Her palm was bare, as if she’d never pledged those words. As if the gods knew she’d forsaken her oath.
As if they knew her very existence was an affront to the order and peace they had created.
Her chest began to heave, and before she could think of the pain in her ribs, she wrapped her arms around her middle as if she could contain her panic.
She didn’t even flinch at her own vice grip.
It’s the adrenaline, she tried to reason. But her fingers trembled as she lifted her sweater to inspect her side.
No trace of the bruises from the Athatis.
It was as if she’d never been injured at all.
‘What’s happening to me?’
The question was choked, her voice thick as her hysteria rose just as quickly as that burning in her veins in the market.
What’s happening to me what’s happening to me what’s happening to me?
Cold sweat coated her body, her stomach twisting tightly as her vision blurred. A frantic prayer raced through her mind as she tried to steady herself – tried to reach for those calming techniques she’d learned – but Aya only retched as she emptied the contents of her stomach onto the floor. Panic raced through her, building like a wall of terror that threatened to consume her as she heaved again.
Distantly, footsteps approached.
Fear masks all senses – it renders one dead before a blow is even struck.It was what Galda used to say whenever the Sensainos unleashed their greatest fears on them during training. Aya forced a breath into her lungs.
You’re better than this.
She twisted her sleeves around her palms again, fighting the heaving in her stomach at the thought of the smooth skin there.
You have been trained better than this.
Aya forced herself upright, her eyes fixed on the door as she pushed that panic down – further, further – until all that was left was an empty buzzing in her head, a cold sort of focus that she settled into as she waited for her due.
Will looked like hells. His black shirt was wrinkled, his skin wan in the flickering dungeon light. The door clicked shut behind him, and for a moment there was nothing but silence as he watched Aya warily, his jaw tight.
Her body trembled under his gaze. Not with fear, she realized.
But rage.
Pure, undiluted rage.
Will stepped away from the door, keeping a wide berth as he moved into the cell. ‘You’re going to want to take a deep breath.’ He ran a hand through his already-mussed hair with a sigh. ‘As angry as you are right now, I think you’d regret adding another death to your tally today.’
Aya was across the cell in the span of a breath, her hand reaching for his throat. Will grunted as she slammed him into the stone wall.
‘I won’t regret a single moment spent ending your miserable life,’ she snarled, her nails forming white crescent moons as she dug into the soft skin of his neck. ‘And I’ll take my sweet time doing it.’
She’d kill him – but her rage consumed her, making it easy for Will to break her hold. He spun, slamming Aya face-first into the stone, her arm trapped between her back and his chest. Her cheek stung as it scraped against the rough wall.
‘It’s been a long day, and I’m not in the mood,’ he growled as he leaned into her. ‘So I’ll say this only one more time. Take. A fucking. Breath.’
She struggled against him, bucking and thrashing and writhing like a feral animal. ‘She’s innocent!’ The scream ripped from somewhere deep inside of her – the same place she’d locked that fear away.
‘I know,’ he seethed, his breath hot on her ear. ‘She’s alive because of it. If Kakos truly wanted to deal us a blow, what better way than killing our general without getting their own hands dirty.’
So he agreed. Someone was framing Tova. Yet he’d tortured her anyway.
‘You’re a piece of shit,’ she snarled, wrestling to break free. All she managed to do was rip her skin further on thestone. But her anger was far easier to face than the layers of fear that threatened to overwhelm her entirely. ‘You’re a sadistic piece of shit.’
