“The storm gate,” he spat, stalking closer, each step leaving dark prints on the stone. “Half the quarter is underwater. Shops, homes—ruined. Families wading through filth, goods floating down the canals.” He leaned in, his voice dropping to a hiss. “Three dead. Crushed when the embankment gave way.”
Three dead.
“Who?” The word ripped out of me. “Who died?”
Henrik’s smile was cruel. “Does it matter?”
“Tell me! Was one of them?—”
“Your little sister?”
I couldn’t breathe. Three dead. Rheya had been in that water.
“Please. Is she alive?”
“She wasn’t among the bodies they’ve recovered.”
I sagged against my restraints.
Henrik dragged a chair across the floor. He planted it in front of me and sat, his damp knees brushing mine.
“Look at me.”
My attention fixed on the wall.
His hand shot out, clamping around my chin until I met his eyes. “How did you break that rune?”
I swallowed, refusing to answer.
“I know about the damaged runes,” he said, his grip tightening. “Heirlooms gone missing, protections collapsing overnight, and it all traces toyou.”
My arms trembled.
“What the hell are you?” His breath seared against my skin. “How does a gutter-born human tear apart magic older than empires?”
He struck my cheek, the blow snapping my head sideways. White stars erupted in my vision.
Henrik wrenched my face back. “Are you part fae?”
I forced my gaze past his shoulder. Growing up, Rheya and I had asked ourselves that a hundred times, but our mother had died before we could learn the truth.
“You look human. Smell like one.” He leaned closer, his nostrils flaring. “But humans can’t wield magic, so what are you hiding?”
Silence stretched between us like a drawn bowstring.
Henrik released me with a shove. “That rune you destroyed should’ve held for another few years. What kind of monster have I been harboring?”
My blood turned to ice.
He fixed me with a cold stare. “I have allnight, Aelie.”
His hand moved toward my temple. His fingers touched me, and agony exploded through my skull.
The scream that split from my throat didn’t sound human.
He ripped at my memories, prying them open like a locksmith. I slammed them closed, over and over—Rheya—focus on Rheya—her dark brown hair catching the sun, her laugh, the brass button she hid like treasure?—
The magic clawed deeper, and I thrashed. I couldn’t feel my face. He forced his way past every barrier I erected, digging in my mind like ripping through pages in a book.
