Page 86 of Blade of the Nightking

“I’ll save you,” I whispered, low enough that my promise belonged only to him. “I’ll break the bond. I swear it.”

“How touching,” Veylan drawled from the corner. “Truly. Sweet, even—if you hadn’t utterly destroyed his mind.”

I pulled away, already mourning the warmth of his body. His blue eyes—once bright as the heart of a flame—were dull, blank, fixed on nothing at all.

Hamish shifted Aedric's weight and drew his arm more securely over his shoulder before limping toward the entrance. Aedric followed, his movements slow and unseeing.

Hamish looked back once before Veylan’s shadows swept forward, pushing the heavy door shut before the latch fell into place with a final, echoing clang.

I was alone. Alone, and surrounded by enemies.

“What an interesting evening,” Veylan said lightly, gesturing ahead with an elegant hand. “Shall we?”

I didn't trust my voice. I fought to hold back my grief, to keep from breaking in front of him.

“I admit—you’re remarkably resourceful when cornered,” he continued thoughtfully. “I will give you that.”

His shadows slid along my shoulders, cold and invasive, skimming the back of my neck almost curiously. I flinched and brushed them away.

“Don’t speak to me.”

“Sore?” he chuckled. “How amusing. I was the one unceremoniously shackled in iron, and yet you see yourself as the victim. Aedric has you thoroughly twisted around his finger, doesn’t he?”

“Says the dog trailing at his master’s heels.”

He flashed his teeth in an animal grin as we began to climb the narrow stairs.

“You’re deluded if you think siding with the Dark Prince was anything but a mistake,” I spat.

“It fascinates me,” he said, almost pleasantly, “how people will argue to the death over things they refuse to question. Tell me—does ignorance feel safe to you?”

“There’s no argument between good and evil.”

A crowing laugh escaped him. “Too bad you can't tell which is which.”

“Don’t play with me, Veylan. I’m not in the mood.” The words nearly broke.

He clicked his tongue in annoyance but said nothing as we neared the upper corridors.

“Aren’t you going to lock me in a cell?” I asked at last.

“What for?” he replied with a faint shrug. “You won't risk your own life while Aedric's hangs in the balance. An unfortunate weakness—but a useful one.”

“You wanted to be caught, didn’t you? That was part of his plan all along.” I’d known it the moment he stepped forward in the receiving chamber.

Something in his expression shifted, not quite a smile, not quite anything human.

“He said he would summon you when you were needed. I was that summons.”

Nausea curled in the pit of my stomach. “So you risked yourself—risked your life—just to make sure I ended up here?”

“It was hardly a risk,” Veylan dismissed with a casual wave. “Aedric is so thoroughly consumed by you that there was never any real question of how he would act. He would’ve done anything to break that bond, anything to keep you from being taken by his worst enemy.” His mouth curled, amused. “His unhealthy obsession with you was enough to blind him completely.”

He pushed open the door to my room—our room—and stepped aside.

I stopped at the threshold. For a moment, I couldn’t move.

The breath left me in an unsteady rush. The bed was still unmade, sheets tangled where we’d left them. Clothes were strewn carelessly across the floor, as though we’d only just stepped out and might return at any moment. The air still held him, faint and lingering.