Trial of Shadows (Order of the Elements Book 3) by Emma L. Adams

Author:Emma L. Adams [Adams, Emma L.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2020-06-01T16:00:00+00:00

13

After we’d searched the whole safe house and came up empty, there was nothing more for us to do but head home. With the Death King gone and the contest’s events temporarily on hold, I was only making myself a target by staying in the Parallel, and if I drew the vamps’ attention, I’d end up in worse trouble.

Besides, if Brant hadn’t gone into hiding in the Parallel, maybe he’d come back home. To Earth. Part of me expected to find him waiting on the other side of the node, but instead, Devon’s crushing embrace caught me as soon as I reached the house.

“Whoa.” I caught my balance against the sofa. “You heard?”

“The Order called me,” she said. “They said you were supposed to be on an ambassadorial mission but there was some kind of attack and they lost contact. When they figured out that I didn’t know what they were talking about, they clammed up. What happened?”

“One of the vampires must have contacted the Order,” I said. “They pressured me into escorting Brant to the vampires for his trial, but the vamp ambassadors were assassinated on the way. Now Lord Blackbourne and his fellow vamps are probably going to blame me for it if the Death King can’t convince them otherwise, the assassins committed suicide rather than telling me who they worked for, and on top of that, I’m still on the hook to judge this bloody contest, if I don’t get arrested first.”

“Shit, Liv,” she said. “Who assassinated the vampires?”

“Not mages, I don’t think, but they’re working with the same liches who betrayed the Death King before,” I said. “We thought they all died along with the Crow, but we were wrong. If His Deathly Highness hadn’t shown up, I’d be dead.”

“Good timing.” She frowned. “Did he know?”

“I don’t think so, but he was already at the Order, for reasons he won’t tell me,” I said. “Holland set me up. Him and others at the Order are in league with the enemy.”

“He was working with the vampires?” she said. “No, he can’t have been, if he had the ambassadors killed.”

“To frame me,” I added. “Someone in the Order wanted to ensure I took the heat for Brant’s escape, too. He took off the instant I turned my back.”

“What does the Order have to gain from him escaping?” she said. “He broke their laws. And no offence, Liv, but he’s not much use to them dead or alive.”

“Yeah, I know.” I rubbed my forehead. “I think they wanted to pawn him off on the vampires, since Lord Blackbourne wanted him to stand trial in the Parallel anyway. But someone decided it’d be a good time to get rid of both of us at once.”

“You said you caught the assassins?” she said. “How?”

“Ryan and I tracked them down,” I said. “They committed suicide in the Death King’s jail before we could confirm who sent them. The address they were carrying on them turned out to be a dead end.”

“Holy crap,” she said.

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