“Fine, I whisper, cutting my gaze to the side so the fugitive can’t read the anger in my eyes.
“You’ll stop fighting?”
“Yes.” I go limp against the ground, but he doesn’t let me go.
“You’ll come with me to the rebel lands?” he asks again.
“You haven’t really given me much of a choice.”
A scowl wrinkles his face. “You’re as hopeless as the rest of the Swynwragedd. So loyal to the fucking Order. And for what?”
“Let me go,” I say, my voice far more commanding than I feel.
Immediately, he releases my wrists. He stands and holds out a hand. Ignoring him, I climb to my feet and flick the dirt off my trousers.
“I’m going to have to tie you up for the journey. The ropes are back at camp.” He gestures for me to walk in front of him, back in the direction of the valley where Osian’s body waits. His lifeless eyes will be gazing unseeing at the starless sky, and his wry grin will never cross his face again.
A rush of anger burns through me. Ihatebeing contained, and this rebel killed one of the best people in this godsforsaken world, someone who would have offered his soul to the devil if it meant keeping everyone in the Kingdom of Gwalia safe. To him, everyone else is more important than his own life.
I reach for the blade tucked into my waistband. The rebel spots the movement the instant my fingers brush the steel. He grabs my shoulder and yanks me into his chest, while his other hand snatches the dagger from my hip.
My stomach quivers, and a second later, the cool blade is at my neck.
“I told you to stop fucking fighting,” he hisses into my ear, his breath hot against my skin. “But you’ll never come with me willingly, will you?”
My lie collapses, like an old dam against an overflowing river. I’m surprised he believed me as long as he did. No Rhyfelwr or Swynwraig has ever joined the rebels. Those who stalk the outlawed lands beyond the border carry no magic. It’s probably why this fugitive is so desperate to steal me away.
“I’m not coming with you as long as I’m still breathing,” I whisper.
The blade presses harder into my neck. “You’ll go where I say you go.”
My heart hammers. I have to do the thing, the spell I’ve only cast once before. Only Osian knows what happened that day, and he swore to never reveal it—not even to the Order—even as horrified as he was. He made me swear never to do it again, especially on our assignments, even if it was the only way out.
But I must. It’s the only way I’ll have the chance to bring him back.
And he’ll never have to know.
I slide my hand between the rebel’s body and mine and press my fingers into his throat—right where his mark decorates his skin. He jolts, clearly not expecting it. I dig my fingers into his flesh.
“Marwolaeth,” I murmur.
A flare of pain shoots through my heart as my magic hollows out another piece of me. The sting only lasts for a second,though. I’ve grown so accustomed to it that I barely feel it anymore. A tightness settles between my eyes.
The rebel exhales his final breath, and his eyes roll into the back of his head. I release my grip. His soulless body crumples onto the grass.
His heart will never beat again.
I press my lips together, staring down at him. I’ve brought countless bodies back to life, but that spell is never permanent. Not like this one is.
My name is Angharad Morgan, and death is my greatest form of magic.
2
Ileave the rebel’s body where it is and trudge into the valley. As numb as I’ve become to my magic’s vicious sting, it still leaves me feeling like a used dishrag left out in the sun for days. My joints creak, like they’re crusted over in muck, and a dull ache thuds through my head.
Up close, the rebel’s camp is in stark disarray. The tent’s loose flap blows in the breeze, revealing a shredded bedroll and upturned pack, its contents scattered across the ground. It looks like Osian attacked the fugitive while he was inside and grabbed his pack to search for something.
But what? I shake my head and sink to my knees beside Osian’s broken body. My fingers tremble as they hover over him. Seeing him like this twists my chest into knots. It almost feels as if I’ve seen him this way before, but that’s impossible.
