Page 59 of Deadly Little Games
I felt a flash of Sebastian’s dark magic, recognizing the sensation of him creating a bubble to keep out eavesdroppers.
The king narrowed his eyes for moment, glancing over to Crispin, who nodded that it was okay.
“We know you were shown the Realm Breaker,” Sebastian stated. “We know you were offered a chance at the bounty.”
The king didn’t react. He simply stared at Sebastian,calculating. “And what of it?” he finally asked.
“Do you not wish to be reunited with your true queen?”
The king’s eyes flared. “Friend of my daughter’s or not, I would warn you to choose your words wisely.”
“An elf with powerful magic, glamoured to look like one of the fae, tried to kill Eva last night.”
My pulse sped at his words, though he had already told me the truth. After I had taken off with Gabriel, Sebastian retreated to see if he could learn anything from the dead fae who had almost slit my throat. Only, he had been a fairy no longer. His death had dissolved the glamour.
The king’s mouth fell open in genuine surprise.
I let out a heavy breath. He didn’t know. He might have lied to his daughter about the blade, but he hadn’t sent someone to kill me.
“Who? Who would disobey my direct orders?”
Sebastian pulled a printed photo out of his shirt pocket.
I caught a glimpse of it, and bile climbed up my throat. “You went back and took apictureof him?”
Sebastian’s eyebrow twitched. “Would you rather I had brought the corpse for identification?”
At least now I knew Sebastian had been telling the truth. The corpse was an elf, looking vaguely like the man who’d tried to kill me.
The king’s mouth formed a grim line as he studied the photo. He looked at it for a long while, then slowly shook his head. “That is Zenith’s younger brother.”
I inhaled sharply.
“And was Zenith present when you were shown the sword?” Sebastian asked.
“He was.” The king’s shoulders slumped. “But I cannot believe he would go so far.” He pinched his brow and shook his head. “If I knew, I could have stopped this. I could have spared Kai’s life.”
Kai. The elf who’d tried to kill me. The king’s grief was palpable. So intense that I almost felt bad about my would-be murderer’s death.
“He said he wanted the pathways to remain closed,” I said softly. “And I think you want the same.”
He looked at me, reddish brows furrowed over tired eyes. “I thought in offering you my protection, and allowing you to be close to my daughter, I could keep an eye on things. I could keep anyone else from using you, and if you got too close on your own, I could then interfere.”
“But why?” I asked. “Your daughter believes you would give anything to reunite with the one you love. Why would you want to prevent that from happening?”
“Because it is not safe. Even if we could reopen the pathways, the elves would stay far away from them. Not for what would happen to us, but for what would happen to our home. Ourtruehome.”
Crispin finally stepped forward. “What are you talking about?”
The king wilted further, like an invisible weight was crushing him. “I know why the pathways were destroyed. I know, because I helped make it happen.”
22
Bangingon the door had us all turning in that direction. Sebastian sighed, then I felt his magic retreat. The door flew open and Elena came staggering in.
“What in the hells was that? Why couldn’t I enter? It was so quiet in here, I thought something terrible had happened.”
“The devil was protecting the room,” the king explained to his daughter. “But I suppose you should hear this as well. It’s time for you to know the truth.”