Valkaryn took them down one by one with blasts of light that knocked them unconscious.
There were more soldiers. There were always more. I could not afford to be slowed. I lifted Valkaryn and let light flood the stairwell. For an instant, the very stone turned pink. When the flare faded, the men collapsed in a heap. I ran past them before they could awaken.
At the end of the hall, a door stood open, leading out to a balcony. Warm air rolled in, heavy with meat and wine, and something sour that smelled like spoiled magic.
Harrow.
‘What’s going on there? Where are you now?’Kaelric could feel it. He always could feel when I was in danger.
‘I love you so much. I’ll never forget how you gave my family a home, a future, hope.’
‘Don’t say goodbye!’he growled.
I smiled, a single tear slipping down my cheek. There was no guarantee I would survive this.
‘I’m not. But it’s time I see what fate has in store for me.’
‘I love you, Brynn, in a way that means I won’t survive if you don’t.’
I nodded, understanding completely. I felt the same. But also, he sounded resigned to whatever would be. There were no more options.
‘May your plate always be full,’I told him, repeating the kindest words he’d ever said to me.
He whimpered, and I felt my heart constrict.
‘As may yours,’he said, and then I stepped outside.
Chapter Sixteen
Harrow was standing on a giant balcony that was as wide as a small field and open to the night sky, overlooking the city. He stood before the banister directly in front of me, wearing all black. The sword in his hand was wrong to look at. Even at this distance, Mind Render swallowed the lamplight as if it were thirsty. Darkness spilled around it like floating ink.
Harrow turned to face me fully, as if he had been expecting me at this moment and no other.
“Brynn Brighton,” he said. “Kneel.”
The word landed like a hammer. My knees tried to fold, but I locked them by force and let my anger rise like heat from a flame.
“No,” I said to Harrow.
He smiled, but it was empty of humor. “I’ve never met someone I couldn’t control, so you were pretending before in the tavern? Brilliant,” he said, eyes on Valkaryn.
“Does it scare you?”
He grinned then, in a way that sent chills down my spine.
“Oh no, it excites me in a way I haven’t been in years.”
Sick.
“The legendary King Killer. Alpha Killer. Creator Blessed. Valkaryn. What a relief to have her so close where I can destroy her properly.”
‘He will try,’Val said calmly.‘Let him try.’
Harrow lifted Mind Render as if he were toasting a guest. “You may walk forward now,” he said to me.
I walked forward. Not because he controlled me, but because I wanted him to think he might.
His eyebrows bunched slightly, and I could see the excitement in his gaze.
