He raises an eyebrow. “No. He wasn’t always hanging. Sometimes we chained him there.” His veiny hand gestures tothe other corner of the room, where bloody tools are laying next to a table.
Bile rises in my throat, and I quickly turn back, touching the cold skin of my brother. A part of me is glad that he isn’t awake. How can I help undo such pain?
“He’s half-giant. He could’ve survived worse,” Rholker says casually.
My chest heaves. I fear touching him and hurting him further by pulling on his body. I just need to get him down.
“The Six tended to him, as well. Kept him alive. Healed the worst of his wounds,” he says again.
I grit my teeth. “Why are you telling me this?”
“Because…” he trails off. “I suppose because it pleases you. Despite all you’ve done to me, I still wish to grant you a kindness.”
I push myself to my feet, feeling the glow of my chest increase. I haven’t rested, and the magic Teo gave me is fading, but somehow, I still have enough adrenaline to do this.
“Kindness?” I say, my voice unrecognizable. “You aren’t even fully mortal, are you? What do you know of kindness?”
He stands, and the shadows bend with him. “I know enough. My father denied the power that the human witches offered him, only conceded to small bits and pieces here and there when it was useful, especially when making you fear the Enduares. I did this to stabilize my kingdom. You gave me no other choice when you ruined everything the night of my coronation.”
My fists ball.
“How did I ruin everything? You married Fektir’s daughter. They placed the holy crown upon your head.You were fine.”I spit the last words.
He cocks his head to the side, and the motion is so unnatural as if he had broken his neck. “Fine? You starteda fight at my coronation, turned the ogres against us, and effectively ruined my credibility. You took thirty-three slaves with you and killed twenty warriors. We tried to squash the rebellion—poisoning the men’s food, burning slave pens… executions. None of it worked. In the eyes of the court, if I could not keep you in line, then I wasn’t fit to rule. You arethereason I lost everything.”
He lets out a bitter laugh. “And worse yet, I went down this path for you. Because I wanted you.”
My mind swims.
Were the hearts of men really so fickle as to burn the world over a woman?
I open my mouth, but he holds up a charred, grey hand.
“Enough talk. Now that you are here, it is time to make good on my promise,” he says, withdrawing his spear from the wall.
My eyes look between him and Mikal.
I stretch myself as widely as I can, protecting as much of my brother as possible. My awareness teases the lyre string, prepared to pull hard and release a light hot enough to roast the giant.
“If you want to kill him, you must kill me, too,” I say.
And your unborn child, a voice reminds.
I suck in a sharp breath. This is all wrong—I wasn’t supposed to do this alone. Even thinking about the death of my baby makes me want to tear out my own heart, but I am running out of options. Rholker must be stopped.
Rholker falters for a second. He looks between the two of us, clearly torn. And then, he tightens his grip on his weapon, black mist billowing behind him.
He holds the spear up and points it at my heart.
I swallow.
“Two birds with one spear then,” he murmurs, then he draws the weapon back.
My breath stops.
There was a large part of me that hadn’t believed he’d actually do it. Time slows as his arm cocks back fully, and I let out a gasping breath.
This isn’t just about me.
