“Remember, without the blessing from the Warden of the Silence, they can lie.” Vylkor rushed to my side.
I forced myself to believe it was a good sign.
“With the right tools, anyone can lie in any situation,” Dax said. “You just have to twist the words right.”
“That’s what worries me,” I muttered as we neared the door to the room I’d first woken up in. The one where I’d faced Ryker, Silas, and my own weakness.
Now I’d face three of the most calculating leaders in Malhaven.
“That they’ll lie?”
I gulped. “That I can’t.”
My mind might’ve been feared throughout Malhaven, but not because it could come up with trickery.
“You don’t need to,” Dax said. “Use the truth, just make a show of it. Like we did at the rim.”
I nodded, trying to cling to that feeling I’d just remembered.
Grandpa Constantine had seen greatness in me–why couldn’t I? Still, after all this time.
“You go in there as The Huntress,” Dax went on, singing my praises beautifully. “Powerful. Unbothered. That’s who they heard stories about. That’s who brought down the side of the crater.”
“I had help,” I muttered.
“They don’t need to know that.” Dax tsked impatiently. “They’re expecting the fearsome First Daughter, not the righteous Allie.”
“I’m both.”
He huffed, exasperated. “Then be both, just use them wisely.”
As we stopped, I reached for the doorknob.
Nobody can stop you.
I froze, tongue twisting in my mouth with the last taste of the deer heart.
Nobody could stop me–unless I allowed it.
I pulled my hand back.
“What are you doing?” Vylkor asked. “They’re waiting.”
“Let them,” I said with a cold voice I didn’t fully recognize.
Dax nodded at me approvingly.
“You’re coming in with me,” I said.
He looked surprised, but didn’t argue. “Whatever you need.”
“Just follow my lead. We need to find out what they know and what they don’t, so we know where we stand.” I puffed up the furs on my shoulders. Being a leader also meant looking the part.
Dax was right.
They expected someone fearsome.
Why disappoint them?
