“Are you brain damaged?” The duchess managed to pack more scorn into her voice than I’d heard in my entire life, and I’d been subject to plenty of scorn. “No matter. Kaine, kill everyone in this room.”
“Hey! I thought we were having a moment!” I yelped.
Ari made a noise in the back of his throat and stepped in front of me. I already knew it was hopeless. Not only could we not defeat Kaine, I’d be forced to surrender if the duchess threatened my poor sister again. At least Donya had made it out the door with Alzira. I’d done a tiny amount of good.
Kaine’s neck twisted at an unnatural angle to look at the duchess. Tremors ran up and down his body. “You haven’t beat me,” he sputtered.
The room fell into confused silence.
The Duchess frowned. “I drank your blood. I know I did. I’d heard about your legendary simplemindedness, but surely you can’t overwrite reality by being too dumb to accept it. Your power belongsto me.” She looked down at the sticky blade. “Was it not enough blood? Come over here and let me drink more, or I’ll kill your wife.”
Ysabel stood still and unnaturally empty-faced, the sword still at her throat. I uttered a strangled choke, trying to calculate if I could jump and stop her, knowing I’d never been an athlete in either body. The distance was too far.
In a strange, crackling voice, Kaine said, “Even if you control this body, the magic can only be taken by someone who overcomes my will. That is the inviolable rule ofplunder. I—we—I can’t accept a weakling who relies on other people to fight as a master!” His head jerked back and forth with unnatural speed as he spoke, as if warring with himself.
What the hell was going on? I had the odd sensation that it wasn’t Kaine talking. Kaine would never be able to look away from his wife while she had a blade aimed at her throat. This must be about the secret price of Kaine’s gift. He’d once let it slip that someone who overcame his will could steal his powers. On the flip side, since the duchess hadn’t fulfilled the price, she couldn’t use his magic. But was this good or bad? I was only alive as long as Kaine did not follow the duchess’s order. But my sister would die if he disobeyed.
Ysabel started to move the sword, and I screamed.
Duchess Hedri shouted over me, “Stop, Ysabel! Not yet! If I die—if I’m seriously hurt—then kill yourself. Kaine, I don’t know how you’re doing this, but get on your knees before me or your woman dies. You, useless Holy Maiden, show him a little blood.”
Ysabel pushed the sword into her throat, just enough to draw a line of blood. She did not make a sound of pain. It was sickening.
Kaine doubled over, clutching his head. “No, stop!” he howled. “The will is not as strong. Don’t you dare submit.Werefuse! All of our prices must be paid!” One of his knees bent, then his own hand shot down to brace his leg. The bone cracked, but healed itself straight just as fast. A dozen different colors of energy crackled down his body. The conflict was literally ripping him to pieces.
Ari grabbed my arm. “While she’s distracted, run.”
“No.” I jerked my arm away. “Not without my sister.”
EvenIdidn’t know what I was doing. My knees shook. I’d sweated through my fancy dress. I was completely, utterly, irrevocably out of my league. I didn’t have the ability to take on people as powerful as the Blood Duchess or Dark Lord Kaine. I’d always been relying on my big sister to protect me and tell me what to do, and now she’d been turned into a puppet.
For my whole life, I’d become accustomed to giving in, running away, and losing what mattered to me. I’d stood by, a silly helpless child, on the day the slavers took away Ysabel. When the guards came for our refugee camp, I waited for someone else to save me, and let my sister again sell herself for everyone else’s sake. When Falael stole my money, I’d never even considered revenge—I’d accepted it as what I’d deserved for being a fool. Every time my mother insulted me, I made myself a bit smaller and forced myself to throw up as if punishing myself. I’d never even asked what Calum was doing the day he’d left for the city, and I hadn’t known when he’d died. In the final battle against the former Head Cardinal Jiang, I hadn’t found out what was going on until later. No one had expected me to join the fight. An out-of-shape farm girl with no useful magic or combat training would have been no use, but oh, how I’d wished to be someone helpful. If I’d been something other than a burden to be protected, Calum might have let me help him. But I’d been afraid to offer because I’d probably just screw it up.
When the Blood Duchess had come to execute Donya, and Donya had told me to run away, I’d left her like a coward. When my sister showed up in the city, I let her take over because it was a relief to have someone telling me what to do. Ever since I’d been dropped in this strange body, I’d let other people give me orders. Even now, a big part of me wanted to run away again. But I could not give up on my sister. I couldn’t lose another sibling, not like I’d lost Calum. Here was my line in the sand. Here was where I’d make my final stand and fight to my death—or better yet, to the death of anyone who got in my way.
The look in my eyes made Ari let me go. “Do you have a ring that could paralyze Ysabel and stop her from using the knife?” I asked.
Ari shook his head. “I would have used it already. Ma’qas’s poison could do it—but Bora, we don’t have much time.”
I knew exactly what Ari meant. Half of Kaine’s hair was coated in ice, the other half on fire. The energy had spread out from Kaine, sending cracks down the floor and up the walls. Shards of wood fell from the roof. This building was about to go down. The Blood Duchess ducked behind the chief judge’s throne. She had not yet ordered Ysabel to die. Hostages were a one-shot deal. She had to know that if she killed Ysabel, then nothing would stop Kaine from killing the duchess. We could use that. I could not believe how coldly I was thinking.
Duchess Hedri screamed, “Shadow, stop Kaine! Kaine, you madman, what do you think will happen if I put a blade into your wife’s pregnant belly? If you don’t care about the woman, then do you at least care for your legacy?”
Absolutely no one was paying attention to us. Ma’qas had fought free of the net and was dragging it along the floor, taking her unconscious companions with her. My sister had been right about villainous monologues being a useful distraction. The Blood Duchess didn’t seem to care about anything except screaming at Kaine.
I ran over, Ari fast behind me. “Ma’qas, I need a poison to freeze Ysabel.”
Ma’qas winced. “I screwed up. I shouldn’t have trusted our resident shadow. But I don’t owe you enough to die for you. This place is coming down, and it takes me time to create poisons. I’m out of here.”
I grabbed Ma’qas by the throat and dragged us so close, our noses touched. “The Blood Duchess doesn’t have her hands around your neck right now, Ma’qas.Ido. Create a paralyzation potion or I will kill you.”
Ma’qas’s eyes went wide. “I thought the villainess bit was an act.”
“If you don’t believe her, you knowI’mcapable of murder,” Ari said.
“I believe you!” she squeaked as I tightened my grip. “I need an object! Fast!”
I yanked off my necklace and shoved it into her chest hard enough to bruise. She closed her eyes, concentrating.
