My gaze flickered to Otho and Askel as they maneuvered Hansen into a headlock.
I fight for myself. It was a whisper in my mind and suddenly, I knew it was true.
I would fight for myself, too.
I waited, watching as Leif and Adis circled one another. It was clear that Adis was using magic to try and gain the upper hand, but thanks to my cousin, Leif had all the same powers. Or at least, most of them. I palmed the knife in my hand.
I didn’t warn him I was coming, which might have been a dirty trick. But the next time Adis’s back was to me, I struck.
Like the snake inked on my ribs, it was a single, lethal strike, the knife slipping into his back, up to the hilt, thanks to the small burst of wind power I had released to increase the pressure.
I only wish I had been able to see his face when it happened.
Unlike the soldier I had killed in the other room, I’d had time to aim this one, and if the shocked look on Leif’s face was indication enough, I’d hit true.
Adis, the man who had both ruined and changed my life forever was dead before he hit the floor.
I glanced over my shoulder, to see if Askel and Otho had killed Hansen, only to see both of their gazes focused on me, a lump on the floor between them. Otho’s eyes were filled with horror.
I tilted my head to the side, and that’s when it happened.
An arm encircled my neck, pulling me to a warm body, a sharp prick digging into my neck.
CHAPTER 41
“What now?” It was Leif’s voice at my ear, but it was a tone I didn’t recognize—one filled with malice. I gulped.
This wasn’t going to end well.
Otho took a step forward, and the arm around my neck pulled me back, causing me to stumble.
I was still trying to figure out what had happened, why Leif’s knife was at my neck when I had killed the person he was trying to kill, when Otho spoke.
“I am only getting the emblem. He had no offspring and no partner.”
The direction I was pulled in changed, and I nearly blacked out as the pressure at my neck increased. We were across the room then, our positions reversed as Leif stood in front of the body of what was once his father.
I watched as Otho pulled a gold pin off of Adis uniform, placing it on his own lapel. He was now the viscount of Ralheim.
“I will take the place of my father.” Though his voice was firm, his arm trembled, and I knew he couldn’t reach for the emblem and keep me captive.
I watched Otho’s throat bob. “She’s not your enemy.”
The laugh that bubbled from his chest bordered on demonic. “Isn’t she?”
Something had changed. Something I hadn’t counted on when I had killed Adis.
“Is that why my father’s palace was attacked and only she disappeared?”
I wanted to snap that Ena had too, but I knew even moving my neck the small bit it took to speak would dig my skin into the blade of the knife.
“She fights only for herself,” Otho tried, and if it weren’t for the way he swallowed hard for a second time, I almost would have bought it. What he had feared was coming true: Leif was using me against him. My stomach soured.
“Unfortunately for you, Runa read me the empathetic abilities. I know you are telling a lie.”
I pressed my eyes closed, my thoughts swirling. This was so much worse than I had thought. My mind went into calculation mode, but it was too late.
“I will leave peacefully.” My heart stuttered at Leif’s words, and I reached for my own empathetic abilities to give myself more of an edge. “On one condition.”
