House of Shadows (Royal Houses 2)

“Haven’t you heard, I’m betrothed?”

Dozan smirked seductively. “Shall I tell your fiancé what a bad girl you’ve been?”

Kerrigan threw his hand back at him. “I wouldn’t mind actually.”

“Ah, would you prefer a prince to a lord?” he sneered. “Because I remember you falling into bed with a king.”

Kerrigan rolled her eyes. “Your title is made up, Dozan.”

He winked. “So are theirs.”

“Is there a reason you’re here tormenting me?”

“And here I thought this was foreplay.”

“You’re insufferable.”

“That’s what makes us such a team. But yes, I’m here for a reason.”

“Spit it out.”

“I thought you would like to know that the Society has ceased investigating Basem’s killer.”

Kerrigan froze in place. The person behind them nearly ran into her before she realized she’d stopped in the middle of the march. She continued forward. “They stopped? You’re sure? And they didn’t find out who did it?”

“You doubt my contacts?”

No. Though she didn’t have to say it.

“A little birdie told me that not only did they cease, but they also never even questioned anyone in the Society.”

“What?” she gasped.

“Only the Guard.”

“But it had to be an inside job.”

“You and I know that. I’m sure even they know that. But they protect their own. And you aren’t quite one of their own yet.”

Kerrigan fumed. “I cannot believe this.”

“But can’t you?”

Yes, she could. She’d been so wrapped up in training that she hadn’t even had time to think about the investigation. But if they hadn’t even spoken to anyone in the Society, no wonder it had gone nowhere.

“I’ll figure it out,” she said. “Let me know if you hear anything else.”

“Ah, you want me to spy for you now?”

She glared at him. “Ah. So, you didn’t give me this information freely? I won’t fight for you.”

“I wouldn’t expect you to. Let’s call this one on me.”

“You don’t offer anything for free.”

“I want you to find out who killed him,” he said, lethally calm. “And I want you to make them pay.”

Kerrigan gulped at those words from Dozan. She knew exactly what he meant. What he’d done to get his throne. The throne settled on the blood of his enemies.

She nodded anyway. “I’ll do what I can. Tell Clove I went back to the mountain?”

“My dealer will be taken care of,” he said with a small bow, and then he disappeared into the crowd.

She watched his back, feeling conflicted by his help. She doubted this was all really free. He wanted something out of it. The killer being punished wouldn’t be enough for Dozan. But she couldn’t see the threads in front of her.

Instead, she took the next turn and hurried back to the mountain. She didn’t bother sneaking back in through her side entrance; she went straight through the front doors. The guards looked at her in confusion until she flashed the Society insignia on her trainee robes. They wouldn’t stop a Society member from entering even if they hadn’t seen her exit.

She stopped by her room first when she nearly ran right into Valia.

“Kerrigan,” she gasped. “There you are.”

“What are you doing in my room again?”

“Helly sent me,” Valia said quickly, looking down.

The power dynamic between them had shifted. She hated feeling the gap between them.

“Good. I was on my way.” Kerrigan flung her cloak onto her bed and then followed Valia out.

“You were already going there?”

“Yes. Why did she send you?”

“She didn’t say. Something about training.”

Kerrigan frowned. Well, that could be anything, considering how poorly Kerrigan had been doing with bonded training. Not that she had any interest in talking about that.

“How does it feel?” Valia asked as they approached Helly’s rooms.

“How does what feel?”

“To be one of them?”

Kerrigan sighed. “Tenuous.”

Valia didn’t speak after that. The topic was closed. Nothing could change that Kerrigan had been given what Valia had been denied.

Valia knocked once, and Helly called, “Come in.”

Kerrigan stepped inside, closing the door behind her. “Helly.”

“Oh, Kerrigan, good. She found you.”

“I was already on my way.”

“Oh? What for?”

Kerrigan crossed her arms. “You closed the investigation.”

Helly sighed. “You heard about that?”

“Yes! What were you thinking?”

“It wasn’t my call. The head investigator found no evidence to trace back to the perpetrator. No one had any information.”

“And you didn’t get any because you refused to question the Society members!”

Helly frowned and slowly sank into her seat. “I was overruled in that as well. You must see how it looks. As someone now in the Society, we go through vigorous training. Our life is dedicated to this place. To question our own would mean to question the very methods that put them there.”

“Maybe that’s a good thing.”

“Maybe it is,” Helly said. “But you’re young, and you change much more willingly. The others …”

“So, you’re going to let them get away? Someone within the Society did this, and you aren’t even going to find out who it was?”

“That is the way of things. We have suspicions, and we’re waiting to see if they slip up.”