She dropped her shirt and faced me again. “Our shared blood never stopped him from spilling mine. He’s always been that way. I was simply the easiest target.”
I winced, then studied her more carefully, seeing a new facet to this enigmatic woman. She was every inch the fierce warrior. Beautiful under her scars. But that strength had been born from a desperate need to survive.
No wonder she spoke about defending people from the monsters that roamed the world. She’d been raised with them.
My gaze halted on the deep scar that bisected her face.
Nikella pursed her lips. “Korvin gave it to me the night before I escaped. With what was perhaps the first sunstone blade ever created.” She noticed my wide eyes and sighed. “We were born and raised in the village of Calimber. Our father worked in the sunstone mine back when it was a voluntary job. But that didn’t make it less of a miserable one. Just gave him the money to get drunk every night.”
I curled in tighter on myself, resting my uninjured cheek on my knees. Every word out of her mouth was like a drop of light that illuminated the mystery surrounding her and her brothers.
I wanted to know everything. But something told me not to push.
Nikella looked back at Arduen’s Mountain, her voice soft with memory. “Our mother died when I was little. I never knew her. Some said she was kind and quiet. Others—mainly my father—said she was arrogant and ungrateful, too good for our little town. But, of course, if a woman aims for more or better, it’s presumptuous. When a man does, it’s ambition.”
Which is probably why Father was so furious when he found out what Mother was planning. His vanity demanded her death.
My brow furrowed. That was the first time my thoughts hadn’t blamed Aiden. I shoved that revelation aside as Nikella continued speaking.
“Our father beat us. All of us. Drunk or sober. Good day or bad. It didn’t matter. My brothers inherited his spite in different ways. Perhaps I did, too,” she added thoughtfully. “But in those days, I only ever dreamed of running.”
“How did you escape?” I asked.
“An old Teacher came to Calimber when I was about fourteen. Father was dead, and Renwell had left for Aquinon. It was just me and Korvin. But I was desperate for an education, like the other children received. I snuck out to meet the Teacher—a kind man named Hadrian. He taught me to read and write, to understand history and religion, even a few defensive maneuvers. He was the first person to show me true kindness.”
Nikella ceased talking as a Dag warrior rode past. He startled at seeing the two of us sitting on the ground, but he gave Nikella a deep nod, which she returned. He continued riding to the river.
Something deep inside me craved that same respect. But I didn’t begrudge her for it. She’d earned it. Despite shooting me in the neck with a dart. But she’d done it to save someone she loved, which I understood completely.
“Hadrian told me I could become a Teacher,” she continued. “One of my dearest dreams. But I knew Korvin would never allow it.”
My stomach curdled, guessing what would happen next.
Nikella’s voice turned hollow. “Korvin found us training one night. I’d never seen him so enraged. He tied me up and... and tore Hadrian to shreds in front of me. No matter how much I begged, he wouldn’t stop. He said it was my fault.”
Nikella swallowed hard and turned her face away.
My own throat tightened. I’d never heard her stumble over words. What she was describing was truly awful, but her evidentpain surprised me. That even a warrior like her would still feel pain over a death that had happened decades ago.
But love was a trickster like that. It couldn’t be caged by time or distance. Or even death. Not when it was true.
Mother’s face filled my mind.I’ll never forget you either, Mother.
Nikella cleared her throat. “After Hadrian was dead, Korvin took his knife and did this”—she gestured to her face—“to me. He wanted to make sure I’d be too ashamed to ever leave. Too afraid.”
She turned abruptly to face me, her eyes burning. “Have you ever been the weakest one in the room, Kiera?”
Dozens of memories played behind my eyes. Moments with Father, Renwell, Korvin, Wolves, guards, men from taverns... And tonight. In battle.
“Yes,” I whispered, hating the truth.
“I was, too. For many years. Until that night. As I lay bleeding in the dark, I realized he would kill me eventually when he’d wrung every bit of pain and humanity from my being. But then something else occurred to me. All of my scars—the new and the old, the ones in my skin and my soul—weren’t evidence of his strength, but ofmine.I was still alive. I still had hope. I could be better than the monster the world kept trying to make me.
“That strength gave me the courage to take the first step out the door. Then another. And another. I took nothing with me. I never looked back. I ran all the way to Aquinon and chased the dream that had always seemed so impossible. Then my fate merged with Aiden’s, and I’ve never stopped fighting.”
Gods, I couldn’t even comprehend the darkness she’d been through. She probably hadn’t even told me the half of it. But it was the most she’d ever spoken to me and never about such deeply personal details.
“Why did you tell me all of this?” I asked softly.
