Before Crown and Kingdom (Between Ink and Shadows Book 2) by Melissa Wright

Author:Melissa Wright [Wright, Melissa]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2021-05-04T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter 14

Nim forced herself to straighten, but before she could warn Margery they needed to go, Lady Lora fell to the floor. She hit with a solid smack, though her body was muffled by the material of her skirts. The landing had surely wounded her if the magic hadn’t killed her outright. And it was magic, without question—Nim could feel it. Her eyes shot to the dais, and she knew Warrick could feel it, too, as he was already moving, hand on his sword, shoving through a crowd of lords and ladies who stared in shock.

Warrick shouldn’t be coming. Warrick should stand by the king.

Margery had hold of Nim and tried to drag her from the commotion as Lady Constance and three others knelt over Lady Lora to discern the cause of her fall. As they rolled her over, a line of blood raced from her temple and onto the stone. Warrick reached them and stared at Nim, indecision flickering through his emotions. She should not have been his concern, even if she could sense it was all he was thinking of. “I’ll find Wesley,” she mouthed. Wesley could keep her safe from the magic.

Warrick’s jaw went tight, but he gave a small nod. He was shouting orders before he’d even looked away, demanding guards to formation to protect the king and ordering that the castle entrances be barred.

Margery shoved Nim through the crowd and into the corridor with guards at their backs. They were rushed from the hall toward Warrick’s rooms, but the sensation of magic lingered on Nim’s skin, a crawling, prickling thing. The magic could have dropped her, the same as Lady Lora. Someone was toying with Nim. She tried to focus and remember what Rhen said to her alone beneath Inara and what Calum had said in his cell.

She had broken her contract with Calum. But she had not broken her bonds to the Trust. The magic still called to her, wanting her to turn, to go back to the hall, to the dark magic and to Warrick. She would have been a fool to put herself within reach of the magic in the king’s presence. Nothing could be done to save her from the king if her secret was revealed with so many witnesses. Whether Warrick meant to protect her or not, Inara would not stand for her connection to the magic—regardless that it had been done to her and not by her choice at all. Magic was a danger. The king was a danger.

Both of them wanted her.

Something like a laugh echoed through her senses and Nim’s steps faltered. The intimation she’d felt suddenly clear. I’ll see you soon, it said. So very soon.

Margery’s hand on her arm snapped Nim’s attention back to the corridor. Nim glanced over her shoulder. “We need to get to Wesley.”

Five guards followed them in and scattered about Warrick’s sitting room among Nim, Margery, and Wes.

“What happened?” Wes asked.

Margery pursed her lips. “Though I do treasure the boy, why did we just run to Wesley?”

Nim gave the guards a glance.

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