The Wish Granter (Ravenspire #2)(84)

As Cleo and the king reached the terrace that held Parrish’s grave, Sebastian stood and moved to the olive tree. When the pair reached him, he motioned toward the windswept grass.

“Let’s sit. Draws less attention from the road and makes us look like we’re mourners here to visit a grave.”

They sat, and Sebastian took a moment to study the king. His eyes were weary, and his cheekbones stood out in sharp relief. Exhaustion had left dark smudges beneath his eyes. His fingers clutched the sack he carried as if it contained the most important thing in the world to him, but Sebastian knew the truth. The most important thing in the world to the king was trapped in Teague’s villa, and living with the strain of that was destroying him.

“I told you to come alone,” Sebastian said—though he couldn’t find any anger to fuel his words.

“I insisted.” The king’s voice was a shadow of its former self—muted by grief and guilt.

“If either of you are caught talking to me, it could mean your deaths. It could mean Ari’s death, so we’ll make this quick,” Sebastian said. “You brought the poison?”

Cleo nodded toward the sack. “It’s in there, along with the Book of the Fae.”

Sebastian’s brows rose. “I didn’t ask you to pick up the book. I was going to go get it right after this.”

“Well, now you don’t have to.” Cleo stared him down. “Besides, Rahel knows me. She didn’t hesitate to give me the book because she sees me with Ari all the time. How would you have explained your request to her without risking that either she wouldn’t give you the book or that she’d report your actions to Teague to try to gain his favor?”

He’d been wrestling with that problem himself all morning, but that didn’t stop the worry from spreading through him and sharpening his voice. “Never mind how I would’ve done it. I was trying to keep you from being seen by any of Teague’s employees.”

She sniffed. “I go to the market every week. So what if they see me doing some more shopping?”

“Do you always go shopping with the king dressed like a stableboy? Do you always ask for a book that we both know Teague would be furious about?”

“The king stayed in the carriage—”

“Did you go to other shops as well?”

“We didn’t have time,” Cleo said. “We were only there for a minute—”

“Exactly!” Sebastian’s voice frayed at the edges, and he fought to stay quiet. He couldn’t afford for his words to echo across the hillside. “You went into the market on a day when you usually wouldn’t, and instead of stopping at various shops like you usually do, you went to one specific shop, retrieved a package, and then left the market. If any of Teague’s employees noted that behavior, the shopkeeper is probably already on the way to Teague’s holding facility for questioning, and you are in deep trouble.”

He scanned the road below, taking his time, noting every shadow, every shape.

No threats.

“How is Ari?” the king asked, his expression a naked plea for reassurance.

Sebastian met his gaze as he reached for the sack that held the poison and the book. “She’s safe. She’s managed to take over the kitchen.”

Cleo laughed, and Thad’s lips quirked as if he wanted to smile but just didn’t have the energy.

“What else can we do?” the king asked.

Sebastian glanced once more at the road. Still empty.

He wasn’t reassured.

It was time to end this meeting and dive back into his life as Teague’s collector before the wrong person saw him meeting with Cleo and the king.

“You can hire someone—someone you absolutely trust—to go to Llorenyae and get the true story of Teague’s exile.”

“That’s all?” the king asked, his disappointment evident.

“That’s important,” Sebastian said. “If Ari—I mean, if Princess Arianna knows how someone gained control of Teague before, she can figure out how to do it again. In the meantime, she can search for his origins in the Book of the Fae and use the poison if necessary.”

His scars tingled, and he swept the street again. A wagon drove past the cemetery, but from this height, Sebastian couldn’t tell who was in it.

“It’s time to leave. You go down first. I’ll watch you leave and make sure no one follows you or tries to harm you,” he said.

“Sebastian.” The king leaned forward and gripped his arm like it was a lifeline. “Thank you for being there for Ari.”

Sebastian met the king’s eyes and nodded. Holding the sack that contained what he hoped would be the key to ruining Teague, he watched them climb down the hill, get into their carriage, and drive away.

No one followed.

It was time to push this part of himself into the corner of his mind and become Teague’s top collector again. He stood. Throwing his shoulders back and hardening his expression, he strode down the steps of the pauper’s cemetery and back into the streets of Kosim Thalas.





THIRTY-SEVEN


IT HAD BEEN four days since Ari had gone to the market with Teague and witnessed the remains of Edwin and his shop. Since then, Sebastian had brought her the little jar of bloodflower poison and the Book of the Fae, both courtesy of Cleo—a fact that still made Ari’s stomach hurt with anxiety—and had told her that Thad had promised to send a spy to Llorenyae to unearth the story of Teague’s exile so many years ago.