And it was. He sat in the grit of the cage and almost goaded me about it.
It should be no trouble to convince them you did vile things for the prince, he said.You don’t even have to pretend to be vicious.
He’s right. I don’t.
I have to shove aside thoughts of Tessa when I’m like this. She’s a weight in my heart that I feel every time it beats, but she hates this part of me.
If being vicious means a chance to rescue her, I’ll do it. If it means a chance to get back to Kandala and my brother, I’ll do it.
Oren is staring at me. The others are staring between the two of us.
“So the rumors about Kandala’s royal family are true,” he says appraisingly.
I’m notentirelysure what that means, but I remember what Rian used to think of Kandala, and none of it was good. “The prince had ways to make sure order was maintained,” I say.
“Prove it,” he says.
Lina squeals and tries to throw me off, but my grip is too tight.
The men around me are absolutely silent. Mouse is wringing his hands. “Mr. Crane,” he says softly.
“Death can’t be undone,” I say.
“I know,” says Oren. “Do it.”
My thoughts ice over, my vision turning dark. I don’t want to do this.
As usual, fate doesn’t care what I want.
Thoughts of Tessa sneak into my head anyway, a memory of the day she found me in the Hold, soaked in blood after I’d been forced to execute two prisoners. I have to choke back a whimper.Please, my love. Forgive me.
I’ve done it before. I can do it again.
I don’twantto do it again.
But my grip on Lina tightens.
“No,” says Lochlan. “We don’t work for you. What’s the pay?”
I freeze. Lina’s breathing is so thin it’s barely a whistle. She’s almost limp against me, hardly struggling now.
No one has come to her rescue. None of them are willing to stand against Oren Crane.
“Thepay?” Oren says incredulously.
“Yeah,” says Lochlan. “Thepay. The prince paid a lot. You gave us a week in a cell. Wes isn’t your errand boy. If you don’t like Lina, pay up, or kill her yourself.”
Oren looks like Lochlan just told him to eat a handful of sand. “You’re myprisoners!” he seethes. “I am notpaying you to—”
“Fair enough.” I let Lina go. She drops like a rock, crumpling to the deck, gasping for air. I can hear her rage with every inhale. Her arm is hanging crookedly against the deck. I think I’ve dislocated her shoulder.
The glances between us and Oren have redoubled.
“I don’t work for free.” I glance at Lochlan. “He doesn’t either.”
Oren’s face is turning red. “I couldkill you—”
“Go ahead,” I say. “That’s better than going back to that cell. Either way, you’re wasting time. You want your daughter back, andyou want Redstone off the throne. We want himdead. We want to go back to Kandala. We could be helping each other.”
