Behind her, Felinus pushed to his feet. “There has been some mistake. Lady Vincetti is not—”
“You were not as careful as you thought, Cleric,” Renault interrupted. “I knew you were scurrying about Esperance researching bloodstones. I also know from myinvestigation at the temple that you befriended Lady Vincetti while she was there.” He arched a dark brow. “I don’t believe in coincidences, Felinus. My suspicions were already strong, but when I made my report to Lisbeth tonight and she told me Amryn’s mother was an empath, well . . . the pieces fell into place. Rhone can even attest that when he sensed an empath in the city, Amryn was there. Just as you were with Princess Sadia when she was healed.”
A tremble shook through her. When Renault stepped into the room, she took a hurried step back. They mirrored each other, Rhone and Lisbeth advancing behind him.
“Bloodstones are rarely discussed, even among the knights,” Rhone’s father said, his tone disturbingly conversational. “But among the leaders of the Order, an interesting fact is known: a bloodstone has the ability to shield an empath from our detection. Bloodstones are so rare, however, it was never deemed necessary to share that information.”
The senior knight drew to a stop before them. Amryn was now standing beside Felinus, and his hand flashed out to catch her arm. He tugged her behind him.
Renault’s upper lip curled, derision sharpening his gaze. “I expected better from a former knight.”
Felinus’s fingers bit deeper into Amryn’s arm, then suddenly his grip loosened. “And I would expect nothing less from a monster like you, Renault.” Without warning, Felinus drew a knife and leapt at the senior knight. “Run!” he barked at Amryn.
She fell back a step, but there was nowhere to go. Rhone had shifted to block her from the main door, and the balcony would only trap her further.
Lisbeth cried out as Felinus swung his blade, but Renault easily dodged the older man’s attack.
In a motion so fluid it must have been practiced for years, Renault drew his own blade as he spun, and he buried it in Felinus’s back.
The old cleric stumbled, gasping from the blow.
“No!” Amryn cried. She dropped to her knees beside Felinus’s crumpled form, her chest filled with agony as she watched him struggle to breathe. Oh, Saints, had a lung been punctured?
It didn’t matter. She had the bloodstone. She could heal—
An arm snagged around her waist, dragging her harshly from the floor. Her back slammed into Rhone’s chest as he caught her in a fierce hold, drawing her back from Felinus.
“No!” she shouted. “Let me help him!”
Rhone’s grip only tightened.
Panic ripped through her, hazing her vision. She bucked wildly against Rhone’s hold, but she couldn’t break it. She couldn’t even calm herself enough to use the training Carver had drilled into her. Desperation made her wild. Felinus wasdyingand they wouldn’t let her help him—even though they knew she had the power to heal him.
Because they knew she was an empath. A chill wracked her.
“You never said you were going to kill him,” Lisbeth’s voice rose from somewhere behind her. “Sinners deserve to be punished. It is the only way they can be forgiven.” Her voice changed slightly as she intoned, “Those with the higher knowledge suffer the higher wrath—salvation will only be possible if they pay the higher price. Felinus deserved a chance to atone.”
“Clearly, he didn’t want a chance at penance,” Renault said calmly. “He knew what he was doing by attacking a knight.”
Felinus’s breaths were so strained now, every inhale and exhale was labored. His hand twitched, reaching toward her. His eyes were wide. Pained. Afraid.
Afraid forher.That only created new fissures in her breaking heart.
She strained against Rhone’s hold, but he subdued her with too little effort. A new wave of dizziness hit her. This time, it was coated with a growing fogginess.
“You won’t be able to fight much longer,” Rhone said. His solid arms were wrapped around her torso, pinning her arms uselessly to her sides.
Her heart drummed madly as she continued to buck against his restraining grip. But her movements . . . they were growing sluggish. Just like her thoughts.
And then she realized something horrifying.
She was in pain because she was watching Felinus suffer, but she wasn’t actuallyfeelinghis agony. She couldn’t feel any of the emotions in the room.How long had that been true?
And the bloodstone . . . the thrumming pulse was quieting with every rapid breath she sucked in. What was happening to her?
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the food spread on the table along with the two tall glasses, still holding wine.
Her stomach dropped. The dizziness they’d both felt . . .
