It was the answer Farah had been waiting for. Her eyes flashed with triumph. With glee, even, as if she had just exposed some dark secret. “And why would he do that?”
Because he was reckless. Because he tended to follow his gut. Because he knew when Ellina was lying, had always been able to see right through her, and she had hurt him, and he would never just let that go. Not without demanding an explanation.
“Venick thinks he owes me something,” Ellina said. A half-truth. “It is the way human life prices work. He might not know that I have pledged my loyalty to you. We were…separated in the stateroom fighting. He would come back for me if he thought I was a prisoner here.”
Farah’s eyes danced. “And are you a prisoner here, dear sister?”
“Of course not.”
“Then you will have to tell him so.”
Ellina’s heart lurched. Her hands fisted under the table.
In truth, Farah had good reason to suspect Ellina, because Ellinahadlied when she swore fealty to Farah. She lied when she pledged to help unite the legion under Farah’s rule. Even now she was lying. She had manipulated this conversation to get exactly what she wanted: a chance to escape the palace and speak not with Venick, but with Dourin.
“You will go into the city,” Farah ordered. “Find the human and his mysterious companion. Make it clear that they are to leave Evov immediately, or face the consequences. And while you are at it, you can clear up any—misapprehensionsabout your position here. I will send a conjuror to escort you,” Farah continued airily. “For your safety, of course.”
Ellina’s heart was beating hard now. She strove to keep her voice even. “If that is what you wish.”
In the days since Farah’s takeover, Ellina had been stripped of her weapons, ordered out of her armor. She was permitted to roam the palace and its grounds but had been barred from crossing the palace’s bridge into the city. And she was being watched. Not only by Farah and Raffan, but also by the servants, the guards, the newly appointed senators. Farah doled out freedoms in small measures—the pants, access to pen and parchment, permission to walk the palace gardens—but these liberties were two-sided. They were meant to tempt Ellina into showing her hand, to catch her fumbling in some suspected deceit. And Ellina, who was anxious to put her own plans into motion, had been trapped. It did not even matter that she had secretly learned to lie in elvish, a language that until now had always forced the speaker to tell the truth. That power must be used carefully, or else risk discovery. Thus far it had been of little advantage.
The frustration of it all made her want to scream.
But now, this chance. An opportunity to escape the palace, if only for a short time. If Ellina could find Dourin, could speak to him privately…she felt the weight of this opportunity, and what it would mean for the north if she succeeded.
And Venick…
Ellina’s chest tightened. Her pulse continued to pound, differently now. She had not seen Venick since his trial when she had announced to a court full of elves that he meant nothing to her, that she would not even mind him dead. She had told those lies in elvish and Venick, unaware of Ellina’s newfound ability, had believed her.
It was the last time she had seen him.
And the last time shewouldsee him, at least for now, if Ellina could help it. Venick could not be allowed to know the truth about her position here, or her plots, or her lies. If he knew how she risked herself—let alone thathewas part of her bargain—he would never allow it. He would come for her, and in doing so reveal her as a spy. He would get himself killed in the process. And then everything would be ruined.
No. Ellina could venture into the city under the pretense of finding Venick, but it would be safer if she avoided him altogether.
But she should not think of that now. Ellina was aware of all eyes on her, and how vital it was that she not allow her thoughts to show in this moment.
The ways to kill an elf. Count them.
A sword through the neck.
She ignored the double rhythm of her heart.
Drowned in a river.
She pushed away any thought of the task ahead.
An axe in the back.
She counted, and allowed the counting to soothe her.
There had been a time when Ellina had refused to kill elves, refused even to consider its possibility. This was old law, sacred to their race even during times of war, and Ellina would not break it. But that was before, and this was now, and Ellina knew that now she would kill elves. She would kill as many as it took to protect her city, to defeat Farah, and to win her country back.
FOUR
Ido not believe it.”
Dourin’s chair scraped back hard against the kitchen floor as he stood, eyes bright with anger. “Ellina and Farah hate each other. Ellina would never pledge herself to her sister. Not after what happened in the stateroom.”
