Mrs.Crowe fell to her knees.But then she reached for two vials in her belt.They were purple and green.
The time-release bomb.
She made her best effort to throw the vials all the way to where Orlik stood, but her hands were slick with blood, and they fell well short.Even so, the vials shattered, the liquid inside mixing on the floor.The combined contents immediately began to smoke, giving off a particularly acrid odor.
Orlik spun around and took one look at the smoking liquid, and his eyes went wide with recognition and terror.“Sound the alarm!Evacuate the keep!We have only minutes!”
Horns blared.From my steadily rising perch, I witnessed utter chaos as people poured out of doors everywhere and raced for the central staircase.
The elevator rose for what felt like an excruciatingly long time, which left me alone with my thoughts.Memories of Mrs.Crowe flooded my mind.For a heartbeat, I saw her teaching me how to grind herbs, her watchful eye never straying.I couldn’t believe the sacrifice she had made, and yet, Orlik had still escaped.I would add hers to the list of lives for which I would hold Orlik accountable.
Finally, the elevator stopped at the top of the keep.The cage door clanked.I tested it, and it opened without effort onto a balcony, one side extending to the central staircase and the other to a hallway.As I hurried down the hallway, I couldn’t help but notice how opulent everything was, from the wool rugs covering the floors to the hardwood doors with golden knobs.This looked more like a nobleman’s house than a prison.
A door at the end of the hallway was ajar.I made my way to the opening, pressed my body up against the wall, and peeked through the crack.The room was shrouded in shadows, so I slipped inside to get a better look.This didn’t look like a prison cell.It looked like a chamber fit for a prince with a stylish wooden dresser, a desk, and an elaborate bed.
Lying on the bed was a figure I recognized instantly.I raced to Darion’s side.He was unconscious, looking just like Elena had.Oddly, he wasn’t even chained.I took my last vial of Embercloak, gently brought it to his lips, and dribbled it into his mouth.Before long, Darion blinked his eyes open.
“Am I dreaming?”he said with a slight wobble in his voice.
I shut him up with a kiss.
“I guess not,” he said with a smile.
“Can you get up?”I asked.“We have to go.”
“I think so.”Darion sat up and immediately tilted to the side.“Oh, maybe not.”
“Here, let me help you,” I said as I put his arm around my shoulders.
Together we stood and slowly made our way to the door.I was so distracted that I didn’t even see the figure that had entered the room.When I finally looked up, Orlik “The Butcher” Leonom was staring at Darion and me with disgust.
Without a moment’s hesitation, I drew my dagger from my tunic and threw it right at The Butcher’s head.But halfway to its mark, the blade stopped in midair.Orlik’s hand was raised, his fingers spread out toward me.A golden light and a crackling sound came from the ring on his finger, which also began wafting the smell of ozone and citrus.
Before I could react, my body went rigid, locked in place.This seemed to be the same Ember that Caldren had used to stop Syra.But Orlik wasn’t Emberborn, and the null field still buzzed around us.
Without my support, Darion wobbled and fell against my side.
“So, this is the mighty Cassian Nightbrook,” Orlik said in a wicked, mocking tone.“For some reason, I expected more.I bet you don’t even know what you are, do you—or what your sister is?”
What did he mean—what we were?Something burned in my chest, feral and furious.I couldn’t say all the profanities I wanted to yell back with my jaw locked in place.
“You like my little creation?”Orlik said, admiring his ring.“All that Ember the null field collects has to be redirected somewhere.Some of it turns to Emberbane.The rest”—he flexed his fingers—“comes to me.”
Darion pushed himself upright, swaying once, then steadying.He looked between Orlik and me as if calculating his next move.What in all the hells was he doing?
“Feeling better, son?”Orlik said.
“Yes, Father,” Darion said in that cool voice that made my skin crawl.
“Whatpreciselywas happening here before I arrived?”Orlik asked, his hawklike eyes on Darion.
“This man was trying to kidnap me, I assume,” Darion said in such a detached tone that it turned my blood to ice.This couldn’t be happening.Not again.
“I see.Do me a favor—take that dagger and stab him in the heart,” Orlik said, as simply as if he were ordering a pint of ale.
Without hesitating, Darion took the blade that was hovering in the air.
He turned to me and slowly raised the dagger toward my heart.
