“This is the legendary Quinn Redgrave?” He points at me, laughing. “Not so fearsome now, are you?”
I turn my head to the right to see my sword lying useless on the floor, out of reach. I refocus my blurred vision on the men. One of them levels a sword at me, the blade coated with black ooze.
“Poison? Have you any idea how many fools have tried that on me?” My sneer comes out more of a croak as whatever they used on me slithers through my body.
The second soldier comes into focus, his brown hair greasy around a dirty face. Rotted teeth are exposed when his mouth stretches into a crooked grin. “But the king’s new toy didn’t make their poisons like she did this one.”
“Shut your mouth.” The taller man elbows him. “No one’s supposed to know about the witch.”
The witch?
Fuck.
“Does it matter, Justin?” The soldier gestures at me. “Look at him. He’s as good as dead.” Then he leans in close—but not too close. “Those eyes. Black as sin, they are. It’s true then. You really gave your soul to the devil?”
A demon, but far be it from me to correct this asshole.
“John…” I struggle to form words. “Has a witch?”
“Damn right he does.” The man nods. “Our liege keeps her locked up tight. Rumor has it her screams echo throughout Newkirk Castle.”
Sybil.
Her name whispers across my mind. It has to be her. I don’t need to hear them say it aloud for confirmation. Ifeelher in the poison. Now that John has her and he’s torturing her, he’ll get her to tell him everything about Rapunzel—if he hasn’t already.
Goddamn fuck.
I’ve witnessed firsthand the level of suffering that prick can inflict on a person. It’s why I sacrificed everything to save my sister. I always believed I’d find a way to use this power to defeat John and free Eleanor from him.
That hope dies with me, today.
So does Rapunzel’s future.
One soldier kicks me, and I try to hold back my howl of pain. There’s laughter. Taunts. Then the tainted blade drags across my throat, slow and deep. Agony spreads like a wildfire from my gaping throat to every part of me. It picks at my nerves as my blood seeps from the wound. Thick and sticky, it fills my mouth. Chokes me. Skids down my throat, only to bleed back out.
“That should finish him.”
They’re not wrong, as I go as still as death.
“Finally.” He spits on me. “Fucking abomination.”
The darkness pulls me in, leaving me vulnerable. I can’t avoid slipping into it like sliding into a lake of lava. This journey is unbearable. It’s pain in its purest form. There’s no escape from it—and I see him in this darkness. The demon, with his black eyes and evil grin. He beckons to me. Eager to begin whatever it is he has planned for me…
But the unmistakable sound of an arrow cutting through the air snaps me out of the darkness. It strikes true, piercing the soldier with the sword in the throat. The weapon clamors to the floor with a metallic clang that vibrates against my aching bones. A second shot impales the other man in the chest but doesn’t kill him.
Wren rushes in and grabs the sword. Then his face fills my vision. “You’re a fucking mess.” His flippant remark doesn’t match the concern etched across his face.
“Witch poison.” The words are a coarse whisper.
My tendons try to stitch themselves together, but the venom destroys faster. I want to laugh at the realization that all my dark power is doing is prolonging my suffering—and my imminent death—instead of healing me.
Wren closes his eyes for a moment—just a single moment. Then he glances at the ooze smeared across the blade. “You better not die on me.”
That’s one promise I can’t make. “Swear to me. You won’t. Blame Rapunzel.”
Those words cost almost too much energy.
“I won’t.” He shoves his hair away from his furrowed brow, revealing a faint cringe he can’t hide. “But if you die, she’ll blame herself, so you better survive this because I won’t comfort her.”
