his intelligence, it was. Lines creased around his eyes as he stared at the floor. He was a thousand years old in that instant, and some of my frustration fled with his acknowledgment.
Rubbing my temples, I closed my eyes and took three steadying breaths. “I don’t understand any of this. Why send us across Lendria on a beast hunt just to have a Fabric Spinner steal Noc away?”
“Not to mention the color conundrum. That’s fun to say.” Calem gave a tight smile at his word choice. “I say we just sit her down and ask her. There are ways of making someone talk.” He cracked his knuckles, a dark glint in his eyes.
“We will not torture her.” I gave him a firm look. “I just don’t—”
“Where is she.” There was no hint of a question in Kost’s deadly calm voice. He was still lingering by the table, but his words carried an unspoken threat that rang loud and clear.
Gaige shook his head. “I don’t know. I hadn’t seen her all day.” He glanced at Raven, who gave a weak shrug.
“Bullshit.” Kost whirled on him, closing the space in a few easy strides. “I swear to the gods if I find out you’re helping her, that you intentionally endangered the man I…Noc, I will end you. Slowly.”
Something raced through Gaige’s stare. Understanding. Disappointment. Hurt. And then he tucked it away. Emotion masked, he surveyed Kost with the cool detachment I’d seen Noc use. The same icy shield he employed to put distance between us when emotions were too dangerous to be recognized.
Gaige’s tone was level. “I. Don’t. Know.”
Kost simmered, and I stepped between him and Gaige. “Let’s take a breath.” With a gentle shove, I pushed Kost toward Calem. Calem blanched, clearly not wanting to be close to an enraged Kost, but he didn’t move. Gaige’s control wasn’t as practiced as Noc’s, though, and I caught the crack in his gaze. The canyon of swirling emotion Kost had just created with his outburst.
“It’s safe to assume Yazmin will still be at Hireath.” I focused my attention on Gaige. “We need to go there immediately. If she attacked before, it’s possible she’ll attack the Charmers again. And Noc will likely be with her.”
“Let’s go, then.” Skimming his fingers along his jaw, Calem straightened and tossed a furtive glance at Kaori. “Yazmin needs to pay for what she’s done.”
Gaige eased his way off the cot. “I’m coming too.”
“You’re staying. Your injury will only slow us down.” Kost didn’t look at him.
Gaige’s nostrils flared. “My home is in upheaval, and the Crown is allegedly behind it. Another member of the Council should be present to recount what happens to the others. I’m going.” Reaching for a long-sleeved tunic left by the attendant, he painstakingly slipped it over his head.
“Me too,” Raven said, slowly easing her way off the cot. “I can at least help the other Charmers escape if Yazmin starts attacking again.”
Kost opened his mouth to argue, but I cut him off. “It’s okay, Kost. Let’s hope this doesn’t come to a battle, but if it does, there’s no need for Gaige to get in our way. And Raven can help us.” I shot her an apologetic stare, hoping we’d have time to mend the rift I’d caused when this was all over. “And they can both bear witness. Yazmin’s been manipulating us from the start. More eyes and ears will only help.”
Not to mention Gaige should be the one to witness the chaos he’d caused. We didn’t know for sure yet how we were all tied together, how Yazmin and the bounty and Noc’s identity were intertwined, but I didn’t believe they were coincidences. Everything was connected.
Silence stretched as Kost studied me with hard eyes. Finally, he gave a curt nod. “All right.” Turning, he stalked toward the double doors leading out to the halls of Cruor. “I’ll notify Emelia. The sentries need to remain on high alert until we return. Yazmin isn’t our only enemy right now.”
“Darrien,” mumbled Oz. “I almost forgot about him.”
Calem shot me an alarmed glance. “What? Did something else happen?”
I tried my best not to toss a frustrated look at Gaige and failed. “Thanks to the research this one left lying around, Darrien now knows of Noc’s heritage too. He was at the capital helping the Sentinels.”
If Gaige had been pale before, he was ghostly now. Apparently, his endless quest for knowledge had never been so disastrous before.
“That can wait.” Kost stared at the door. “We need