Madness seized me, and I flailed against him, trying to jab at him with my knees and elbows. I sank my teeth into the taut tendons of his forearm.
He roared.
Then . . . darkness. And silence.
Light flickered through the darkness,followed closely by pain and the taste of blood.
So cold. Colder than the river around Arduen’s Mountain. My feet were too heavy. Was I drowning?
Muffled sounds rumbled against my ears. Yes, I was underwater. Why was I tasting blood instead of water?
Korvin.
My eyes flew open. I coughed and spat onto the dry ground. A fire danced before me.
“Kiera,” a beloved voice whispered.
Aiden, on the ground nearby with his wrists now shackled to his ankles. Maz and Ruru with him. The relief on their faces didn’t soothe me.
We were all going to die.
My gaze fell on Korvin, who was pacing the dirt around the small clearing between tents. Blood dripped down his forearm.
I convulsed again and tried to spit out the lingering taste of his flesh in my mouth.
“Where is she?” he hissed as I wiped my mouth.
I stared at him. “Who?”
He stalked over to me and slapped me hard across the face. “My bitch sister, of course.”
“Enough, Korvin!” Aiden shouted as I held my stinging cheek. “She’s not fucking here! She drowned in the river this morning when we hit a rock.”
No, no, Aiden. Lies won’t work.
Korvin sneered at him. “My men told me they saw two women yesterday. You can’t lie to me.”
“The last patrol we saw rode past before she died,” Aiden said, his voice full of conviction.
“That’s right,” Ruru piped up. “Our guard lied about having two women because he wasn’t supposed to have an extra.”
Korvin’s face sagged with disbelief. “My little Nik would never drown. You’re trying to keep her from me.”
“We’re telling the truth,” Maz growled, his chest expanding. “We told you the truth about the log. Why would we lie aboutthis? Besides, your men haven’t found her either. No one can swim with shackles on.”
The log? I craned my neck from where I was curled up on the ground. A log from the raft lay shredded behind Korvin.
Disappointment crashed over me. The tins of explosives. The fuse ropes. The pouch of blackrust powder. They were all strewn on a table next to the gutted log.
Our plan for Calimber was now exposed to our worst enemy.
“I don’t believe you,” Korvin snapped. “And I can’t kill you until I lure her in.”
He stomped over to me and yanked me upright. Pain seared through my head. He must’ve slammed his fist into my temple.
He set the edge of his sunstone knife against my jaw. I stopped breathing.
“Perhaps I can teach this one a lesson while you shout for my sister,” he said to Aiden.
