Octavia swipes the keys from him and gestures toward Ethan. “Get him some first aid.”
Part of me knows that knocking Ethan out was harsh, but more of me suspects that Cryptan is hurt and Ethan was involved somehow. Frankly, the dude’s lucky to be getting first aid.
While the guards drag off Ethan, Octavia fiddles with the spinny dials and locks on the round metal door. Why does one portal take so long to open? It seems to like an hour ekes by before Octavia can even get the door to budge. My breathing quickens.
Finally, Octavia pulls open the round metal door. Lincoln, Octavia, and I rush inside the Vault. What I see makes me gasp.
Blood. Everywhere.
A huge body lays on the floor, motionless. No, no, no. I race over and fall on my knees beside the body. “Cryptan. Are you—” The words catch in my throat. His armor has been slashed through so much his torso has been cut in half.
He’s dead.
“Cryptan!” I cry.
Lincoln kneels beside me. “I’m sorry, Myla. I know you two were friends.” He looks up at Octavia. “The body’s still warm. Who could have done this?”
“Who, indeed?” A voice sounds from the opened door.
It’s Aldred.
My blood boils with rage. What is that asswad doing here? The Earl of Acca parades into the Vault along with the rest of the guard who’d been all-too-conveniently waiting outside. I swear, there weren’t this many of them here a minute ago. Aldred must have called in reinforcements. Now, there’s like fifty Acca warriors here.
“I thought there might be trouble tonight. And look what I discover.” Aldred points to Cryptan’s body. “Our sacred protector is dead.”
Cryptan’s blood drips from my fingertips and down my white Scala robes. Fury pounds through me. It’s not a coincidence that Cryptan is dead and Aldred shows up two minutes later with a bunch of warriors. I rise to face Aldred. “What did you do to him?”
Aldred ignores me and makes a great show of scanning the room. “One of the books is missing.” He steps over to the spot where our evidence codex used to be stored. “Oh, no. The Rixa Codex is gone. And since these magical books can’t be destroyed, someone must have taken it!”
Heat pools behind my eyes, and I know my irises are lighting up red with demonic hatred. I’d been so concerned about Cryptan I hadn’t even noticed that the codex was stolen. What a bastard that Aldred is. This entire thing was his doing, I’m sure.
Lincoln stands beside me, his jawline trembling with rage. “I knew you’d do something to upset the trial. But this?”
Aldred waves his arm dismissively. “You’re too blinded with lust to see the truth. The enchanted books in here are filled with the secrets of our people. They are filled with so much magic, they’re indestructible. Your fiancée stole one of the most valuable: the codex for the ruling House of Rixa.” He glares at me. “Never trust a demon.”
“I had nothing to do with this.”
“Is that so?” Aldred steps over to the wall and pretends to notice some markings there. “Look what I found! The imprints of an arrowhead-shaped tail. Those are extremely rare, aren’t they? Right now, only one person in Antrum has such a tail. You, girly. It looks like Cryptan put up quite a fight before you killed him.”
Lincoln grips my hand with more force. “This is obviously a setup. No one will ever believe you, Aldred.”
Octavia moves to stand beside us. If she’s concerned about the fifty soldiers blocking us from the exit, then she doesn’t show it. “I won’t allow this.”
Aldred jabs a chubby finger in my direction. “You’ve all been blinded by this demon. Remember your responsibilities. With Adair gone, Lincoln should be wooing my next eldest daughter, Avery. That’s what our marriage contract had said.”
“I never signed that document, Aldred.” Lincoln’s voice is deadly low. “In fact, I stepped away from forming an alliance of the lesser houses in exchange for you dropping this marriage farce altogether, don’t you remember?”
“That was done under false pretenses. I had no idea you’d take up with a demon.”
“She’s not a demon; she’s the great scala.” Lincoln inhales slowly. A muscle twitches along his neck. It’s taking everything he has not to ignite his baculum and go to town.
I give Lincoln’s hand a reassuring squeeze. “Stop trying to distract from the main issue here. This isn’t about me. It’s about your dreams of ruling.”
Nice work, me. My tail and I exchange a high-five. That was some pretty logical maneuvering for someone with serious rage issues.
Lincoln gives me an approving nod. I could just about jump over the moon, I feel so awesome about that. “Myla’s right.” Lincoln returns his attention to Aldred. “You need to give up on these dreams of my marrying into your family. It’s over. I’m engaged to Myla, and we’re getting married Sunday.”
“The demon girl is the one who must give up,” snarls the Earl. “She made you drag me into court.”
I roll my eyes. “You are so full of crap. Lincoln hates you and you know it.”