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My mind races, picturing the ambush waiting beyond the shadows, the overwhelming odds we’ll face if he takes one wrong step. And yet, his grip on the blade only tightens.

“Clever girl,” Thena says. She flicks one of her daggers into her hand, the blade catching the torchlight.

Maxim ignores me. He darts forward, and my heart lurches. I call after him, shouting his name, but it’s too late. Thena moves like water, fluid and impossible to track. Her blade flashes, and I barely process the strike before blood sprays across the stone. Maxim staggers back, clutching his ribs.

The world tilts dangerously, the edges of reality slipping as chaos unfolds. My body moves before I can think. I shove Maxim aside, stepping forward to take his place.

“Get Kallias out of here!” I bark at him, gripping my dagger tighter, the leather of the hilt digging into my palm. I brace myself as Thena’s eyes lock on mine, her expression a promise of pain. It’s almost enough to make me freeze in place.

Kallias remains motionless, and I know a protest is coming before it even leaves his lips.

“I’m not—”

“Now, Maxim!” I snap, the words ripping from my throat in a raw growl.

Thena’s smile is vicious, a predator feeding off the chaos. She’s waiting, watching, reveling in the cracks forming between us.

I step toward her, desperate to lure her away from the stairs so the others can escape.

She takes the bait.

Thena lunges, her blade slicing through the air toward my shoulder with terrifying precision. I twist in time, deflecting the blow with a clash of metal that sends sparks flying.

I catch sight of Maxim struggling to drag Kallias toward the staircase and avert my gaze just as swiftly.

Thena’s grin widens as she predicts my every movement. Her strikes are sharp, calculated, exploiting every slight distraction, every weakness she can find. Even as fury fuels me, my arms ache with the effort of parrying her relentless attacks. I force myself to dodge faster, to strike harder. Every time she lunges, I meet her head-on. But it’s clear who the better fighter is, and it is not me.

“I have to admit, you played your part well,” I hiss, hoping to distract her. “I really thought you cared for me.” Our blades lock, the force of it reverberating up my arm. “But I suppose I shouldn’t expect loyalty from a girl who has none.”

Her expression twists with a snarl. “You don’t get to talk about loyalty.”

I swivel aside, forcing her back with a sharp kick to her shin. She stumbles slightly but regains her footing, then darts back, putting distance between us.

A figure moves behind her, stepping from the shadows of the stairs.

Deke.

Thena must notice a brief change in my expression. Her grin falters for the first time, her brows drawing together as her instincts take over. With a hiss, she spins, her blade flashing.

Deke’s throat opens in a jagged crimson line. Blood sprays, the hot liquid spattering my face, and his body crumples to the ground like a puppet with its strings cut.

I swallow a scream as I lunge forward, my blade finding its mark in her side. Once. Then again, driving deep below her ribs. And again.

Rage tints my vision red. The copper tang grows cloying.

Thena gasps, the sound wet and frail, and I step back, wrenching my dagger free and letting her fall.

My hands tremble, slick with her blood as I grip my blade tighter, though there’s nothing left to strike. Thena lies in a heap at my feet, her lifeblood pooling on the cold stone floor. She stares at me, her eyes wide and glassy, her breath rattling in shallow gasps.

Then, another sound emerges—a slow, deliberate clap.

I close my eyes, drawing in air as deep as I can into my tightening lungs. When I reopen them, I stare into the unfathomable depths of the Eagle’s gaze.

“I see you’ve met Osprey,” he says. He gestures lazily toward Thena’s crumpled form. “Such a shame. She was a spectacular Songbird.”

Movement behind him sends a fresh wave of dread crawling up my spine.

Heron and Lory step into the light, gliding down the stairs with the dispassionate focus I know too well. Memories surge unbidden—silent camaraderie in the halls of the Vilean Court, hand signals in the dark, their companionship on the road. And now…now they stand on those steps, their eyes fixed on me like I’m prey.