The creak of the mausoleum door opening caused Vaasa to tense. The statue of Andrej still guarded the room, yet there was movement just behind it. Something stirring in the shadows.
That movement forced her instincts into action, and Vaasa gripped the necklace and stuffed it into her pocket. The moment it no longer touched her skin, magic flooded her system once again. Vaasa gasped, pulling the dark tendrils back into her body with a heaving effort.
Footsteps echoed on the stone floors, and then a figure came into view. Dark hair and menacing gray eyes highlighted his attractive face, his mouth turned into a grimace.
Lord Karev.
“I’ve been looking everywhere for you,” he said, tilting his head in that predatory way of his. “I was surprised to hear you were visiting your family’s mausoleum when so much commotion was happening in the city.”
Vaasa stood, her legs only slightly wobbly beneath her, and her magic hissed a warning in her ear. The cords that bound her to Ozik tugged again, and his voice whispered in her mind,Do not let him know of your power.
Vaasa almost lost her composure.You… can hear me?
Pay attention, he hissed.
Lord Karev started up the stairs that split the platforms of the mausoleum in half, his menacing grin growing wider as hiseyes devoured the fear that certainly showed itself on Vaasa’s face. Heart pounding, she considered the ways she could take to escape. He blocked the stairs, but she could jump from platform to platform if she kept her balance.
She stepped carefully to the side, traversing the top level, trying to casually open a path to the exit.
He followed, blocking any chance she had. “Before we go, I have a few questions.”
Get out, Ozik said in her head.
Without hesitating, Vaasa bolted across the platform nearest her and jumped to the one below, careful with her weight distribution so she didn’t slip on the slick floors. Lord Karev sprinted to the same side of the mausoleum, no sarcophagi in his way, all the levels below Dominik empty of burial monuments.
“A quick little heiress,” he purred, jumping up to the next platform and closing in on her.
Vaasa turned and ran the other direction, leaping for the stairs as her only final option. She took them as quickly as she could, the skirts of her black dress threatening to tangle around her legs, and she saw the exit. Sprinted for it—
Lord Karev jumped into her path.
Vaasa’s heart thudded in her chest, and her magic lurched in her stomach. She skidded to a stop. He was too close. She didn’t stand a chance of escaping him, not unless she let loose her magic. It was an irrevocable decision to reveal her power—
The moment of hesitation cost her.
Lord Karev’s hand whipped out and curled around her neck. Vaasa tried to scream, but he squeezed tighter, pressed harder, until he cut off her airway.
If there is any trust between us, let it be now, Ozik’s voice rang in her mind.Do not use your magic. He will kill you if he knows you are a witch.
Panic sliced down her spine, and Ozik’s words echoed in her ears like the chiming of a clock. Lord Karev pulled her against his chest, his free hand fisting in her hair and cranking her head back so it was pinned to his shoulder. “You’ve been keeping secrets, haven’t you, Heiress?” Lord Karev snarled.
Vaasa’s lungs screamed for air. Her body locked up. She clawed at his wrists, her nails digging into his skin. His hiss of pain came low as a sticky wetness trailed over her fingertips—blood. He kicked the back of her knees and she crumpled, waist slamming into the platform nearest her. Her ribs screamed in pain, but his grip on her throat was lost, and she sucked down air. Then he was on her, her arms locked against her body as he settled one knee on either side of her hips, baring his considerable weight on her lower back to keep her in place. “The new warden of the prison had someinterestingthings to say about one of his inmates, someone your sentinel seems to visit often,” Lord Karev said in her ear. “Why don’t you tell me what you know about Icrurian magic?”
Vaasa’s stomach turned over on itself. She used any last ounce of self-control to keep her power contained. The new warden of the prison, put in place at his behest—of course. It was a misstep. An utter miscalculation not to assume the next person in charge of the prison would quickly discover Amalie and her connection to Vaasa.
She thrashed what she could of her body, but Lord Karev fisted his hand in her hair again, pulling until a sharp pain spiraled across her scalp and she cried out.
“Did you know that Reid of Mireh was arrested this morning?” Lord Karev asked. “You’ve been playing me like a fucking fool, letting him masquerade as a salt lord all this time.”
Vaasa stopped breathing of her own accord. Those words sunk claws into her, rattled her bones. Reid of Mireh, arrested.That was where Roman was. She was sure of it. Bile crept up Vaasa’s throat. She was going to vomit.
It was over. Any leverage she had, gone.
Calm, Ozik willed her.Keep calm.
Ozik knew.
“Listen to meveryclosely,” Lord Karev said, emphasizing his words. “You have feared for your life ever since Lord Vlacik’s death. The moment you saw Reid of Mireh, you came to me like a good little heiress, and I summoned the city guard. You are going to watch his execution with a smile on your face, and in the name of strengthening Asterya for this war, we are going to appeal to the church for an expedited wedding. And then you are going to tell me every single thing you know about magic. Do you understand me?”
