Her white hair cut a severe line against her collarbones, slicing with every step. Her pale skin was wrapped in lightest gray clothing.
I squeezed Harkin’s hand in a quiet act of comfort. We had said all we needed to say in case the night did not end in our favor, and if it did, the future was ours to claim.
Lydia stopped in the center of the room. Claudian and the council moved to her side.
Her mouth tilted in a vicious slant, and when she spoke, she was all flashing, sharp teeth. “Foolish children. Your taunts and plans are so quaint—so misguided. You think you lured me here? I planted that ritual for you to find, Théo Saitan. I hunted foryearsfor the answer to my problems. You did not happen upon them in a single afternoon. No, you stumbled into my waiting hands just as I always intended, but worry not… You will not be alive long enough to feel the pain of regret.”
I gave her a stony look, tired of games and preamble. “Are you sure about that?”
With a flick of my wrist, the guards rose from their seats. Weapons glinting in one hand and mágik manifesting in the other, they faced down Lady Adiran.
She laughed, a keening, unnerving sound.
The guards moved toward her.
She raised her arms and uttered a single word. “Yes.”
A wet, tearing sound ripped through the space, then the drop of a hundred bodies as each of the guards collapsed to the floor. Blood poured from their mouths, dribbling down chins and staining coats. Unseeing eyes stared blankly into the distance, and not a single chest fluttered with breath.
Ayla’s gasp cut through the silence, breaking me from my stupor. Lady Adiran had just murdered an entire room full of guards with a casually raised hand.
“I burst their hearts within their chests,” she explained clinically, glancing unconcerned over the bodies at her feet.
No one dared to say a word.
“Let’s try this again. If you think I was not immediately informed of this little trap you set for me, you are mistaken. As if I even needed the warning. That pathetic dreamwalk you attempted reeked of failed subterfuge.” She shook her head dismissively. “If you thought you had a sliver of a chance at defeating me, you are even more idiotic than I imagined. Regardless, I am willing to make you an offer.”
“There is nothing that you could offer that we would accept,” I spat venomously.
“Is that so?” She snapped her long-nailed fingers, and Mira Pálikás fell, blood welling in the whites of her eyes, clear even from acrossthe room. “I can continue killing each person in this orangery until there is nothing between me and the power that I shall claim. Or, submit to me now, and the others may live.”
“Lydia!” Claudian exclaimed, shock and betrayal in the lines of his bitter face. “Mira wasourally, not theirs.”
She barely deigned to glance at him. “It was merely a warning shot. Their allies are next, if they do not agree to my terms.”
“This was not part of the agreement. Seren is here, ready for the taking, so let’s get on with it.” Claudian’s face flushed as red as his hair.
“No,” Harkin growled, holding tighter to me. “We can still win this.”
Lydia made a tutting noise, mocking in its insincerity. She strode closer, heeled shoes clicking a spider's path toward us. “You cannot. You can only mitigate any further bloodshed.”
“Théo?” I asked, keeping my eyes firmly on the woman before me.
“I can protect you and Ayla while you push forward, but only the two of you.” His tone was grim. “Harkin, his family, and Safiya, will remain in danger, but if I do not guard you and Ayla, she could begin the ritual.”
“Fuck,” Harkin swore. “The rest of us can take care of ourselves, Ren. Please.Youare more important.The fate of Acsillais more important.”
I drew in a deep breath. Lady Adiran was nearly upon us.
“Do it,” I conceded. “Harkin, protect Yvett and Adina. Please, I will never forgive myself if something happens to them.”
He agreed reluctantly and slunk off to the side of the room.
Claudian stalked forward, putting himself between Lady Adiran and the dais. “What role does Ayla play in this?”
“Whatever do you mean?” She asked, a mask of false innocence on her pale face.
“Do you intend to betray this allyship by taking the life of my daughter?” Claudian demanded, standing straighter in the face of fear.
