My scars ached just looking at it. I picked up the cuffs. The rune burned against my palm. I found the weak point where the threads twisted and yanked.
The rune shattered, leaving scorched marks on the wood. I dropped the ruined fabric, cradling my hand.
“Holy shit.” He gaped at the smoking scrap of leather, then stared at me like I’d sprouted horns. “How—why?”
Kairos stood, prowling around the table. Then he crouched in front of me. “Show me your hands.”
I balled my fists. “No.”
His glare pinned me to the chair.
A shiver of panic raced up my spine, but there was nowhere to run. My stomach clenched tight as he hoveredcloser, those freakish white wisps coiling my wrists. Slowly, they tightened, delivering me into Kairos’s hands.
My breathing shallowed as he grabbed me, heat crawling up my arm and into my chest. He turned my palms to the light.
Frowning, he studied them. “Lots of scars.”
Elwen glanced over. “They’re too old to heal.”
“You’ve been doing this since you were a child,” he whispered, his thumb tracing a scar. “Haven’t you?”
I tried to pull away, but he held on.
He released me. “How do you do it? Is it a ritual?”
I folded my arms. “It’s a secret.”
Mist swirled around Kairos. “You nearly died with that rune in the forest. If you won’t tell us how it works, we can’t protect you.”
“I don’t want your protection.”
“You need it. The court witnessed you tearing apart my rune.”
I squirmed in my seat. “You killed them.”
“Mostof them.”
“How many escaped?” Uther asked sharply.
“Enough,” Kairos grunted. “Soon, the courts will know there’s a girl who can shatter faerie deals.”
My mouth went dry. “So what does that mean?”
Kairos leaned against the table. “They’ll hunt you down. Queens. Kings. Warlords. Every ambitious fae in all the realms.”
“Then I’ll run.”
“To where? You can barely survive here. You have no allies, no coin, and no understanding of fae courts.”
“I’ll be fine.”
“They’ll catch you.” His eyes were like stone. “They’ll force you to break runes until your mind shatters.”
“Let them try.”
“The rest of them,” he said loudly, “will offer you deals. If you refuse, they’ll enslave you anyway. If there’s even achanceyour gift can pass to an heir…”
The memory of a dimly-lit room slammed into me. Vaeris’s voice. His hand. The promises he’d made.
