ever listened during our meetings. You hardly care what happens.”
“Maybe I would care more if you hadn’t threatened me.”
Shock and anger rolled through me. Evanora threatened Blayde? I growled, standing next to Blayde to face Evanora. “What the torch is going on here?”
Evanora turned to me, her face betraying her shock that I stood next to Blayde, instead of her. “Rhys, I…” she paused. “I’m only looking out for your best interests. She doesn’t even care about the Realm, and we all… We’ve all worked so hard. I couldn’t have her fucking everything up.”
Blayde’s mouth opened to respond but Stellan stepped forward, his hand going to Evanora’s shoulder. “Cut her some slack, Evanora. She didn’t have to help us get the bracelet. If she didn’t care, she wouldn’t have risked her life for it.”
Evanora shook her head. “I’m not so sure about that.”
“You can’t expect everyone to feel the same way we do. Blayde just got here, and she’s yet to see everything. Just give her some time.”
I pulled Blayde towards me, forcing her to listen to me. “This is on me. I should’ve told you everything before we went inside the castle. I was too concerned with making it at the appointed time, I didn’t even think about what you would expect.”
Blayde reached up, fingering the lapel to my jacket as her face softened. Her voice lowered to a whisper. “So Rogue is Zara’s whipping boy.”
I nodded. “In more ways than one.”
Blayde choked out a laugh. “You’ve got that right.”
My eyebrows furrowed. “What does that mean?”
She shook her head. “Nothing. Keep going.”
I hesitated, but at her hands motioning for me to hurry, I explained. “Rogue is Zara’s top assassin. Over time, she fell in love with him. He’s probably the only person she’s ever loved besides herself. As they grew older, Evanora’s power began to grow in strength and Zara began to feel like Evanora was going to take the throne away from her. So, she put a spell on her, weakening her magic. When Zara tried to kill Evanora, Evanora was able to escape.” I paused, letting my next words sink in. “With Rogue’s help.”
Blayde’s eyes widened. “Evanora and Zara are sisters?” She hesitated, her throat bobbing. “And Zara didn’t know that they were already in love.”
I nodded. “After her escape, Zara sent Rogue to kill her. Rogue helped Evanora hide, then he presented the head of a fae-pig as proof that he’d killed her. He’s been a double agent ever since.”
Blayde’s face was pale and filled with astonishment. Guilt thrummed through me that I hadn’t told her this before. The wind whipped at her hair and I pulled it behind her ear so I could see her face. “I should’ve prepared you for all that. I’m sorry.”
It’s okay.” She looked over at Evanora, who was in an arguing match with Ado and Stellan, and nodded. “I’m just surprised. I thought he’d betrayed us.”
“I know. And Evanora hates that Rogue has to live a double life and that he has to serve under Zara, literally. But she believes in our cause, so she sacrifices her personal life in order to keep him there. Without him, we wouldn’t have all the information that we do. And obviously, we wouldn’t have been able to get the bracelet.” I pulled Blayde’s chin up so she was looking back at me. “Evanora doesn’t understand that not everyone is going to feel the same way. She expects everyone to sacrifice everything, just as she has. I’m sorry if she’s done something that makes you feel like you can’t trust her. But, believe me, when it comes down to it, she fights to keep us safe, even if it might hurt our rebellion.”
Blayde shivered, wrapping her arms around herself as she turned back to study Evanora. A burst of wind blew through the room and we all knew that the demon fae thing was here, about to attack.
“Maverick! Get ready!”
I ran towards the side of the room and hit a button. Strong lightbulbs flashed, flooding the room with bright light. Suddenly an alarm blazed through the room; a red light flashed in the darkness. I grabbed Blayde, yanking her up and into my arms, then dropped to the ground. An orange, glowing net flared out, sweeping the whole room, passing right through Maverick, Ado and Evanora. There was a loud shriek, loud enough to be heard over the wind whipping our hair. Grinning, I jumped off of Blayde, pulling her to my feet as