All I know is that I’m captive.
A question lingers on my tongue, but it isn’t the question I should ask. Not even the question I need to ask.
“Would you really kill him?”
Antony tips his head. “Who?”
“The Ember King.”
I’m struggling to reconcile the vision I had only moments ago, in which a cord of fire had wrapped around my body, tugging at me as if…
As if it would pull me from danger.
“Yes,” Antony says without hesitation. “But not before I rip off his arms and legs and gut him. I will deliver pain for pain.”
“Even though he wasn’t the one who hurt your brother?”
“His father’s sins are his. Just as my father’s sins are mine.” I may not be able to see Antony’s expression beneath his helmet, but the anger in his voice is clear as he continues. “Maxim would do the same to me.”
With that, he pulls open the door, its inward curve forcing me to step back while Antony’s figure blocks the view outside.
More light floods around him, and I squint after the deep darkness, lifting my arm to shield my gaze from the painful influx of sunlight.
When he tugs me forward, I take a step through the opening, only for my stomach to plummet.
I’m teetering on the edge of a narrow platform.
There’s no railing. Only a sheer drop.
The first step of a narrow staircase descends on my left, but we’re up so high, I could easily fall to my death.
Antony’s arm encircles my waist, pulling me back against his chest. “Your escape from me will never be so easy, Thyra.”
Escape? I don’t have a chance.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Antony
Thyra falls silent where she walks ahead of me, taking careful steps down the ivory staircase at the side of the forge tower.
The tension in her shoulders is painful to see, but it’s of my own doing. At least while her back’s to me, I don’t need to face the hollow in her eyes.
The ruby circlet swishes between us, brushing against the top of her knee-high boot on her right side.
It’s a vicious contraption. One of the worst I could have put on her. But nothing short of true cruelty will ensure she stays within my control and safe from Mother’s manipulations.
I remind myself that Thyra’s feelings are of no concern to me.
Her fear of me is what I need.
This feeling of regret swirling in my stomach… It will pass, I’m sure of it.
Below us, the streets of the Starlit City are bustling with markets and stalls. Highborn housing estates are located furtherto the east, where all of them live in pristine white towers surrounded by glistening ivory lanes.
Until sunset, the city thrives, but once the sun goes down, a hush falls. It will only last a few moments, but for that short time, the entire kingdom will hold its breath until, once again, Mother will prove the strength of her power.
Our current path stretches out past the bustling markets before it curves to the left and leads back to the Constellation.
