I tightened my grip around his flaccid cock, making him cry out, loud and high-pitched.
“Please!”
Satisfied he was right where I wanted him, I released him and ripped the blade free from his shoulder in one swift, brutal motion. Blood spattered along my face. His agonized moan echoed in the metal container, but I stood still, foot tapping, eyes locked on his. I wasn’t going to rush this. He needed to know I could do this all night if I had to.
He slowly lifted his head, blinking through the pain. “M-my boss is?—”
The sentence died on his lips, and his body began to shake. The convulsions became violent, and my heart seized with the sight.
“No,” I whispered. “No, no—don’t you fucking dare.”
Acting fast, I gathered my magic and sent a stream of it straight into his chest, drawing on his strongest desire, hoping it would root him to life just long enough to speak.
“Say it!” I screamed. “Who is it?!”
His eyes locked on mine, glazed, unfocused. A soft smile stretched across his blood-streaked face before he coughed up blood, all while looking at me like I was salvation.
“Ruth.” He sighed dreamily as blood poured from his nose, ears, eyes, then he reached for me with trembling fingers.
I slapped him,hard.
“Focus!” I barked. Grabbing his arms, I violently shook him. “Tell me the name. Your boss. The organization.Give me something!”
“M-my b-boss…” he breathed. “H-he w-will br…”
His eyes went into the back of his head, which lolled forward. The rest of the words died before they were born.
A smell hit me. Burning.
Panic twisted my gut, and I leaned closer, sniffing until I pried open his mouth and got a full whiff of burning flesh.
On his tongue, scorched into the muscle like a brand, was a blackened sigil. A small, perfect circle with rune script laced around the edge saying, “Vow.” I gulped just as my eyes connected with the word in bold at the center.
“Void.”
I took a slow step back, glaring at his mouth like it was the bane of my existence.
He’d been magically silenced. Someone had placed a vow so binding, so final, it killed him the moment he got too close to revealing the truth.
Maso stepped forward, lifting the wolf’s limp arm before letting it fall with a dull thud.
“Guess he couldn’t hang with you,” he said flatly.
Usually, that would’ve earned a smirk, a snide remark, or a flick of my tongue against my teeth, but not now. Not when everything inside me was collapsing.
He was our only lead,our only linkto the attack, to the mole, to the goddamn truth.
And I’d lost him.
I stared at the corpse hanging limp like a macabre puppet on strings, his blood still wet on my hands, and all I could feel was the acidic burn of failure. Shame crawled up my spine and coiled in my throat.
I’d failed my team. Failed my family. Failed to get even a fucking name.
I was the youngest Glovefox, the one who had toproveshe belonged at the table, and this was what I brought to it? A dead body, a sealed mouth, and no answers?
My eyes blurred. I bit the inside of my cheek until I tasted blood, doing everything I could to keep the tears from falling.
Ezra would’ve found a smarter way. Riot would’ve solved this with a spell. Even Nova could’ve beaten the truth out of him without triggering the kill charm. I could hear the unspoken judgment even if they weren’t here to say it.
