Embrace of Shadows by Jes Drew

Author:Jes Drew [Jes Drew]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Boo's Books Publishing
Published: 2022-09-18T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twenty

Sef barely gestures with his hand as he strides past me and begins to ascend the stairs to the forbidden tower.

“My liege?” Not sure which fae lord I should obey in this situation; I decide to follow the one who I am less sure will strike me for disrespecting him. And maybe he’ll go onto the narrow passage rather than the forbidden tower.

I watch with my heart in the throat as he reaches the top of the stairs . . . and lets himself into the forbidden tower without a care in the world.

Maybe there’s still time to turn and seek shelter from the blind woman wielding a knife. Surely, she’ll protect me. Or at least take the excuse to slash at someone.

Sef pokes his head back out of the room. “Are you coming, pet?”

A new fear seizes me, of being alone with such a being when I know nothing of his character. But I’m not sure what else to do, except to follow him in.

He closes the door behind me, and I jolt.

Sef isn’t the least bit unnerved to be in the forbidden tower alone with me, though, and strides past me to the circle of runes painted on the floor. “Thank you so much for agreeing to meet with me, Salma.”

I glance up, startled.

But Sef isn’t even looking at me as he brushes one sandaled foot over one of the runes, as if testing it somehow. “To get right to the point, I wanted to ask your assistance in a rather . . . delicate matter.”

Glancing at the door, I back toward it slowly. “D-delicate?”

“Yes.” He glances up at me and laughs at my expression. The sound is strangely jovial in the face of my fear. “Not to worry; it’s not anything to be afraid of. You see, one of my wife’s handmaidens, Mandisa, is in need of your assistance.”

I pause in my retreat. “My assistance?”

“Indeed.” Sef straightens, looking beyond me as he folds his hands behind his back. “You see, Mandisa feels bound to my brother. It distresses her a great deal, and Akila hates to see her in such a state.”

Remaining still and silent, I wait for him to finish.

“I was rather hoping you would be a friend to her.”

“Of course—”

Sef holds up one long, lean finger. “I was not finished. Allow me to lay out all the aspects of this bargain.”

“B-bargain?” My fingers itch to reach for the doorknob. But that would offend him. Yet surely I cannot make a bargain with him.

Where is Lord Adom? Why has he allowed his brother the chance to come straight for me after warning me so much against him?

Sef finally locks his gaze with mine, and my entire body tenses. “Avail yourself to Mandisa’s disposal. Give her all the information you have that may assist her suit. Utilize your position in this Manor to set up trysts between them. Whatever it takes.”

I lick my very dry lips and drop my gaze demurely. Surely, he won’t strike out at a demure woman, right? “I wish I could help you, my liege.

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