Page 123 of Blade of the Nightking

“To keep you quiet?”

A small nod. Understanding crept slowly through me, chilling me all the way to the bone.

“Are… are the others like that too?” The words barely emerged from my throat.

Again, she nodded.

The servants. All of them.

I thought back to the eerie quiet that always filled the castle. I'd assumed the servants were silent because they were frightened—of Aedric. Of me.

But no. They didn't speak because they physically couldn't.

They’d all been mutilated.

“Is Levinica kind to you?” The question escaped before I could stop it. I needed to know. The idea of Levinica—gentle, fragile Levinica—overseeing something so horrific twisted unpleasantly inside me.

Immediately, the servant girl smiled. Softly, she pressed a hand against her chest, right over her heart.

Relief loosened something inside me at once.

Yes. Yes, Levinica was exactly who I thought she was. Kind. Good.

The servant’s eyes drifted toward the bedside table where I’d left the page tucked into the board book—the page where I’d been tracing letters. Shyly, she pointed toward it.

I pulled it onto my lap. She studied the alphabet carefully for a long moment, her brow furrowing in concentration. It quickly became obvious that reading didn’t come easily to her either—perhaps even less easily than it did to me. Slowly, painstakingly, she began pointing out letters one by one.

“N… A… D… J… A…” I sounded out carefully. “Nadja?”

Her entire face lit up. She clapped her hands together excitedly, smiling so broadly that the dark, empty space where her tongue should have been became visible again.

Despite the nausea rolling through my stomach, pride stirred deep within me. I’d read her name. Without Levinica’s lessons, I never would have known it.

“Thank you, Nadja,” I said softly. “I’ll be out shortly.”

She nodded and dipped into another shallow bow before retreating toward the doorway. The kitten immediately padded after her and slipped out at her heels.

For a long moment, I simply stared at nothing.

Rìan had done that to them. To his own servants.

The thought sat like lead in my stomach. It had to be because of the war, because of the secrets he'd kept while trying to conquer Elantis. He hadn't wanted information slipping from his own Court—not even accidentally. So he'd silenced them permanently.

Another reminder of who Rìan truly was. Of the monster I’d bargained with.

And another reason why, the moment our bond was finally severed, I would find a way to destroy him.

To my surprise, it was Veylan waiting at the doors to the chamber. For one unpleasant moment, I thought he would be the one training me, and I nearly turned on my heel.

Nadja dipped into a quick curtsy before hurrying back down the corridor. Veylan opened the door and stepped aside to let me pass.

“Good luck,” he breathed mockingly into my ear.

I spun around sharply. The shadows near the wall twisted faintly before settling back into stillness. He was already gone.

I took a slow breath and turned forward. I felt him before I saw him, the uncomfortable tightening beneath my ribs growing stronger with every step I took. The doors to the terrace stood open as usual, though the sea breeze was unusually mild. I barely noticed. My attention was fixed entirely on the dark figure waiting at the center of the room.

Rìan stood just beyond the edge of the mat, hands clasped loosely behind his back as he watched me approach. In the dim gray spilling in from the terrace, he looked more like a dark god than anything else—beautiful with the kind of untouchable, inhuman grace that only made him seem more dangerous. The look in his eyes as they tracked my approach reminded me unpleasantly of a predator studying its prey.