Two of the three remaining Mageguard appear at Erebus’s side in a silent whoosh and remove their hoods in unison. A tall East Asian man with a full mouth and bright golden eyes. A white man whose eyes are green-gold. Both wearing the signature undercut hairstyle of the Mageguard.

“Yes, Seneschal?” they ask.

“One of you at the driveway entrance, please,” Erebus orders. “The other remains here in the yard.” The Merlins nod, then split in two blurs going in opposite directions.

That leaves me, Sel, Erebus, and Douglas. Sel’s expression is one of carefully crafted boredom. I wonder if anyone here is even buying it, honestly. I wonder if his usual insolence will only further annoy Erebus. “Are we done here?” he drawls.

“No.” Erebus gestures to Guard Douglas, who steps forward on cue. “Formal introductions are in order, I think.” Erebus looks between me and the Merlin. “Crown Scion Briana Matthews, please meet Guard Larkin Douglas.”

I blink. “Larkin?”

“Call me Lark.” He dips his chin. “My liege.”

Erebus smiles. “Guard Douglas is the youngest member of the Mageguard, but trained by one of the best.”

“You?” Sel asks drolly.

“No,” Erebus replies simply. “His father, Calum Douglas.”

“How is your father, Douglas?” Sel asks, eyes dancing. “Still angry his son lost out to a Kane?”

Lark doesn’t rise to Sel’s bait. “He got over my not being selected for Kingsmage when I was tapped for the Guard,” he replies evenly. He turns to me, eyes twinkling. “Selwyn here might have the flashy title, but we get all the best field missions.”

“Yes,” Sel says with a sigh. “When not securing the safety of the Regents, the Mageguard operate in the darkest of shadows taking on the most dangerous Shadowborn legions, blah blah.”

“Until a sovereign is crowned, anyway.” Lark raises a shoulder.

“Yes, until a sovereign is crowned, then—” Sel stops himself short, eyes narrowing. His gaze darts between Lark and Erebus. “Then the Guard’s sole duty is to protect the king.”

The air thickens with some unnamed tension.

I clear my throat. “I’m missing something.”

“I believe I am too, Briana,” Sel murmurs.

Quiet regret pulls at Lark’s mouth. “Look, Kane…”

Erebus turns to me. “My liege, you are aware of the Order’s organizational framework? The body politic?”

“I am.” The very first night I joined the chapter, Lord Davis explained the Order as anatomy, working together. “The Legendborn are the Order’s beating heart.”

Erebus smiles. “Yes. And you will be the head and the crown. But in the absence of a king, and even when one is Called, the Regents are the spine. As the Regent of Shadows, Cestra oversees the Merlin military, the Mageguard, the Order’s intelligence network, and all of its security forces.”