there is one cell they will not show me. One cell I take into my own hands.

One cell that Cal stares at me from, burning in the night.