Aird’s movements were as windswept as the guards had been.
I narrowed my eyes. “What has she done to you?”
“Defeated my weaknesses.” A breeze—uncannily inside the tent—lifted his hair from his shoulders.
“Everyone has weaknesses,” I told him. “They help us appreciate our strengths and relate to others. Weaknesses balance us as individuals.”
“Weaknesses get you killed. Without them, you’re infallible.” Aird sneered at me, eyes lifting over my head. Evaluating Tolek. “And we found yours.” He straightened, and a conniving smile twisted his lips. “Did you truly think you could be Revered of the Mystique Warriors, the most powerful leader on the continent, and choose to save your lover over everyone else? You cannot have it both ways, Miss Alabath.”
His threats lit a fire within me—one capable of burning the world to ashes, his words dancing among them.
Love was no weakness, except perhaps the love of power that he and the queen seemed to share. That kind of toxic ambition would kill you.
“Protecting someone you care for is not a weakness. Relying on others is not a weakness. To love is a strength, and it is that compassion which makes me fit for the position of Revered.” The air in the room stretched taut, about to snap. “Maybe if Kakias would stop kidnapping the men I love, I wouldn’t have to rescue them.”
“Why would she when it has proven to get you to come running?” He laughed, but there was no humor in the sound—only corrupt glee.
Tol slid out from behind me, but Aird’s manic stare remained locked on my face. Where his eyes had once been dove gray, they were as deep as roaring storm clouds.
“Why does she want you?” He seemed to be talking to himself as much as he was me.
“No clue,” I said, keeping my hand at my side as I flipped my dagger around.
“What’s in your blood that makes you so special? Makes her sodesperate?—”
Quick as a whip, my dagger flashed toward his thigh. His reaction was quicker, though. He swiveled, the blade only skimming his leg instead of disarming him.
Blood gushed, but the wound began healing over quickly.
His hand flashed out, gripping my shoulder before I could dodge and throwing me back. I collided with the wooden shelf, spine cracking against the edge.
Knives clattered to the floor around my boots. I stretched a hand out to stop myself from falling, and a blade sliced up my forearm.
I cried out. Aird grasped the wound, lifting it.
“You’re speaking nonsense,” I panted, wincing as he tightened his grip. “Whatever she’s promised you has taken your wits in exchange.”
“Oh no, your blood seems very precious to her. I was instructed not to spill it.” He shook my arm in his grasp. I blinked against the sting, fighting a scream. “But accidents do happen.”
A secret darkened his voice—and that confirmed it. He wasn’t loyal to Kakias. Aird was devoted only to himself. Greed dripped over his words. It didn’t matter that he didn’t know why Kakias wanted me; only that she did, and that he claimed me first.
“Sorry to tell you, I’m nothing special,” I hissed. I clenched my teeth, refusing to squirm for him.
Aird leaned over me, chest crushing me to the shelf. The rough edge dug deeper into my spine. Starfire was still at my hip, but Aird was too close for me to reach her.
“There’s time before she returns. I’ll find out what she wants from you.” His rabid gaze switched from the blood on my arm to my eyes.
Face close enough to mine that his breath fanned across my cheeks, he murmured, “Luckily for us both, she was on her own mission when you arrived. I’m supposed to hold you for her.” He dragged the blade across my throat, marking the spot. “But if you’re being difficult, I have to defend my?—”
Aird’s words broke off with a gurgle as cuffed hands slipped around his head.
A chain tightened against his throat, crushing his windpipe. The Mindshaper’s eyes bulged out.
“Hands off,Chancellor,” Tolek growled in his ear.
My jaw hung open as Tol used his handcuffs to choke the man who had been trying to kill me. Aird struggled, his face purpling. All too quickly, his body relaxed, and Tol shoved him to the floor, kicking the unconscious chancellor in the ribs.
The murderous rage glowing in Tol’s eyes awakened parts of my body it shouldn’t have. When he looked at me, though, he softened back into himself. Hair in disarray, chest rising and falling rapidly.
