I will never be worthless to him. He wants me to be with him. The feelings between us aren’t a lie.
But he doesn’t know who you are. What you’ve done.
Triumph flared in Renwell’s eyes as he watched the doubt cloud mine. “Kill him before he has a chance to kill you.” He tilted the knife handle toward me. “You can’t protect your family or your kingdom if you’re dead. Remember who you’re doing this for.”
Mother, with this very knife stabbed in her chest. Everett, who will wear the crown better than our father. Delysia, who will finally gain the freedom to love and be happy.
Is Aiden worth more to me than them?
I grasped the knife hilt. Warmth from Renwell’s touch bled into my numb fingers.
“You have to release Maz with me,” I said, tearing my gaze from the haunting black knife. “It’s the only way I can return.”The only way we can escape.
“Done.” Renwell brushed his still-bleeding finger over my cheek, painting me with his blood. “You always did have more wit and will than the rest of your family. We will do extraordinary things together, Kiera.”
Something twitched in my chest at the blunt praise, at the thought of getting what I’d wanted for years—his job. But I ignored it. I didn’t seize his words and hold them close—as if they were a safety net that he’d finally deigned to toss me as I drowned in a stormy sea of loneliness.
I might have before all of this. Before he put me in a prison cell with Aiden.
But now, it wasn’t enough. Now, his words were more like a heavy net he cast about me, letting it drag me to a watery Abyss. Where I was utterly alone.
I seized the sheath from Renwell’s grip, shoving the knife into it before stowing it in my boot.
He opened the door and gestured me through it. Didn’t want to give his back to me, I supposed.
I hurried back into the dreadfully silent torture chamber. My heart collapsed at the sight of Korvin standing over Maz’s body. Blood soaked every inch of Maz’s body and hair, making him unrecognizable. Bits of skin and flesh littered the floor at Korvin’s boots.
“Get away from him!” I shrieked.
Korvin whipped his head around, knife raised.
I stumbled forward, reaching for my mother’s knife, but Renwell grabbed me and jerked me back.
“Release him, Korvin,” he said sharply. “We’re putting them both in a wagon.”
Korvin scowled, gripping his knife tighter. “You’re giving him back? But I just started! You made me wait forhours?—”
“Keep talking and I’ll take away the other one as well,” Renwell said in a deadly quiet voice.
Korvin roared and threw his knife to the ground. My whole body flinched.
Renwell lifted my knife brace with all my knives from a hook and shoved it in my hands with a warning look. Then he gave a piercing whistle, and three Wolves rushed into the room. “Put these two in a wagon and dump them in the Old Quarter.Discreetly.”
Two Wolves approached Maz while a third stalked toward me. I stared numbly at his grotesque Wolf mask, letting him snatch my arm and drag me from the room. I glanced back to make sure they were bringing Maz as well.
Holy Four, don’t take his soul yet. Please, please.
The Wolves brought us through the tunnels and tossed us into a wagon waiting in their training yard. They threw a heavy blanket over our bodies. Maz’s bloodied, torn skin stuck to my clothing. I checked his pulse with shaking fingers. Weak but there.
Forgive me, Maz. Please don’t leave me. Not you too.
I clung to his slippery fingers and buried my sobs deep in my chest.
The ride was brutal. I felt every stone we rolled over as if it were a mountain. When the wagon tilted as we climbed the cliff road, I tried to steady Maz’s body, to keep him from pitching against the wagon. But he was heavy. So, so heavy.
After an eternity, we rattled to a stop. The blanket flew off, revealing a darkening sky above an empty alleyway. How long had I been gone? Was Aiden looking for me?
The Wolves yanked me out of the wagon, and I barely caught myself from falling. My knife brace fell to the ground.
