I should have killed you then.
Too bad I can’t see the future like Torin.
“Lyrae Antares. Traitor to the Shadow King, killer of Crux, the king’s protector, executioner of the innocent, assassin to the crown, betrayer of the Solarys people.”
Beside me, Ryland jolted.
I could hardly blame him, that was a long list.
“Killer of anyone who needed killing.” I grinned, spinning my sword, the blade whistling. “Otherwise known asCommander of the Dreadwatch. But call me what you will.”
“Ah, yes, the famed Valarian Dreadwatch.” The Butcher’s eyes sharpened before he mimed a whole-body shudder. “Scary,” he laughed, the sound like nails on a chalkboard. “You forget I hunted those relics for centuries. I knoweverythingabout their powers.”
“Well, you sucked,” Ryland snapped. “Since Ariel found them within only a few years.”
I winced, but honestly, I was surprised he’d stayed quiet this long.
Hats off to his self-control, really.
“The Mirror, crafted from a shard of moonlight, capable of summoning illusions beyond compare. Illusions so perfect only a Truthsayer can see through them. But legend also says…whoever possesses the mirror can foresee the outcome of battles, discover hidden secrets, see the future. Sound familiar?”
The Butcher’s smile turned to silk, diamond pointed ears glinting. “Now don’t you think, since I’ve possessed those relics for decades, I may have used the Mirror to foresee my own fate? Don’t you think I might have accessed that magic so I would know, for instance, the outcome of this particular…battle?”
I’d had blue-blooded nobles look down at me with less disdain than Gravelock, when he added, “though I’d hardly call what’s about to happen a battle. More like a mercy killing.”
“Yes, you have had those relics for decades, haven’t you?Ithink you did try to use the Mirror, and the Crown, and the Thorn, butfailed.”
My gaze dipped pointedly to his gloved hands. “I think you failed and now have the scars to show for it. I think thereason you never claimed that power is because you’reafraid.You’ve already seen your own fate, Butcher, and you didn’t come here today to retrieve the relics, but to prevent your own death.”
“Kill her first,” he said idly, motioning two of his guards forward, fire wreathing their fingertips. “Then I shall proceed to the castle, where I shall kill any more of you vermin we come across, after which I will bleed Kaden Rooke dry and take the Triune back where it belongs.”
“See…” I told Ryland. “IknewI was right. That’s why he’s been waiting all this time,” I mused aloud, watching his eyes narrow down to slits. “You know you can’t claim the Triune.”
Ryland’s quick intake of breath had me pressing on. “In fact, you know your chances of dying are greater than any chance of success. So your best option was to keep Kaden weak and the Triune under lock and key, because control was all you could hope for, while your realm died around you. What a pathetic legacy you’ll leave behind.”
All around us, the winds had calmed down, the churning blizzard turning to lazy, fat flakes.
Luck wasn’t meant to last forever, but godsdamn it, couldn’t ours have lasted just a few minutes longer?
I blew out a breath, battle readiness flooding through my body, muscles tensing, my eyes meeting Ryland’s long enough to send him a clear message.
This bastard is mine.
“Did you know all my soldiers possess some form of magic? And while I don’t possess a Truthsayer, I do have the next best thing.” Gravelock waved a Fae guard forward, a shimmering ribbon of pale white magic wrapping up his arm. “Show me if this is glamour or real.”
The soldier cast his magic in a perfect sphere, not big enough to take down the Mirror’s entire illusion, butenough to shatter a hole in the uniformed force behind us. Part of my fake Dreadwatch force disappeared, then reformed into a watery mirage as Gravelock’s smile turned to a leering grin, his soldiers drawing weapons, magic blooming at their fingertips.
“A trick is still only a trick. Now step out of the way, commander, while I go and fetch what you thieves stole.”
I looked to the sky, searching the gray clouds overhead.
More time.
We needed just a little time.
“Who says we stole anything?” I slammed my sword down into the ice between us, planting the point deep with a solid-sounding thunk. “Maybe you aren’t the hero of this story, Gravelock. Maybe you’re the piece of shit poser who doesn’t deserve to draw air.”
“Oh, and I suppose you’ll be the one to deliver it?” He sniped, and I wanted nothing more than to march forward and stab my sword through his throat. But we had to draw this out as long as possible.
