Bound by Devotion

Chapter Eight

She pulled her unwilling body from the remains of a hot bath and toweled off. This was the first time she had been back in her room since she almost lost her life and double checking herself, she felt for her magic and it filled her. Had she done that before, she would have known something was wrong. But, she hadn't had reason to be so paranoid then, did she?

She couldn't help the laugh as she realized it wasn't paranoia if they really were out to get her.

Sliding her robe up her arms, she just got the belt tied when there came a knock at her door. She looked at her bed, the fading rays of the sun caressing the sheets that she could almost feel around her body. Could she ignore it? Claim she was already asleep? No, of course not.

Holding tight to magic, because, well, danger, she opened the door to find Naiel standing there.

"I'm sorry to bother you, Eve."

She stood back, allowing him inside. "It's fine."

After Kornae walked her back to her room, he came inside and warded her windows and the door. Any possible entrance for any unsavory character was closed off. No repeats of the attempted murder.

While setting those wards, he asked her for people that would be allowed entrance. The lift at the corner of his mouth when she said his name could still make her blood run hot. Of course she named her men. Cora, Duglas and Naiel were added, though, Naiel would never come. And how glad she was that she did. She would pass out if she had to go running back to the library.

She led him to the small sitting area by the windows. "What can I do for you?"

"Be very careful," he said and she laughed.

"I am careful. Mostly."

"I'm not suggesting locking yourself up here, but at the same time, that's my advice."

"What is it, Naiel?"

"Coralia and I were speaking. She said that one of the assassins said something. Something about after her death, no would would know what happened until it was too late. They think that she is the only one who knows about their realm. She informed me differently a little while ago. She passed that knowledge on to you."

Eve nodded. "Yes, she did. That was why I asked about the rose. I saw it in my mind, drawn at the top of a scroll."

"It appears there was a change in leadership."

"But if the rose was the sigil of the former king, why would they be throwing it on a dying body?" Her body, but she didn't need to remind herself of that.

"We believe it was a taunt, of sorts. They attacked you because you were a..."

"Spit it out, Naiel."

"You were basically a powerless queen, a weak queen. One that was supposed to have already been taken care of."

Stone. She could be stone. Then she wouldn't shiver at the discussion of how she wasn't supposed to be breathing.

"The rose, we believe, was to signify Cora at the next target. They thought that she alone could figure out that there was a different king."

"A different king?" Evidently, Cora was the only one who could figure that out.

"Sigils are respected, honored. They are a representation of who sits on the throne, a sign of power, I guess you could say." He leaned back in his chair and Eve kissed her nap goodbye. "The way that one was debased and thrown about so carelessly shows a complete and utter lack of respect for the one it once belonged. We believe there was an overthrow of power and the one who won is the one the dream is warning you about."