I backed away but he was already there, gripping my chin, pressing his palm to my forehead.No.
A rune on his hand flared.
Then something slithered into my skull.Invisible tentacles probed and twisted, slicing through my life like blades. His magic sank into the folds of my mind, hunting for evidence that would condemn me.
I fought back. Threw up my mother’s death. Rheya shivering with fever three winters ago. Moldy bread. Hunger. Pain.
But he kept pushing through the trauma I’d offered him, looking for gaps, for the spaces between suffering where truth might hide. So I gave him more—Taryn’s lightning burning through me, every humiliation I’d swallowed with a smile, anything to bury what he actually wanted.
The claws jabbed deeper.
Tears streaked my cheeks, and a scream built in my throat that I couldn’t let free. He was rummaging through me like I was a drawer full of rags, pulling out memories and tossing them aside. The violation felt worse than any beating I’d ever endured.
The executioner moved.
Above us, a light exploded. Glass rained down from the ceiling in glittering shards, scattering across marble like fallen stars. Taryn shrieked. The magic holding me shattered, and I collapsed to my knees.
Henrik glared up at the light. “Idiot apprentice must’ve misdrawn a line.”
The captain lowered a hand from his sword. “A common enough problem, my lord.”
My skull throbbed.
The executioner’s gauntlet hung loose at his side. A faint shimmer lingered around his fingertips, and his eyes…were concerned? No. Impossible.
I gaped at him, shaking, trying to understand why he kept saving me. Once at the manor. Now here. Theexecutioner didn’t protect thieves—he beheaded them in the Square while crowds cheered.
Rheya’s arm wrapped around my waist. I leaned into her, gasping for breath, but Henrik pulled me from my sister.
“There.” His fingers grasped my chin, tilting my face up. “That wasn’t so bad, was it?”
I couldn’t pretend. Not with his magic still aching inside me.
The executioner tensed.
Henrik gave my cheek a fatherly pat. “She’s exactly what she appears to be. A simple girl with simple thoughts.”
The captain frowned, but Henrik was already herding him toward the door. “Of course, my lord. Apologies for the intrusion.”
The soldiers filed out.
Henrik watched them go, his lip curling the moment they showed their backs.
The executioner paused in the doorway. His jaw flexed like he’d swallowed words that wanted to escape. Those amber eyes found mine, and we just stared at each other.
Who are you?
He turned. His cloak snapped behind him as he strode into the night, taking his answers with him and leaving me with nothing but questions that could get me killed.
The attic door shut.
Neither of us moved. We stood there, breathing hard, like we’d run the whole way up instead of walking. I sank onto my mattress.
“We’re alive,” Rheya laughed. “Gods, I thought when Henrik grabbed you, we werefinished.”
I rubbed my face. “Yeah.”
“We can’t waste a second.” Rheya pulled out the canvas bags we’d packed. “Let’s go.”
