Terym’s soldiers shuffled uneasily, and my gaze alternated between the black cloud and my sister. Her eyes were closedand fresh tears shone down her cheeks. After a few agonizing minutes, the smoke dissipated, retreating toward us and into Shade, revealing the carnage left behind.
I leaned forward just in time to empty my stomach, vaguely aware of Shade kneeling beside me to hold my hair free of the splash zone.
They’re all dead.
All of them. Every. Last. One.
Because of me.
“Wonderful. Wonderful.” Terym’s gleeful voice was accompanied by his clapped hands. “Be a dear for me, Adelia and send Shade back where he belongs.”
Movement drew my attention back to Eleanor, Lenek’s blade drawing fresh blood. My heart seized. I didn’t think, just acted, placing my bloodied hand to the lamp.
“Wait—”
Shade didn’t get to finish his protest before he was forced to morph into smoke and disappeared into the lamp again.
“I’ve done everything you asked,” I croaked, my eyes trained on the blade, icy fear freezing my veins.
Terym tsked. “Not when I first asked though, my dear. Such disobedience requires correction.”
“I-I’m sorry. It won’t happen again.” I would do anything to keep her safe, I’d just proved that. Lenek removed his blade, and Eleanor sagged again, shoulders still straining from the shackles around her wrists.
“Pierce! Take them away and see to it they’re restrained.” A malicious smile graced the king’s face again when he stared down at me. “They are to be kept separated, and little Eleanor isn’t to see a healer.”
“You fucking bastard!” I screamed up at him, anger and fear and guilt creating a storm in my chest and sending me beyond hysterical. The king didn’t respond, turning his back on me. Hedisappeared between his dutiful soldiers, and the darkness in my soul unleashed, splintered into my being and burned my veins. I vowed then and there I would make him pay for what he had done. I didn’t know when or how, but one day, he would pay dearly for the pain he’d caused my sister.
Pierce sidled up to me and, without a word, gripped my hands and tied them together before me. I stared into brown eyes, once filled with amusement and warmth, now cool and calm. A blank slate.
“Please help her,” I murmured. “You said I can trust you. Please help her.”
My shadow didn’t respond, shattering me further. It was a pointless plea. Despite stepping in, he was still loyal to the king. That was more than clear when he stared back at me with cool indifference.
Two soldiers hauled a limp Eleanor from the platform, her feet dragging as she sagged between them. Unconsciousness had finally claimed her, and whether it was the pain or the decisions I’d made, I wouldn’t know. Because she was being taken in the opposite direction, her flayed back on full display for those who remained. The sight of her torn flesh oozing with blood sent me manic.
“Help her!” I screamed at no one and everyone all at once, begging someone to step in, to heal her despite the king’s command. I screamed the plea over and over, but no one listened, turning their backs on me while I was dragged away.
I was taken to the edge of camp, a section that had been here a long time. The scent of death and rotting flesh hung heavy in the air. The men who congregated around fires were rough and hardened. Some stared with narrowed eyes while others wore a look of depraved hunger I recognized all too well, a look I had seen reflected across Terym’s face when he stole from me.
I had to get her out. I should have worked harder, fought harder to get her out the first time. We should have dug through the blockage in the tunnel. We should have fought our way out of the castle the night before my wedding.
She was still in so much danger. With one wish left to make, Terym would do anything to get it, that much was abundantly clear.
Pierce brought me to a threadbare tent and pointed to the dirt floor, a stark contrast to my previous lodgings. The space was entirely bare, save for a stinking bucket in the corner covered in filth and flies. Pierce bound my hands to the single post in the center, tugging them above my head so I couldn’t reach my pocket.
“Please help her,” I choked out, desperate to have someone check over her injuries. Pierce’s eyes met mine, and I swear there was a flash of pain before he masked it again.
Then he left me alone with the phantom sounds of the whip echoing in my mind and the metallic scent of blood in my nose.
Roburvirtus, give her strength. Vanimalis, protect her from the Taker.
I repeated the prayer in my mind, then the words fell from my lips.
It had been hours since Pierce left me in this suffocating tent, the scent of the evening’s stew barely filtering through the filth and my own bitter fear.
Those long hours were filled with the echoing whistle of the whip sailing through the air and the thwack as it hit skin. They’d quickly morphed into other horrifying flashbacks. To the day I’dmade a promise to my mother while she choked on her own blood.
The day she had flipped my entire world on its head.
