He reached for her hands. “Thank you.”
She squeezed them lightly, and then, strangely embarrassed by his sincerity, stood, returning to her dressing table.
The liquid had almost gone, only the smallest drop remaining. But crusting the glass was a powder, one that Sorrow knew without smelling it, though she did, flinching at the familiar pain in her head. Lamentia.
Luvian joined her, saying nothing as they both looked at the powder.
“You should tell Lord Day,” Luvian said. “This is enough to arrest Vespus, at least. The drug that killed the chancellor is the by-product of something only Vespus Corrigan can create. And he had almost unlimited access to your father. It’s enough.”
Sorrow shook her head. She’d had a better idea. “I want to know for sure whether Mael is or isn’t a Ventaxis. With everyone else dead, Vespus is the only person who can answer. So I’ll use this knowledge against him. Unless he tells me the truth about Mael, I’ll tell Charon. And Queen Melisia.”
“It’s not worth the gamble,” Luvian said. “Take it from me. Tell Lord Day.”
Sorrow looked down at the powder and ran her finger through it.
“No,” she said. “Not yet.”
Daughter of Rhannon
He didn’t try to persuade her, though his disagreement was obvious in the set of his mouth.
“When?” was all he asked.
“After the address to the Jedenvat,” Sorrow said.
It was the final part of the election. Usually the candidate would present their mandate to the Jedenvat at the beginning of the election period. But this year the public vote would be split between two candidates. And in the event of the public voting evenly for Sorrow and Mael, it would be down to the Jedenvat to make the deciding vote. So this year, it had been decided they’d present to the Jedenvat at the end, giving both Sorrow and Mael a final chance to bring them onside.
“Are you ready for it?” Luvian asked.
Sorrow nodded. She was. Irris had worked with her as they’d travelled between public engagements, until she’d created something she thought would appeal to all of the Jedenvat – even Samad and Balthasar. They’d want to feel their positions were safe under her, and she’d tailored her address to that end.
Whether she meant it was another matter.
“That’s politics in a nutshell.” Luvian nodded approvingly when she told him. “Meaning it at the time.”
“What do we do about you?” she asked.
“I want to come back,” he said instantly.
“How, though?” Sorrow said. “I told everyone you knew who my attacker was. If you came back you’d have to confess.”
He nodded, the light dimming in his eyes. “I could lie.”
“And say who?”
“Meeren Vine? You hate him, I hate him, my family hates him. Everyone wins.”
“I would have recognized Vine,” Sorrow reminded him. “And it would be too easily disproved.”
“Oh. Yes.” Luvian licked his upper lip as he nodded. “So, impossible, then.”
Sorrow reached out and squeezed his hand. “We’ll think of something.”
He laced his fingers through hers. “You don’t know how happy I am that there’s a ‘we’ again.” Then the sincerity turned wicked, his eyes glittering as he said, “And you are too, admit it. You missed me.”
“I did no such thing.”
He stepped closer. “Yes, you did, come on now. Life is more fun with me around. Say it. Say, ‘I missed you, Luvian’.”
“There is no way—”
“Say it…” He took another step, bringing their eyes level. “For me?”
“You’re not going to shut up until I do, are you?”
He shook his head.
“Fine. I missed you.”
His lips curved into a wicked grin and Sorrow laughed. His gaze dipped, resting on her mouth, and the mischief lighting his eyes faded, becoming something else.
“You should get back to your party,” he said slowly, meeting her eyes once more. “It’s been over an hour. You’ll be missed.”
He let go of her hand, and Sorrow’s palm tingled at the loss.
“Yes, you’re right,” she said, filled with the urge to clear her throat. “What will you do?”
“No idea.” He frowned. “I can’t go home. I guess I’ll hide out somewhere until we have a better plan. Fortunately for us, evading capture is in my blood.” He paused. “Sometimes, at least. Let’s hope I have better luck than my father and brother.”
“Do you need anything? Money, or…”
Luvian shook his head and reached into the same pocket he’d pulled the bottle from, revealing a large gold pocket watch. “You hate Lord Balthasar, right?”
She laughed again, and his face contorted, moving between smile and frown.
“I should—” he began, but was cut off by the sound of a door banging. The outer door to the corridor.
Sorrow turned to Luvian in panic. “Hide,” she hissed, throwing herself on to the bed. Luvian dived under it, and a moment later, when Irris and Arran Day, followed by a contingent of guards, flooded the room, Sorrow sat up, blinking and rubbing her eyes.
“I only meant to lie down for a moment,” she said, thickening her voice.
The guards shook their heads and filed out, muttering to themselves, and Arran looked at his sister, who shrugged, before leaving too.
Irris waited, suspicion clouding her features, as Sorrow swung herself off the bed.
“What’s going on?” Irris asked, once the door had closed behind them. “Why are you really up here?”
Sorrow crossed the room and picked up the make-up compact with Lamentia in. Silently she handed it to Irris, and watched as comprehension dawned on her friend’s face.
“This is Lamentia. Why do you have this? Where did you get it?”
Luvian crawled out from under the bed. “Behold my redemption arc,” he said.
Irris somehow managed not to scream, and Sorrow and Luvian explained, in rapid tandem, how he’d come to be there, and what he’d learned.
“You have to tell my father,” Irris said immediately.
“That’s what I said,” Luvian agreed.
“No. Not yet. There’s something going on between Mael and Vespus. That’s who I was looking for when Luvian found me. I think maybe they’ve had a fight? But whatever it is, I don’t want Vespus to know what we know while there’s still time for him to fight back. I want him to think he’s done it, and then I want to confront him. I don’t want him to have time to plan, or run.”
Irris nodded slowly. “That makes sense. In that case, perhaps wait until after the election?”
“Yes,” Luvian said, his eyes lighting with a spark that Sorrow knew meant he was scheming. “That way, if you lose – not that you will – but if you do, you still have a way to discredit Mael, because of his connection with Vespus. You can still defeat them both. It’s a back door. And I love a back door.”
“Talking of which, shouldn’t you be finding one?” Irris said. “We need to return to the party before someone else comes looking.”
“You’re right,” Luvian said.
“So, after the election, we tell Charon about Vespus and Lamentia, and then confront Vespus?” Sorrow said.