Whatever this wizard’s motivation was for attacking us, I couldn’t bring myself to subject him to the R.I.
“This is my job, Your Highness. Why don’t you let me handle it?”
The wizard’s eyes bulged as he strained to speak. “Yes, listen to the wise young lady.”
I twisted to face the prince. “See? He thinks you should submit to me.” I turned back to the wizard and saw only empty air. “What the devil?” I swiveled left and right in search of him.
The prince scratched the back of his neck. “Huh. He teleported. How about that?”
That must’ve been what he’d worn around his neck. Some kind of teleportation talisman.
“He must’ve used every last shred of energy he possessed to trigger that spell,” the prince said.
“Can you blame him? It was his only exit strategy at this point.”
“Any idea who they were?”
I shook my head. “Wizards on the hunt for the stone.”
He gazed at the five corpses that littered the ground. “Only one left now. I’ll take those odds.”
I highly doubted there were only six wizards in the Green Wizard’s cadre. They were too well trained. Too slick. I kept my assessment to myself though. I had no interest in sharing any more than necessary with the Lord of Shadows. One wrong move and I could find myself in the chamber staring into the eyes of the Royal Inquisitor—or worse.
“What is it?” he prompted.
I clearly had to work on my poker face. “Just thinking that I don’t want to end up at the wrong end of a vampire’s fangs.”
His mouth twisted in amusement. “Is there a right end for you?”
I distracted him with the information I’d learned before the attack. That Maria had unearthed a stone that she decided not to share with her colleagues, smuggled it off-site and showed it to a known dealer, and then agreed to sell it. I wondered whether it had been a spur-of-the-moment decision—a plan she devised when she set eyes on the stone—or whether she knew what the stone was and that she might find it here at the outset.
“A thief and a group of wizards practicing illegal magic in the city,” the prince mused. “Who knew this job would become so interesting?”
The wizards had to know they’d draw unwanted attention to themselves if they weren’t careful—and these guys weren’t careful. Either they didn’t care or they were desperate. My money was on desperate—but why? I needed to know more about this stone and why enough people seemed to know about it to already cause carnage.
“You can turn invisible,” the prince said. He wore an inscrutable expression.
I swallowed the lump in my throat and put on air of bravado. “Congratulations. You don’t need glasses.”
“How?”
“Because your eyesight is good.”
He narrowed his eyes as if to say ‘you know what I mean.’
I rested the handle of my axe on my shoulder. “I can’t possibly be the first witch you’ve ever met.”
“I never met a witch that could turn invisible.”
“It’s magic, remember? Most witches don’t have a license to practice.”
“I can see why you became a knight.”
I tilted my head. “Why is that?”
“It would be difficult to suppress your true nature every day.”
I wagged a finger at him. “Careful, Your Highness. You almost sound sympathetic to witches and wizards. Wouldn’t want to tarnish your reputation for being a royal hard-ass.”
A smile tugged at his mouth. “Is that my reputation?”
“Among other things.”
He inched closer to me. “I’d love to hear more.”
“Trust me, you really wouldn’t.” I took a step back to widen the gap between us.
“What’s the matter, Miss Hayes? We just fought together. Do you think I’d harm you now?”
“Oh, I don’t know. Let me think on it, Mr. Demon of House Duncan.”
“That’s Prince Demon of House Duncan to you.”
“I need more information about the stone. Did you learn anything about the metal sample from your team?”
“Not yet, but I can offer more insight about the stone.”
I frowned. “I thought you didn’t know anything about it.”
“I don’t, but I know the reason it caught my mother’s interest.”
Interesting that he referred to Queen Imogen as his mother. I wondered how House Duncan would feel if they knew. Maybe they did and didn’t care, which only made me feel sorry for the prince.
“Why wait until now to share this with me? You could’ve told me at the palace.”
He gazed at me with a quiet intensity. “I took a wait-and-see approach.”
“You didn’t wait. You leaped right into the fray.”
“Oh, trust me. I waited. And I enjoyed watching you fight while I did so. And now I’d like you to see.”
“What aren’t you telling me?” I demanded.
The prince raked a hand through his dark blond hair. “Nothing.”
Anger bubbled below the surface and I fought to contain it. Six people already died because of this stone and he was holding information back from me? I didn’t think so.
“If you want my help, you need to come clean. Everything you know, I want to know now, or I’m off the job.”
The emerald glow dissipated, leaving two flat, green irises. For a fleeting moment, I worried I’d shot my mouth off for the last time.
Finally he blew out a breath. “At the dinner with the antiquities dealer, the queen recognized the description as similar to a stone that’s been in the possession of House Lewis since the eclipse, possibly even before then.”
“And what’s significant about the stone?”
He shrugged. “Other than it’s old and has been a part of the family’s collection, nothing. I daresay she wants a matching set. Something to impress the king. She’s always afraid of losing him to a younger queen.”
I fixed him with a deadly stare. “You’re still holding back.”
He held up his hands. “I swear to you, it’s all I know.”
“What can you tell me about the stone already in the family’s possession? Can you draw me a picture?”
His gaze raked over me and I clamped down on a potential shiver.
“Better yet,” he said, “why don’t I show you?”
10