The curse he wove with her blood…
“My father took a loan from the Bank of Cartha to compensate my mother and keep her father from declaring war on us. We hadn’t been able to pay the bank back so Cartha resorted to sending pirates. They’ve been raiding our ships, halting trade between us and Brushwold. My kingdom…we were on the brink of ruin. It was my duty as heir to fix what my father had nearly destroyed. That was why I went after the unicorns in the first place.”
“The Heart’s Hunt,” she said, remembering what he’d told her when they’d first met. He’d come to Khero to win Princess Mareleau’s hand in marriage. The thought sent an odd prickle to her heart.
“I found the poster with your face on it shortly after I realized I couldn’t complete the Hunt.” He ran a hand through his hair before he met her eyes again. “I regret it. I regret lying to you. I regret putting you in danger.”
Again, she felt the truth of his emotions. “What about for yourself? Don’t you regret getting captured?”
He let out a dark laugh. “Maybe I’ve gotten what I deserve.”
They fell into silence. Cora nibbled her bottom lip. She could feel the darkness dissipating between them, felt something like relief lighten her chest. But she still felt a block. A challenge. One that aggravated her to no end.
“I won’t let my father yield to him,” he said. “I promise you, in whatever way I can, I will stop Duke Morkai.”
She wanted to bark a laugh and remind him there was nothing he could do. He was a prisoner. A hostage. Morkai would send his summons to Menah and Selay in the morning. When they met at Centerpointe Rock in two weeks’ time, there would be very little chance the duke would give Teryn the opportunity to speak. If the prince hadn’t been such a stubborn fool, he could have lied to the duke the same way he’d lied to her. He could have let Morkai think he’d won him over only to bide his time until he could act against the duke in a way that mattered. Instead, Teryn had gotten himself thrown in a cell.
As did I, she reminded herself. Perhaps they weren’t so different.
She had to admit, there was something admirable about him refusing to play the duke’s game. Her admiration bloomed, softening the edges of the thorns that had embedded themselves around her heart. His betrayal still ached. She breathed it in, feeling the sensations sink her stomach, letting them thrum through her, weaken her bit by bit, crumble her, and then…strengthenher. Her mind grew clearer, her breaths fuller.
“All right,” she whispered.
“All right, what?”
“All right, I…” She tried to form the wordforgive, but her mouth wouldn’t obey. It was too soon to feel genuine forgiveness, but she feltsomething. “I understand. I…I know why you did what you did, so…all right.”
His posture relaxed. “Cora—”
She turned away from him and went back to the door. This time, when she placed her hands against the metal, a thrum of magic ran through her palm. She felt equal parts elation and annoyance. Why had her magic insisted on her making peace with Teryn? Then again, maybe it hadn’t been about him at all. Maybe it had more to do with the rage and hate she’d let consume her senses. Her powers had grown when she’d hid herself and Teryn under the tree, but she’d so quickly reverted to her base instincts afterward. It was a lesson she was constantly having to revisit—the cost of ignoring the whispers of quiet magic in the face of far more tempting noise.
She could hear her magic now, though, the same way she had at the tree. It wasn’t a voice that spoke but a feeling. One that guided her hand to where the door met the frame. She felt the cool metal pulse beneath her hand, echoing the rush of her blood. Once, this door was molten. Once, this door was as soft and pliable as her flesh. Once, it was but a collection of metals. Small. Separate. Movable. Even now, she could sense space in the steel, the same space that existed between her fingers, between the strands of her hair, in the pores of her skin. It moved, it buzzed, it hummed like anything else. She slid her hand slightly up, sensed movement mirrored within the door. Then she brushed a finger to the left.
A soft click sounded on the other side. She gave the metal a gentle push.
Beneath Cora’s palm, the door opened.
41
Cora stared at the gap in the cell door. Her body tingled with residual magic from her feet to the center of her scalp. She was so lost in her moment of surprise that she didn’t realize Teryn had come up beside her until she heard the soft rumble of his voice.
“You…you opened the door.”
All Cora could manage was a nod.
“You did that with your magic?” He was looking at her as if seeing something he’d never noticed before. Even to her, this was more impressive than what she’d done beneath the tree. She’d unlocked the door with clairsentient magic. Moved physical matter using sensation, feeling, connection.
If I can do this, what else can I do?
She couldn’t help the smile that formed on her lips, but she reminded herself that her pride could wait. There was still a need for haste. She opened the door a little wider and glanced down both ends of the hall. One side ended in shadow where the dungeon hall led to deeper areas, more cells, places Cora had never seen. The other side revealed the closed door she’d been led through earlier—a door that would take her to the upper levels of the castle. With her magic still thrumming strong in her veins, she extended her senses and searched for nearby minds, emotions. Most of the energies she could sense were condensed in the deeper areas of the dungeon. Closer to her cell, she sensed only a few minds, their emotions dulled in slumber. She was struck with the sudden impulse to free the other prisoners but halted that thought before it could bloom. There most certainly were more prisoners like Bradley and his father, but there also could be dangerous people like the hunters. Besides, who knew how long she had before another guard would be back. Before Morkai returned.
If only one of you remains alive by sunrise, that person can leave.
Cora had no idea what time it was. For all she knew, it could be nearing sunrise already.
With a steadying breath, she took a step outside the door. She paused, waiting, feeling. When the path seemed clear, she returned to the cell, shouldered her quiver, and gestured at Teryn. “Come on. We must hurry.” She took another step. When she didn’t hear Teryn follow, she cast a glance back at him.
She watched his shoulders fall. Watched a flicker of hope crumble until his face was left slack. His response was strained. “I can’t leave.”
