That was fair. I needed to be cautious. I didn’t want to piss off my informant. Yet there was still so much I didn’t know. “What about Waldron’s death? You’ve heard of it. Who killed him?”
“Gods if I know,” the alicorn grunted. “It could’ve been some test by the cult, to make Zlodia prove himself.”
“Are you saying he murdered Waldron in cold blood?” I hissed.
“I don’t know nothing about no murder,” the man drolled. “All I know is the cult has vowed to follow Elijah Zlodia, their Hidden King. And they’re willing to spill blood to prove their loyalty.”
“What about the border wall?” I questioned. “Everyone knows it’s getting weaker. And monsters. The Black Claw is abducting them, but why?”
The alicorn huffed. “Why wouldn’t they try to ruin the wall? To destabilize the region, of course. If I had to guess, the Black Claw is gathering monsters to sacrifice for their dark rituals. They’re becoming stronger, you know. Stronger by the day.”
He crossed his arms. “I’m not saying nothing more about it. I’m already in hot water. I say any more, and the cult will have my head— if they won’t already, once they find out.”
I stood from the table and tossed a velvet bag of Malovian currency on the table. “Your pay.”
The man snatched it greedily, and I made my exit from the pub. My teeth were gnashing in hatred and rage. Whether Elijah had killed Waldron or another cultist had done the job for him was irrelevant. Waldron was dead. There was no bringing him back.
And I feared more people were about to die if something wasn’t done.
Elijah might be the Hidden King, but I couldn’t touch him. Couldn’t do a damn thing. Any repercussions I could take would only result in my execution or imprisonment. Most likely execution, if I decided to take extreme measures and assassinate the future king of the Arcanea.
Though I didn’t mind sacrificing my life for the good of Malovia, I couldn’t do that to Emma. I was mated now. I had to think of other people besides myself.
And as much as I despised my cousin... I didn’t know if I had the reserve to kill him. Though I hated to admit it, there was a small part of me that still loved him. We had a history together, before he’d betrayed me. A family bond. We’d once been like brothers, closer than any two men could be.
Then everything had changed. I didn’t want his life to end. I wanted to stop him from slaughtering other people. I hadn’t asked for the burden of deciding to spare Elijah’s life, or saving the people of Malovia.
I worried one day I’d have to make that choice.
There was no proof Elijah was the Hidden King. I doubted he was any kind of prophesied one like the druids said. Most likely, he’d ran with the assumption and fooled the Black Claw into thinking he was some sort of chosen one, to get them to do his bidding.
Didn’t matter either way. If the cult thought Elijah was the Hidden King, and was willing to follow him, he could get them to do terrible things on the ruse of a fairy tale.
The prophecy said the Hidden King would kill Emma. I refused to allow that to happen. Elijah wouldn’t touch Emma. If it came down to killing my cousin or saving my mate, I wouldn’t hesitate. Elijah’s life would be mine.
Something in my gut told me I wasn’t putting all the pieces together. I didn’t know what I was missing.
Our only hope was if Elijah and Gabby failed their competency tests. My friends and I were doing everything in our power to make sure that happened, but there were no guarantees.
I heard the sound of a rock skittering across the rooftops, and looked up. There, I caught a hint of a white cloak, eyes flashing behind a silver mask.
I went to follow, but the White Rose was already gone.
Chapter Ten
Emma
I was getting damn tired of following Ethan around.
More than that, I was damn tired of hiding the White Rose from him.
He knew now that Elijah was proclaimed the Hidden King by the cult. He didn’t have proof Elijah had killed Waldron, but he suspected.
The reasons I had for concealing the White Rose from Ethan were dwindling away. It’d only been two months, but already, this secret was becoming more than I could bear.
At least Intro to Enchanting provided an adequate distraction. Professor