“Henry? What are you doing here?” he asks.

The fact that I’m surrounded by city guards makes me feel like I’ve done something wrong, but I force a smile. “I just thought I’d get a drink after extending our post-wedding dinner invitation to North Hold at your mother’s request. I didn’t realize this was a bar that honored Asher, but I guess I should have, given the name.”

Kellan looks past me toward the door. “Were you meeting anyone?”

I shake my head.

Kellan says something to the man beside him that I can’t quite make out, and his guards file past me into the bar. He waits until the door closes behind the last of them before he speaks.

“We received a tip that there was a rebel meeting here tonight. Did you see anything?”

It takes all of my self-control not to react. “No. It just seemed like a normal bar.”

It’s possible that this was just a coincidence. Maybe Divine Harvain has cursed me with wretched luck. But I know the more likely scenario.

Rafe set me up. Or his butler did. But how could they know I was coming? Maybe Harlow was right and Rafe was supposed to be there because he is Rochelli. Or maybe he was coming out the back door of North Hold when I was coming in the front and told his butler to set me up, then tipped Kellan off to try to create tension between our families.

If what Harlow says is true and our alliance does actually help her family and solidify their stronghold in the city, then it makes sense for him to try to disrupt that.

I feel like a fool. He set a trap, and I stepped right into it.

“I just needed a break from your sister.”

Kellan’s face relaxes as he laughs. “I bet you do.”

I look beyond him, at the courtyard exit. I really don’t want to have to fight my way past my new brother-in-law. He is Harlow’s only family member who doesn’t seem completely awful.

“I should really be getting back,” I say, and to my surprise, Kellan steps out of the way and lets me pass.

“Keep her safe,” he says as I walk by him.

“I will.”

It’s not until I’m through the courtyard walls and out on the street that I realize I mean those words.

OceanofPDF.com

39HARLOW

My bedroom is dark when I step inside. The fire has gone out, and it takes a moment for my eyes to adjust.

A dark shape in the chair at the corner of the room makes me jump. But it’s just Henry’s bag, dumped there carelessly by a servant. My things had better be hanging in the closet, because I cannot abide my mother’s scolding about wrinkled dresses.

Henry will be back soon, which means I need to decide if I want to wait here to see if Aidia shows, or chance a visit to Bea to find out what she knows about the missing women.

I’m so restless. Going to Mountain Haven is the first time I’ve ever been more than a city away from my sister. While I know Aidia wasn’t hurt by the Drained, that doesn’t mean she’s not hurt at all. Until I can look at her again, I’ll be plagued by this same restlessness.

Swiping the poker from beside the fireplace, I prod at the coals to see if I can restart the blaze. The steel scrapes against stone, but there’s no life left in the fire. I’ll have to call someone to get it restarted. In the meantime, I swipe matches from the mantel and light the three candles on the candelabra atop it. The second after I blow out the match, I hear the sound of fabric swishing.

“Are you kidding me with this red lace, Harlow? I know you’re married, but this is downright indecent.”

I turn at the sound of Aidia’s voice and dart to my closet. There she stands, pointing at a hanger holding some of the red lace undergarments Henry had made for me. The sight of her waggling her eyebrows at my underwear unknots something stuck in my chest.

“What’s the point of this? It covers nothing,” she says, flicking her finger over a tiny satin bow.

“I’m pretty sure that’s exactly the point,” I counter.

Her voice is light, but she keeps her face in the shadows as she walks toward me.

I want to grab her and hug her, to bury my face in her hair and smell her floral scent. But she stops in the doorway. She’s keeping her distance.

When she finally tilts her face toward the light, I know why. Her whole left cheek is mottled with bruises, her lip split.

A sickening sense of familiarity hits me. I have seen this too many times before.

I force myself not to react, but I already know from her expression that my aura has slipped, surging out around me like a golden halo.

“My heart,” I rasp.

She smiles sadly. “My bones.”

“Our blood,” we say in unison.

She’s okay. She’s safe.

Except we have never been safe.

The tension that left me earlier returns. I want to touch her, but I can tell by the way she moves so gingerly and keeps her face away from the light as she circles me that she can’t take it. My heart is in my throat. I swear I’ve seen her looking worse, but something about her presence in my closet fills me with dread.

“I can’t stay long,” she says, glancing at the door. “Your husband’s arrival caused enough excitement for me to slip out without any of the servants noticing.”

“Did Rafe try to stop him?” I ask.

“Rafe wasn’t there. I didn’t want to meet him myself until I knew if you were okay.” She smirks. “And until I knew whether I should give him a hug or punch him in the face.”

I laugh.

Aidia shushes me. “You undersold him a bit, Low. You said he was tallish with dark hair. That man is devastating. What is he, seven feet tall?”

I roll my eyes. “Six-foot-five max.”

Aidia fans herself dramatically. “And those muscles.” She blows out an exaggerated sigh. “That coat must be Divine-blessed, because I swear one flex of his arms and it would be shredded. He looks like he could throw you around—and, frankly, you’ve needed a good fuck these last few years. You were getting pretty uptight.”

I glare at her. “I’ve had plenty of good fucks.”

Aidia whistles low, ignoring me entirely. “And those eyes. Bleeding woods! I’d be on my back day and night.”

I roll my eyes.

“How was the wedding? Did you really do a sex ritual?”

“Yes.”

“Did it hurt?” she asks.

A pleasant shiver runs up my spine as I recall that night. “Only when I wanted it to.”

Aidia’s jaw drops. “I knew it. Did you have fun?”

“Once I got over the weirdness of so many people watching. But there was this whole part where he had to give me an orgasm to get a blessing from Kennymyra in this ornate bed, and I came so hard I broke their centuries-old sigil.”

“What!” The word is part shrill laugh and part gasp.

“Aidy—hush!” I glance at the door, hoping Gaven hasn’t heard her.

She smothers her laugh with a hand. “Say more immediately.”

At her urging, I give the quickest recounting of the wedding events, and she listens with her jaw progressively becoming more slack.

“Oh, he is going to fall in love,” she says. “Without a doubt. That man has no chance. You’re too beautiful for him to resist. How has the sex been since?”

I lick my lips. “We haven’t⁠—”

“Harlow Catherine Carrenwell! That man gave you an ancient-sigil-breaking orgasm and you haven’t fucked him again?” She points to the lingerie. “You have a closet full of the most intricate lingerie I’ve ever seen, and you haven’t used any of it.” She scoffs. “What a waste! You don’t deserve to have the best boobs in the family if you’re not going to use them to seduce our enemies.”

I stifle a laugh. “You’re right. I’m a terrible Carrenwell.”

Aidia’s bright smile slips into concern. “You promise you’re okay?”

I nod. “I did sleepwalk one night and Henry found me on the balcony in the rain. I don’t remember ever sleepwalking before.”