Varian, several feet away, stiffened, but did not turn.
I met Tarquin’s eye. “You didn’t mention you were a sailor.” It was an effort to sound intrigued, like I had nothing at all bothering me.
Tarquin rubbed his neck. “I had planned to tell you during our tour.” He held out an arm. “Shall we?”
Not one word—I had not uttered one word to Rhysand. And I wasn’t about to start as I looped my arm through Tarquin’s, and said to none of them in particular, “See you later.”
Something brushed against my mental shield, a rumble of something dark—powerful.
Perhaps a warning to be careful.
Though it felt an awful lot like the dark, flickering emotion that had haunted me—so much like it that I stepped a bit closer to Tarquin. And then I gave the High Lord of Summer a pretty, mindless smile that I had not given to anyone in a long, long time.
That brush of emotion went silent on the other side of my shields.
Good.
Tarquin brought me to a hall of jewels and treasure so vast that I gawked for a good minute. A minute that I used to scan the shelves for any twinkle of feeling—anything that felt like the male at my side, like the power I’d summoned in the bathtub.
“And this is—this is just one of the troves?” The room had been carved deep beneath the castle, behind a heavy lead door that had only opened when Tarquin placed his hand on it. I didn’t dare get close enough to the lock to see if it might work under my touch—his feigned signature.
A fox in the chicken coop. That’s what I was.
Tarquin loosed a chuckle. “My ancestors were greedy bastards.”
I shook my head, striding to the shelves built into the wall. Solid stone—no way to break in, unless I tunneled through the mountain itself. Or if someone winnowed me. Though there were likely wards similar to those on the town house and the House of Wind.
Boxes overflowed with jewels and pearls and uncut gems, gold heaped in trunks so high it spilled onto the cobblestone floor. Suits of ornate armor stood guard against one wall; dresses woven of cobwebs and starlight leaned against another. There were swords and daggers of every sort. But no books. Not one.
“Do you know the history behind each piece?”
“Some,” he said. “I haven’t had much time to learn about it all.”
Good—maybe he wouldn’t know about the Book, wouldn’t miss it.
I turned in a circle. “What’s the most valuable thing in here?”
“Thinking of stealing?”
I choked on a laugh. “Wouldn’t asking that question make me a lousy thief?”
Lying, two-faced wretch—that’s what asking that question made me.
Tarquin studied me. “I’d say I’m looking at the most valuable thing in here.”
I didn’t fake the blush. “You’re—very kind.”
His smile was soft. As if his position had not yet broken the compassion in him. I hoped it never did. “Honestly, I don’t know what’s the most valuable thing. These are all priceless heirlooms of my house.”
I walked up to a shelf, scanning. A necklace of rubies was splayed on a velvet pillow—each of them the size of a robin’s egg. It’d take a tremendous female to wear that necklace, to dominate the gems and not the other way around.
On another shelf, a necklace of pearls. Then sapphires.
And on another … a necklace of black diamonds.
Each of the dark stones was a mystery—and an answer. Each of them slumbered.
Tarquin came up behind me, peering over my shoulder at what had snagged my interest. His gaze drifted to my face. “Take it.”
“What?” I whirled to him.
He rubbed the back of his neck. “As a thank-you. For Under the Mountain.”
Ask it now—ask him for the Book instead.
But that would require trust, and … kind as he was, he was a High Lord.
He pulled the box from its resting spot and shut the lid before handing it to me. “You were the first person who didn’t laugh at my idea to break down class barriers. Even Cresseida snickered when I told her. If you won’t accept the necklace for saving us, then take it for that.”
“It is a good idea, Tarquin. Appreciating it doesn’t mean you have to reward me.”
He shook his head. “Just take it.”
It would insult him if I refused—so I closed my hands around the box.
Tarquin said, “It will suit you in the Night Court.”
“Perhaps I’ll stay here and help you revolutionize the world.”
His mouth twisted to the side. “I could use an ally in the North.”
Was that why he had brought me? Why he’d given me the gift? I hadn’t realized how alone we were down here, that I was beneath ground, in a place that could be easily sealed—
“You have nothing to fear from me,” he said, and I wondered if my scent was that readable. “But I meant it—you have … sway with Rhysand. And he is notoriously difficult to deal with. He gets what he wants, has plans he does not tell anyone about until after he’s completed them, and does not apologize for any of it. Be his emissary to the human realm—but also be ours. You’ve seen my city. I have three others like it. Amarantha wrecked them almost immediately after she took over. All my people want now is peace, and safety, and to never have to look over their shoulders again. Other High Lords have told me about Rhys—and warned me about him. But he spared me Under the Mountain. Brutius was my cousin, and we had forces gathering in all of our cities to storm Under the Mountain. They caught him sneaking out through the tunnels to meet with them. Rhys saw that in Brutius’s mind—I know he did. And yet he lied to her face, and defied her when she gave the order to turn him into a living ghost. Maybe it was for his own schemes, but I know it was a mercy. He knows that I am young—and inexperienced, and he spared me.” Tarquin shook his head, mostly at himself. “Sometimes, I think Rhysand … I think he might have been her whore to spare us all from her full attention.”
I would betray nothing of what I knew. But I s
uspected he could see it in my eyes—the sorrow at the thought.
“I know I’m supposed to look at you,” Tarquin said, “and see that he’s made you into a pet, into a monster. But I see the kindness in you. And I think that reflects more on him than anything. I think it shows that you and he might have many secrets—”
“Stop,” I blurted. “Just—stop. You know I can’t tell you anything. And I can’t promise you anything. Rhysand is High Lord. I only serve in his court.”
Tarquin glanced at the ground. “Forgive me if I’ve been forward. I’m still learning how to play the games of these courts—to my advisers’ chagrin.”
“I hope you never learn how to play the games of these courts.”
Tarquin held my gaze, face wary, but a bit bleak. “Then allow me to ask you a blunt question. Is it true you left Tamlin because he locked you up in his house?”
I tried to block out the memory, the terror and agony of my heart breaking apart. But I nodded.
“And is it true that you were saved from confinement by the Night Court?”
I nodded again.
Tarquin said, “The Spring Court is my southern neighbor. I have tenuous ties with them. But unless asked, I will not mention that you were here.”
Thief, liar, manipulator. I didn’t deserve his alliance.
But I bowed my head in thanks. “Any other treasure troves to show me?”
“Are gold and jewels not impressive enough? What of your merchant’s eye?”
I tapped the box. “Oh, I got what I wanted. Now I’m curious to see how much your alliance is worth.”
Tarquin laughed, the sound bouncing off the stone and wealth around us. “I didn’t feel like going to my meetings this afternoon, anyway.”
“What a reckless, wild young High Lord.”
Tarquin linked elbows with me again, patting my arm as he led me from the chamber. “You know, I think it might be very easy to love you, too, Feyre. Easier to be your friend.”
I made myself look away shyly as he sealed the door shut behind us, placing a palm flat on the space above the handle. I listened to the click of locks sliding into place.