I turned the dagger over, studying the craftsmanship. “Why would some king want me dead?”
“Because he hates me.” His fingers brushed mine as he plucked the dagger from my hands. “He wants me to know that he can reach into my court, slit your throat, and vanish.”
I swallowed hard. “So he sent someone armed with a Caelir weapon, knowing you’d recognize it.”
Kairos nodded. “It’s a provocation.”
“How will you respond?”
“I’ll deliver him back in pieces.”
The air darkened like shadows bled from the room. The lanterns dimmed, their flames strangled. Mist crawled over the stones as Kairos stepped forward.
“Any last words?”
“N-no,” the fae rasped, scrambling upright. “Please. I didn’t—I wasn’t?—”
Mist pooled into the cell. Slowly, it slithered up the walls.
“Wait!” I started.
The fae screamed.
Kairos lifted one fist, and the mist tightened. Blood seeped from the prisoner’s eyes, tracking down his face in dark rivulets. White tendrils coiled his torso, cinching tighter. The male thrashed against his chains, the metal rattling uselessly.
I faced Kairos. “Stop, you don’t have to do this!”
Kairos yanked the mist sideways with a sharp twist of his wrist.
The spytwisted. A deep gash opened across his waist, and his scream broke into wet sobbing. Crimson sprayed the floor, spattering my shoes.
Oh gods.
I whirled away, pressing my hands over my ears, but I couldn’t block out thesounds. The gurgling. The hitchingattempts at breath. The heavy thud of a body hitting stone.
Then silence.
My lungs wouldn’t expand. I gripped the wall, forcing air in and out.
Kairos moved toward me, and I flinched.
“Don’t come near me.”
He frowned. “I’m not going to hurt you.”
“I said don’t!”
He sighed heavily. “You stuck your hand in a cage with an assassin. Your judgment isshit.”
I wanted to tell him to go to hell, but I didn’t trust that I wouldn’t vomit all over the floor.
He stepped closer, slower this time. His fingers wrapped my elbow, and I shivered. Numbly, I followed the pressure as he led me upstairs.
Kairos pushed open a door. Sunlight flooded in, blinding after the dungeon’s darkness.
I gasped as we strode into a courtyard.
High walls enclosed the space, covered in climbing ivy that cascaded down in sheets of green. Tiered beds of dark cedar overflowed with moonwort and starlace, their silver-white blooms catching the light. Roses—blood-red and cream-colored—wove through iron trellises. There were no neat hedges, just carefully guided chaos. The perfume made my head swim.
