Above us, the clouds clear.
He grins up at me now, a deranged twist on his lips. “Was saving Asha from the snow worth losingeverything?”
My heart is nothing more than broken pieces, but I mean my answer with every remaining shred of conviction left within me. “Yes.”
Blood drips down my hands. It’s caught in my hair. I can taste it in my mouth. A terrible copper tang.
“Now,” I say, as I take hold of his arm and drag him toward the table. “You will tell me everything I want to know.”
Chapter 40
Idrag Malak’s lifeless body across the courtyard and toward the spot where I sense men breathing underground.
It doesn’t take me long to find the hidden stairs down into a dungeon where the scent of fear is thick in my chest. Malak told me all about the secret passageways throughout this castle.
There are cells on both sides of the walkway, constructed of thick, steel bars that appear to have been driven up into the rock ceiling and down into the floor.
Multiple human men, including Braddock, sit shackled within the cells.
They watch me with wide eyes as I drag Malak’s corpse to the far end and drop it to the floor beneath a wall of glittering weapons made of all different-colored metal.
When I turn back to them, Braddock has wobbled upward, leaning against the back of the cell, since his shackles won’t allow him to stand up fully.
His voice is a bare whisper. “Vandawolf?”
“Malak is dead,” I growl, even though it’s obvious. “I will free you, but in return, you will do something for me.”
Malak made a deal with me and now I will make deals to ensure that I can control every outcome of this day.
“Name it,” Braddock says while the other men nod.
I wait a moment, assessing each of them and their fearful heartbeats. None of them is quite looking at me, somehow finding a spot right past my face to focus on.
I don’t know what I look like now. I don’t care, as long as it gets me what I need.
“You are all Malak’s spies,” I say. “So you must know how to move about this city unseen. You will use those skills for me today.”
The men shuffle a little, but none of them deny it.
“You will spread a message to every human who is willing to listen,” I continue. “Tell them to stay inside and remain hidden. Tell them to stay out of my way. No humans need to die today. Do you understand?”
They stare at me, their lips parted and eyes wide.
Braddock is the first to nod and the others follow.
I reach for the steel bars, intending to bend them, only to find that I can’t.
Huh.
But the lock on the door is easy to break, as are the shackles holding each of the men, and I quickly free them.
They keep clear of me before hurrying away, but I snag Braddock’s arm before he can pass.
“Make sure Petra’s safe. My brother’s death will be meaningless if she loses her life today.”
Braddock gives me a solemn nod. “I’ll make sure of it.”
“And Braddock?” My grip on his arm tightens. “I know it was you who told Malak about the apples.”
