Any of them would love to discover where Rellmira kept its wealth.
A flash of inspiration hit me. The perfect bait. A golden opportunity to learn Aiden’s secrets, to bind us together until I’d learned what Renwell—whatI—needed to know.
Father might truly imprison you for this.
But His Majesty wasn’t here. This was my decision.
“Very well,” I said, as if his refusal were of no consequence. “But why did you come here? Why not the High Treasurer’s house?”
The musty air shifted between us as Aiden leaned forward. “Explain.”
“I went there once three years ago, with the prince and princesses. It was one of the only times they, as well as myself, were allowed out of the palace. Asher had just taken over asHigh Treasurer from his father and wanted to assure the royal family he was taking good care of their additional treasures and payrolls.”Showing off was more like it.The pompous man had waved his arms at the gleaming fortune like he’d been personally responsible for obtaining it.
I lowered my voice. “Chests of coins, piles of jewels, and even some handfuls of fireseeds and raw sunstone. It was the most treasure I’d ever seen, and it was just sitting there.”
Delysia had been dazzled by the glitter and glow of it all while Everett had simply nodded in his best impression of Father. My fingers had ached to snatch a few coins to spend on a game of Death and Four at a tavern with a pile of hot, buttered biscuits next to me.
Now, that trip might end up being the perfect enticement for the silent man in front of me. His head was bowed as if he were lost in his own thoughts and didn’t want me to witness them.
All I can do now—I slid the small key into the lock on one of my wrist cuffs—is turn the key.The lock clicked open, igniting a familiar thrill in my chest. Aiden’s head slowly lifted.
“But none of that matters,” I said as I worked the other cuff. “The best I can hope for is my life. I’ll either escape or die trying.” The second lock sprang apart.
Cool air kissed my raw skin, and a groan escaped my lips.
“Kiera.”
I turned my back to his alluring voice. There was a rustle of movement as if he were rising to his feet.
Merciful Mynastra, grant me luck. I tested the key in the lock that held the ends of my two chains. It gave way, and I scrambled to catch the chains before they clattered to the ground.
A smile touched my lips as I draped the chains over my shoulders like a mantle. They would make suitable weapons if needed.
“Kiera, please.”
My heart twisted at the quiet desperation in his voice. Gods damn it. I faced him, clutching the key.
He held out his shackled wrists, every muscle in his face taut.
“How can I trust you?” I whispered.Not to hurt me, not to kill me, not to abandon me to save yourself.
I had no doubt Renwell would keep to his word and kill Aiden if he didn’t give us the information we wanted. And he’d given me some, but only a tantalizing peek at his true purpose. My gut told me to escape with Aiden even if I didn’t trust him.
He’d protected me from the jailer, but I remembered something Renwell had said during a brutal fight session: “Every person has a monster caged inside, Kiera. All it takes is the right key to set it free.”
What kind of monster lurked inside Aiden?
He slowly shook his head. “Only you know the answer to that,” he murmured, startling me as if he’d answered my thought instead of my spoken question. “But is it worth wasting your one chance to live?”
He didn’t know it washislife I held in my hand. That even if I freed him, if we became allies, he would still be my enemy.
Because I was meant to be his destruction. I only hoped he wouldn’t be mine.
I stepped closer to him. He didn’t move a muscle. His shadowed eyes tracked me as his bare chest rose and fell with deep breaths. I found myself trying to match them.
He let me come to him until I was fully within his grasp. But he did nothing. Just waited, towering over me like a statue devoid of emotions.
I lifted my chin until our gazes met. And, Holy Four, was I wrong. An inferno of emotions lived in his eyes. They consumed me, consumed what little air existed between us. Somethingsparked to life in my veins, burning from my heart to my toes. The most dangerous thing of all.
