Dammit, the wall was empty.

“He’s gone,” I bit out.

“Who?” Casteel asked.

Frustration burned through me. “There was a man with these things. He knew about Lockswood.”

“Lockswood?” Casteel’s father echoed.

“It’s near Niel Valley in Solis.” I twisted toward Casteel. He’d gone unnaturally still, and I could sense his throbbing anger. “The inn my parents stopped at for the night—the one the Craven attacked—was in the village of Lockswood. Where my parents died. Alastir obviously told this Descenter about that night.”

“That was no Descenter,” King Valyn remarked, and both Casteel and I turned to him. He bent, picking up one of the masks that had fallen from the creature. “And those things wearing these masks? Gods, not only do they not belong here, the masks they were wearing have nothing to do with the Descenters.”

Confused, I looked at Casteel. He frowned as he glanced down at what his father held. “The Descenters wore those masks in Solis to hide their identities,” he stated.

“But they weren’t the first,” his father stated. “The Unseen were.”

Chapter 19

“The Unseen?” I repeated.

“You’re fucking kidding me, right?” Casteel demanded. “I was under the impression that the Unseen were either disbanded or had died out long before the War of Two Kings.”

“That’s what we all thought,” King Valyn said. “Until lately.”

“What exactly are the Unseen?” I asked.

The King glanced over his shoulder, and it was then that I noticed a woman. She was tall and muscular, her skin a light brown with golden undertones, her hair jet-black in the floodlight, pulled back in a tight, singular braid much neater than the one I usually wore. She was dressed in white like the Crown Guards, but golden scrollwork crossed the center of her chest. She held a sword in one hand, and the hilt of another was visible from her back. A silent command passed between her and the King, and then she nodded. Turning, she sheathed her sword and then let out a low whistle.

Several guards drifted out of the trees’ shadows, and from the spaces the floodlights didn’t penetrate.

“Search the premises,” she ordered. “Make sure no one is here that does not belong.”

I watched the guards hurry off, splitting up and heading in different directions, passing Jasper as he prowled toward us in his wolven form. Whoever this woman was, she held a place of command. Within moments, she was the only guard remaining.

The King turned to us—to me. “Would you like to head inside?” he offered. “It appears you were caught unprepared for battle and visitors.”

Mindful of the dagger I held, I crossed my arms over my chest. “Putting on more appropriate clothing won’t change the fact that you’ve already seen me in nothing more than a shirt,” I said, surprising myself. I wasn’t at all used to so much exposed skin, but then again, I’d just faced down a bunch of creatures who had no face. My legs being visible didn’t even make the top fifty things I was currently concerned about. “I’m fine if you are. I would like to hear about whatever the Unseen are.”