Page 39 of This Dark Descent
She should have kept moving. This was exactly the sort of thing Damien had made clear was not her business, but as she started forward again, Hyle said the one name that she could not ignore.
“Your brother visited Rezek Kelbra.”
She pressed back against the wall behind the door as Damien asked, “Loic went to the Kelbras that night?”
“I was quite surprised myself,” Hyle replied amusedly. “I was under the impression he wanted to take Rezek Kelbra apart into tiny little pieces, burn them, and then feed the ashes to pigs destined for slaughter.” He paused. “Oh, wait. That’s you. Still, I do believe your families are mortal enemies, are they not?”
Mikira smothered a sound of surprise. She’d known that Damien and Rezek weren’t on good terms, but she hadn’t realized it stemmed as far as a family feud. Or did it? If his brother was friends with the Kelbras, was his sister too? Had Shira been watching them for Rezek? That would explain why Damien had been so determined to get her to leave.
“Before that, I had word he’d been talking with Velrose Kelbra, the Illinir race coordinator,” Hyle continued. “Your brother’s making the rounds, it seems.”
There was the snap of a lighter, and the spiced scent of verillion flowed out of the room. Mikira covered her nose as her bile rose. She hated that smell. It reminded her of her mother’s room, the air stale with the scent of death.
There was a smack, then the telltale sound of a boot grinding something into the ground.
Hyle gave a defeated sigh. “That was my last cigarette.”
Mikira could practically hear Damien’s dark stare. “What of my ring?”
“No luck finding it.”
She leaned closer at that. Did he mean his house ring?
“Handle it,” Damien commanded. “Quietly.”
Hyle laughed. “You know me, quiet as a mouse.”
“I’m serious, Hyle.”
“All right, serious as a mouse.”
Damien drew a measured breath. “And find out why my brother is suddenly so keen on Rezek’s friendship. Quickly.”
The finality to his tone sent Mikira scurrying onward. She’d just turned the corner toward his suite when she heard the door bang open in the hall behind. She ducked into the sitting room, praying he hadn’t seen her enter, and stopped.
The floor-to-ceiling windows on the far side of the room were gone, slid aside along a movable track to grant entrance to the courtyard beyond. Standing among the tall grass and flowers was the most beautiful horse she’d ever seen. Easily nineteen hands and pure black from nose to tail, the beast glimmered like obsidian in the sunlight.
Reid was brushing it down, while on the far side of the courtyard, stable hands prepared a trailer at the end of a wide arched corridor. The horse nipped at him, and he kept pushing its face away.
“Her name is Atara.”
Mikira startled at Damien’s voice, and he peered at her curiously. She stifled the urge to ask him about Rezek. There was more at play here than just their bargain, and she was starting to worry that the consequences of winning the race might be just as dire as losing. If Rezek lost the Illinir to Damien, would he seek revenge? Would he blame Mikira too?
Her eyes dropped to Damien’s hand—his signet ring was gone. House members rarely took off their rings. The status symbol aside, the rings granted them access to bank accounts, records, everything. When it wasn’ton their hand, it was a target any thief would salivate over. Was that what Hyle was looking for?
Swallowing the questions, she asked instead, “Where’s Ari?”
“Resting,” he replied. “The enchantments took a lot out of her.”
Mikira sent a silent thanks to the girl as she descended the stairs. The horse watched her approach, unblinking, until she reached out a tentative hand. All horses were different, from their temperaments to their gaits. There was nothing about her knowledge of and experience with them that guaranteed this one would trust her, and yet she needed her to from the start.
“Hi, there,” she said softly.
Atara’s ears pricked. Mikira placed her hand reverently on the horse’s nose and felt Atara press back.
“She’s beautiful,” Mikira whispered. “Too beautiful.”
Reid tossed his brush into a bucket. “Rezek’s going to suspect something’s off, gold flecks or not.”
