No. I wouldn’t trade one sacrifice for another.
They wanted me to agree for a reason. Unwilling sacrifices made runes unstable. The fae claimed that defiance poisoned the flow of power. That’s why they held the Rite. Forced deaths gave them magic, but willing ones gave them control.
I pictured them collecting my blood, using it to powerthe thousands of runes enchanting Skalgard. Runes for light and stability. For the very walls that penned us in like cattle. My death would fuel the prison I’d tried to escape.
Then Rheya would stand in the same spot. Would they make her kneel, too?
The queen’s smile thinned. “Think carefully, human. What is your pride worth if it costs your sister everything?”
Every instinct screamed to protect my sister, but this wasn’t protection. This was surrender.
“No,” I growled. “I won’t do it.”
The queen sneered. “How short-sighted.”
The king held up a hand, gesturing to the executioner.
The executioner pushed me toward the block. I clawed at the stone, nails breaking, but my knees still slammed against the floor.
Conflict flickered behind the executioner’s gaze. He shifted, shoving the gauntlet into my face. I jerked back, but he squeezed harder until his armor bit my cheek. The jagged rune stood out on the steel, an angry red wound. He tapped me.
Twice.
I gaped at him. Was he telling me to break it? Or taunting me before he killed me?
He prodded me. Raised his brows.
Henrik stepped forward. “Your Majesty. If we destroy her now, we lose the chance to understand what she is. This may never happen again in our lifetimes.”
The king turned slowly. “My son said the same.”
“I need more time to study her,” Henrik pressed. “She’s not a threat if we keep her shackled.”
King Vaeron faced me, his jaw tightening. “Perhaps. We don’t know what else this thing can do.”
“Curious, isn’t it?” the queen purred. “Two males, bothin contact with this human, suddenly eager to preserve her life. I wonder what she’s done to earn such loyalty.”
Murmurs broke out in the room.
The executioner pushed his gauntlet close. The rune glowed, and he nudged me again. His eyes bored into mine, trying to tell me something.
I grasped his hand. My fingers slipped up the cold metal, sliding over the rune’s surface. It felt wrong—prickly, wooden.
“What is she doing?” The king’s roar shook the throne room. “Executioner, seize her!”
The executioner gripped my hair. I gasped as he yanked me up, baring my throat.
“Off with her head,” the king snarled.
Steel sang as he drew his sword.
I can’t die here.
I clung to his gauntlet, shoving against the rune as it shredded through my palm.
His gauntlet sparked. The magic inside writhed—a venomous vine throttling its prey. Tangled snarls of power coiled through his armor, slithering up from the gauntlet into his arm, threading through muscle and bone.Controllinghim.
One vine wrapped his bicep. Another strangled his elbow joint. Thinner tendrils branched down each finger, puppeting every twitch. He tried to pull back but the magic dragged him forward.
