She ran over the facts in her mind. All evidence pointed toIngvarr as both Fallgerd’s killer and the one who’d triggered the rockslide. Ingvarr also seemed the culprit for Silla’s missing letters. But how had Ingvarr poisoned Silla’s wine when he’d been stationed well across the room? And if someone was indeed directing Ingvarr, then who?
It was midday when Atli delivered the news they did not want to hear. Ingvarr had been found.
And he was dead.
Though Rey had advised against it, Silla insisted on being brought to the body. In the far back corner of one of the stables, his corpse was sprawled in the hay. The hilt of a blade protruded from his chest, Ingvarr’s hand clasped around it.
It is what he deserved,hissed Myrkur, writhing with anger.
Silla flinched, though she was glad to know Ingvarr’s death could not have been by her hand—not when she’d been shackled to the bed or in Rey’s presence for the past several days. Ingvarr’s once-pale skin was now a grayish hue. It was clear he’d been dead for several hours.
“Pity,” muttered Rey, cracking his knuckles. “I’d have liked a few minutes alone with him.”
Silla pressed her fingers to her lips, sorrow flowing through her. “He took his own life.”
Better his than yours,whispered the god.
“Perhaps,” Rey said carefully. “Or perhaps we’re only meant to think that.”
Eyes wide, she turned to him. “What do you mean?”
“I mean,” said Rey, “perhaps someone in this fortress was willing to kill Ingvarr to keep him from talking.”
Chapter 44
Lands beyond the river, Zagadka
Saga Volsik was delirious with fatigue, yet refused to give in to sleep’s pull. Her cheek rested on the tent’s timber floor, and she’d curled herself around her tied wrists. Beneath the ropes, her skin was rubbed raw. For hours now, she’d tried to loosen her binds, but the horsemaidens clearly knew their way around a knot.
“Please!” Saga cried into the darkness. “I’ll doanything!”
Her voice was hoarse, her throat scratched raw. Saga’s hope had extinguished hours ago, yet she refused to give up. But in the silence, Saga could not keep her mind from drifting to the east. Was she already too late? Was the fortress still standing? Did Kassandr Rurik still breathe?
This last thought made her despair grow deeper and higher. Kassandrcouldn’tbe dead, because she’d never met someone so alive. In this dark, silent moment, Saga was filled with the desire to tell him that he was right. That the girl he’d taken from Askaborg Castle hadn’t been ready to walk freely in this world. But the girl she was now—the queen he’d shown her she could be—was ready. She wanted to show him what he’d done for her. She wanted tothankhim.
But it was too late.
Her eyes burned, a tear rolling off the bridge of her nose and spattering the floor. Saga couldn’t even be mad at herself for crying. Because she was only just realizing how dreary the world would bewithout Kassandr in it. But it wasn’t just Kassandr; there was also Elisava’s fire and Rovgolod’s lazy humor.
The tent flap burst open, and Saga scrambled upright. There stood a silhouette, barely distinguishable from the darkness. For a moment she thought this a phantom vision, but the thud of Khiva’s boots against the floorboards told her it was real.
“You are honest?” came Khiva’s low voice in Zagadkian. “You swear you do not lie to me?”
“Why would I lie?” croaked Saga. “What I said was truth.”
“My mother,” said Khiva, “holds a grudge tighter than a horse to its apple.”
Saga blinked at the revelation—the clansmother was Khiva’s mother?—but she dared not move for fear she’d break this strange spell.
“I will not sit idle if what you say is true. I will not risk the children of my clan for my own pride.” Khiva crouched low before Saga, a long-bladed knife gleaming in the darkness as she lifted it between them. Saga’s pulse thrummed at the sight of it.
“I promise you, queen of Íseldur,” Khiva warned, “should I discover treachery, you will find this blade buried in your neck.”
A laugh fell from Saga, part disbelief, part pure madness. “If I deceive you, I’ll bury it there myself, Khiva.”
Khiva huffed. “You are bold, I will give you that.”
Saga smiled a secret smile. What would Kassandr say to that? Perhaps his brashness had rubbed off on her. She could only hope some of her caution had transferred to him.
