“You have no right to make that decision.”

“I say I do. Your Queen got hurt today, and not one of her court did a damn thing to stop it.”

“Hurt? How? What happened?”

“Ask the First Circle. Ask the First Escort, who’s lucky to still be alive.”

“What happened?” Talon asked again.

“I figured it was better for everyone if I didn’t ask for the details.”

Hell’s fire.

Something wasn’t right. Even if Yaslana was here because Sadi had asked his brother to play messenger, Lucivar’s interest in Cassidy seemed a bit too proprietary.

“What’s your interest in a Rose-Jeweled Queen?” Talon asked. He’d tried to put it aside because Cassidy seemed a likable enough girl—and because there was something about her that pulled at him and pulled hard—but the truth was they needed strength and had gotten weakness.

Lucivar tipped his head, and his expression changed to cold amusement. “You don’t know? Your boy Grayhaven didn’t tell you?”

“Tell me what?”

“The Jewels a Queen wears are not the only kind of power she wields. You should know that well enough. How many of the Queens you endured over these past few decades would have ruled at all if they hadn’t been backed by that bitch Dorothea SaDiablo?”

“None,” Talon said bitterly. “What’s that got to do with the here and now?”

“Connections, Prince. You looked at Cassidy’s Jewels and forgot to consider the connections.”

“What connections?”

“Do you know why Cassidy is here?” Lucivar asked.

“Because Sadi’s wife is a friend of hers, and Theran’s choice was to take Cassidy or walk away without a Queen,” Talon snapped, frustrated enough to be imprudent.

“Sadi’s wife.”

“A Queen who doesn’t seem able to form a court of her own, even with Sadi’s backing.”

The room suddenly turned cold enough to bite.

“Your boy left out a few things,” Lucivar said too softly. “Because of that, I’ll overlook your lack of courtesy. This time. Since Grayhaven has chosen to leave out a few details—or didn’t care enough to ask—you would do well to ask Cassidy a few questions. Like who really sent her to Dena Nehele.”

The cold was turning his muscles to stone. He wouldn’t be able to move fast enough to avoid an attack. Wouldn’t survive an attack even if he could move.

Killing field. Battlefield. Didn’t matter. Any man who fought knew that no one on the opposing side survived when Yaslana stepped into a fight.

“I’ll be back, Talon,” Lucivar said as he turned toward the door. “You can count on it. And the next time I won’t be as forgiving. You can count on that too.”

Lucivar opened the door, then stopped and looked back. “The Warlord Prince Gray.”