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“The queen’s orders come directly from the king,” the guard said, reluctantly.

“That’s not possible.”

The king needed Cali to survive, he would never put her life in jeopardy.

But then, Kat had been his favorite queen, kept the kingdom running in his name, and he’d killed her without a thought.

“She’s dead,” Anise blurted, her tone harsh.

The very word dead associated with Cali send pinpricks through me, even if I knew she was only trying to take the upper hand, to make me surrender.

“Dead?”

I turned to her, and she winced as our eyes met, her bravado gone. I had never been more grateful to be feared. Now she would be reasonable, stop these ridiculous manipulations. She would give me Cali, at least. And, from there, Cali and I would find our friends and come up with a plan.

And yet, even in her fear, which should have prompted her to tell the truth, to attempt to keep herself alive, she chose anger and said, “That’s right. She tried to fight back, and my guards killed her. She’s dead. So you might as well come quietly.”

My mind froze as her words threatened to destroy me. But there was no point in believing them. She was a liar, I knew that much about her. Selfish and petty. But I also knew what her father had done to Cali’s, and I’d experienced firsthand what she had tried to do to Cali in The Dark. She had been nothing but treacherous from the beginning.

She gave me a satisfied smile. “You’ve never respected me, always treated me like a second-class citizen instead of the knight that I am—the queen that I am, now.” She scoffed. “You know, I revoke my offer of the dungeons. I want to watch you die, right here in my office, you arrogant, selfish, pathetic excuse for a man. But cheer up—you’ll get to see Cali again sooner than you expected. In hell, I hope, for all the grief you’ve put me through.”

I closed my eyes, her words finally hitting their mark. For a moment, I couldn’t breathe. Could Cali actually be dead? I never should have left her alone, unprotected, and all for some stupid extra sleep.

I can sleep when I’m dead, I should’ve said.

I felt sick. Oh God … Cali. My Cali.

I should’ve told her I love her before she left. Now she’s …

My breath was on the edge of panic, my mind wanting to spiral into darkness. But I couldn’t allow it, not here in front of the enemy. I couldn’t even mourn the girl I loved.

Instead, I quietly put in my earplugs … and let the rage take over.

The next time I looked at Anise, I could see in her wide eyes that she knew she’d made a mistake—revealing her hand had taken away her one bargaining chip. Half a dozen guards and a desk were already between us, yet she scrambled back behind the chair as well—as if that would protect her from me.

Without my Cali, I had nothing more to lose.

But no sooner did I take a step forward than pain shot through my shoulder, a pinprick compared to what my soul was feeling, and I looked down to find the bloody end of a crossbow bolt. And I don’t know why, but that one action stoked the wildfire in my mind.

Everyone could die, for all I cared.

I looked over my shoulder at my aggressor, his eyes widening as if he’d never expected consequences for his actions. And, before he could run, before he could so much as lower his weapon, I shoved away the guards trying to apprehend me and drew my sword. The blade slid cleanly into my target’s stomach, not so cleanly on the way out, and the guard beside him suffered the consequences.

The rest made way for me, revealing the reinforcements she’d rung for in the hall.

You can’t just kill everyone, Beric.

I had to save my efforts for what was important.

I had to save my strength for the king.

“I’m coming back for you,” I said to Anise, not waiting for her to respond. I stormed out of the room and down the hall—the guards let me go without a fight, scrambling to get out of my way.

I went into one of the secret passages, where I knew no guards would patrol. In the calm of the darkness, I removed my earplugs—I couldn’t approach the king as I had the guards, without some sense of self-preservation. Not that it mattered, anymore. My sweet Cali … dead. With half my senses returned, tears burned my eyes. This was all my fault. I should have never forsaken my duty. If one of us was to die, it should have been me, protecting the girl I loved. Protecting my knight.

But maybe it wasn’t too late to fix this. I couldn’t save Cali, but I could speak with the king, get rid of Anise, restore some sort of order. Or I could just carry out what Cali had intended and kill him. The kingdom would have no ruler then, except—oh God. I hadn’t even thought to ask what had become of Eliza. But it was better not to stress over the things I didn’t know. It was better not to think too much on anything, now.

I charged into the king’s room without warning. He looked up at the intrusion, still drowsy and disoriented at this time of day, and yet utterly annoyed. Annoyed, as if I was the one in the wrong. As if he hadn’t just brought my worst nightmare to life.