“I haven’t had any correspondence with Her Majesty, so I can’t comment on whether she and the Prince have become close. You seem to be better informed than I. Though I’m happy she’s getting to know the emissary. That was the whole point of the arrangement, was it not?” I raise my brow, challenging him to reveal more.

“I’ve received word that the two have been extremely close, as I had hoped.” I want to roll my eyes, but I keep my face stoic.

“Why did you hope for them to grow close?” I ask nonchalantly. He grins, seeing through my facade.

“Now, now, you can’t expect me to answer that truthfully,” he says with a sarcastic sneer.

I shrug. “Not really. I don’t actually care. I’m happy Laurel has found a friend in my absence. Life has been hard on her, after you convinced everyone she was the villain in the story.”

“And you believe she is not?”

I nearly choke on my wine. “We both know there’s only one villain in the story of the war between Thayaria and Velmara, and it’s not Laurel,” I spit, cursing myself for letting him get under my skin. He only grins.

“Let me let you in on a little secret.” He leans in, pure malice in his eyes. “Villains, heroes, it’s all irrelevant. What matters is power, and what you do with it. I’m a hero because I made myself one with the power I claimed. Laurel is the villain because I said she was one. If she wanted to change the narrative, she should have fought harder, should have won.”

“You think highly of yourself for a man who inherited a stolen throne, won a war against a twenty-year-old newly crowned monarch, and can only single channel,” I respond coolly. The remark has the intended effect. His eyes widen in anger, and he stands. So, he didn’t intend for me to find out about his blood magic. Just the mates.

He laughs maniacally. “I can assure you, I’m more than a simple air channeler. And while I may have inherited my throne, I’ve had to keep it, had to expand my power and influence, and I’ve done that all alone.”

I slow clap. “Very good, Mazus. I’m sure your parents are so proud. Are we done here?” His eyes light up with something I can’t decipher, but he waves his hand.

“You’re dismissed.”

I leave the room quickly, mind racing and eager to return to my room and get out of Velmara with Genevieve. My steps echo loudly in the castle, eerily quiet for this time of day. When I get to my room, I stop in my tracks. The door is ajar. Surely Genevieve wouldn’t have been so careless as to leave it open. I unsheathe a knife, walking slowly towards the open door.