Tous les chapitres de : Chapitre 21 - Chapitre 30

Farrow's news arrived like most bad news did in this palace; quietly, without warning, and entirely too late to be ready for."You asked about a student," she said, closing the door behind her before Jade had even set down her cup. "Marek Dell."Jade's eyes light up immediately. "Yes, what have you found?" "I found someone who remembered him." Farrow said, crossing room to the window, her hands were folded lightly above her chest. Her face and posture revealed nothing, but Jade had learned that usually meant the news wasn't good.“He and Aurelia took three classes together at Bellmere. History of diplomacy. Advanced rhetoric. And—” She paused. “—private lessons in letter writing twice a week for almost a year.”"Private tutoring." Jade stood up. “They were close.” Farrow's voice stayed calm, but her eyes watched Jade carefully, waiting to see how she would react."Close enough that the house Mistress at Bellmere once wrote to the Queen expressing — concern. Nothing improper was

Some truths don't come all at once you know they just settle slowly, one sleepless hour after another until the person holding them don't even feel like herself anymore.Jade didn't really sleep she just laid there in the dark with the diary words turning over and over in her head like it wont stop."He says he loves me the way a man says he owns something."By the time first grey light came through the window she was already so tired of looking at the ceiling she just wanted to get up.She got up she dressed up and she found Kael waiting outside like always arms crossed jaw tight giving nothing away like he never does."You look like you didn't sleep" he said falling into step beside her like he always does."Observant" she said."Its the job" his eyes cut sideways once that same checking look he always gives when he knows she is hiding something and he decided not to push yet "Something got you rattled."Jade steps faltered just small "I'm fine.""You are not you get this look" some

Some conversations are won not by the sharpest tongue in the room, but by whoever's still conscious at the end of it, and Jade would come to regret, quite badly, which side of that she landed on.Marek guided her to a quiet alcove near the garden doors, still holding her arm as though letting go might undo whatever had just happened on the veranda, and pressed a fresh glass of wine into her hand before she could protest."You look like a woman who's survived enough tonight," he said. "This is watered properly. Court wine, not tavern wine. Trust me — I used to know exactly how much you could manage before you started reciting poetry to the hedges."She laughed despite herself and took the glass, turning it slightly in her hand."Wait, is this wine strong or mild?" she asked, giving it a cautious look.Marek chuckled. "Mild enough. I've had it watered down properly, so you won't be stumbling around after one glass.""And you expect me to trust you?""Of course. I used to know exactly ho

Grief could make even a king forget that he wore a crown. Adrian had spent so long ignoring other people's pain that he no longer knew which loss deserved his attention.Adrian hadn't slept.He sat alone in his private study, staring at the dying fire. The chaos from the night before had finally settled, but he still couldn't bring himself to rest. An untouched goblet of wine sat on his desk, exactly where he had left it hours ago. Since someone had managed to poison the King's wine, he no longer trusted anything served to him in the palace.He rubbed his tired eyes and looked towards the dark window. His reflection stared back at him, with deep lines around his eyes and a face that seemed older than it had been the day before. He looked away and folded his hands on the desk, keeping them still. Then came a soft knock at the door."Enter."Edmund stepped inside and closed the door behind him. He looked as tired as Adrian felt, though he carried himself as calmly as ever."The boy is

By the time the smoke cleared, the crows had returned to the road.They sat on the branches above, watching everything below them. They didn't seem bothered by the dead men lying on the ground. They only waited, as though they knew the bodies would soon be theirs.Jade stood beside the carriage with her hands pressed against her skirts. She was trying to stop them from shaking, but every time she looked at the bodies on the road, she remembered how close the arrows had come to hitting her.Around her, the surviving guards were busy tending to the wounded. Some were tying cloth around injuries, while others moved the dead away from the road. The horses were still restless, and the driver was trying to calm them. At the edge of the trees, the empty cart that had blocked their path was burning.Lucien stood a short distance away, wiping his sword on the sleeve of a dead attacker. He hadn't said much since the fighting ended. His face was calm, but Jade noticed that he kept looking toward