This time, he strikes first, aiming for Cornelius’s side. The blow is blocked, but barely, causing more violet and blue sparks to burst in between them. Lysander goes after him again and again, reminding me of our lessons in the attic and how relentless he was during training. Metal clashes and the crowd howls with delight. Cornelius twists to avoid the blade, but his feet tangle. It’s not long before Lysander has Cornelius so mixed up that he stumbles over himself and lands on his knees with a hard thud.
Lysander stands over him, the tip of his sword pointed at Cornelius’s chin. The memory of their previous duel comes back, and I’m sure the others are thinking the same thing.
That’s when Lysander meets my eyes, and there’s a shift in his expression. Sadness, and a hint of regret lingers, too.
But why?
He lifts the blade high.
Then it hits me—
“Lysander, no!” I shout, but my cry is silenced by the whistling of Lysander’s sword. There’s a blood-chilling scream, a terrible sloshing sound, and then a soft thump. Cornelius’s body falls on its side, warm blood spilling from the open neck, melting the snow around it. His head lands nearby, the wide eyes still staring up in surprise.
When Lysander turns, everyone takes a step back. Blood splatters his shirt, black jacquard vest, and pale face.
I can’t move, barely breathe.
“Get Henri,” Lysander mouths to me.
But there’s no way I read his lips right. He can’t be serious. He’d just murdered one of Henri’s guards. If I get Henri, Lysander will be severely punished. Killed.
Suddenly, Keagan’s sword is at Lysander’s throat, and the other members of the guard in the group step forward with their weapons raised.
“Someone get the lord!” Keagan demands, his words slurred with fury. He kicks Lysander in the calves, sending him to his knees. “Drop your weapon.”
Lysander does so without any hesitation. His eyes, though, never leave me.
“Get Henri! Someone! Now!” Keagan grabs him by the arm and jerks him hard. “You’ve done it this time, you French bastard. I’ll see to it that you are killed for this.”
“Go on, get him,” Lysander’s thin lips say to me again. “Get Henri.”
Chapter 14
Haven
Ican’t stand this dusty, old attic a moment longer. How long does Avrum expect me to wait here?
Now that I think about it, I’ve been waiting for him a lot lately, haven’t I?
Looking across the room at the weapon trunk, I spy my short sword on top of it. Mocking me.
I can kill Henri now if I want to. I have a sword. But that’s a foolish thought, I know. He’s stronger than I am by far, faster, and I have never wielded a weapon before in my life. I may have been somewhat lucky with Henri’s letter opener, but he will snap my neck before I can even lift the sword.
I sigh. When it comes to these creatures, waiting is the only thing I can do.
I search around the room. The last time I was here, Avrum and I had been wrapped in each other. There were no threats, no pain. Just pleasure unlike I ever thought possible.
Heat rises to my face and I turn away from the wall and the memory. How silly to be embarrassed by such a thing.
The thudding of boots on the attic stairs yanks me from my thoughts. Fear spikes through me that it’s Henri or Keagan about to find me, but when the door opens, revealing a very frantic and disheveled Avrum, I sigh in relief.
“Haven.” He half-chokes my name and closes the door behind him a little too hard. He’s breathless, his eyes wide. “Lysander has killed Cornelius.”
“Cornelius?” But that’s a good thing, isn’t it? Then why does he look so frightened? “He was a brute. Now we don’t have to worry about—”
Avrum closes the distance between us and grips me fiercely by the arms. “No, you don’t understand.Hewas the distraction. Lysander. He’s sacrificed himself.”
It takes a moment for his words to click. We had needed a way to keep Henri occupied and me out of his room, so Lysander has killed one of his guard to do just that.
