“What witch?”
My brow rose. “You don’t know? That’s a surprise. Robert visited a witch to help him find a cure for his illness. The witch promised him immortality, but she wanted the Incantus as payment. That’s where I came in. I found the chest. It was the greatest achievement of my career, and it wasn’t even about the money; it was the prestige.”
Selecting a short, thin blade off the worktable, I turned it in my hand and paced the stone floor.
“The night of the fire, I went to retrieve it but found the building already engulfed in flames. I nearly died in that fire trying to get to the treasure. The building was a total loss, everything inside either burned or scavenged by the men who tried to put out the flames. The contents of the chest were gone. Robert blamed me for setting the fire. He thought I’d decided to keep the treasure for myself. He tortured me. He gave me these.” I swiped a hand down the side of my face, ending at the base of my scars. “It wasn’t until much later I discovered it was you who’d burned the warehouse.”
Approaching Argus, I crouched down, twisting the knife so the metal gleamed in the torchlight.
“Do you have any idea what it feels like when hot metal slides through your skin? The searing pain that stops your breath? The screams you can’t contain? Screams that ring in your nightmares long after it’s over… Pain like that does something to your soul. It corrodes it until there’s nothing good left.”
“I didn’t know. You were never the target.”
“Maybe not, but it doesn’t matter. I couldn’t let it go, and when I found out you were desperately searching for the Grimm’s blade, I took it, and now, I’m going to destroy it while you watch. I lost my treasure, and you’ll lose yours.”
“Don’t do this,” Argus grated.
I stood and gave him my back. More of that shame slid like oil inside my veins. I felt nauseous. If I went through with this and destroyed the blade, I would be ruining any chance Argus had of saving his sister. If Liana were standing next to me right now, I don’t think she’d be proud.
But what choice did I have?
To give it all up now without at least making him feel a shred of the suffering I had to live through felt like an injustice. There had to be something. There had to be a way…
The door swung open, and Gavin entered. In his hand, he held the Grimm’s blade. There was a look in his eye as he handed it over—something that made me hesitate. He’d been warning me for days about the consequences of this moment, and I sensed that warning again, but this time, something was off.
“Ah, it’s here.” I accepted the weapon, feeling the weight of it in my hand. The jewels glittered in the firelight, and I ran my thumb slowly over the hilt then along the edge of the blade.
Wait a second…
The dagger looked exactly as it should, but itfeltdifferent. My gaze found Gavin’s, and he returned the stare. Suddenly, I knew. The oracle. She’d switched out the original with a replica. A good replica at that, but not good enough to fool me.
I almost laughed. This was it. This was the moment I’d been waiting for all these years. I walked toward the forge and held the dagger over the crucible. Argus rattled the chains, desperation painted over his features. He had no way of knowing whether the blade I had was the fake, and his misery was real.
Misery for misery. A perfect ending. I’d be set free without consequence and without shame.
Still, might as well have a little fun.
“You know, I planned on dragging this out. All this time, my revenge against you kept me going. It was all I wanted, all I could think about.” I paused for effect, watching Argus squirm. “But life has a funny way of changing your priorities.”
“What are you saying?”
I smiled. Not a smile meant to induce fear, but one that underscored the truth in my words.
“There’s something I want more than this. I didn’t think that was possible, but she’s waiting for me downstairs.”
“Don’t touch her.”
Ah, he thinks I mean the oracle. How amusing.
The masterpiece of this entire endeavor was that he thought I was about to destroy the blade and take his woman. Liana was right: I was bloodthirsty.
“This ends tonight. It’s time for me to let go and look toward the future.” I released the blade, watching as it hit the molten iron, floated for a few seconds, and then sank beneath the surface.
The replica was gone forever.
“Your debt is paid.” I turned toward the door.
Argus’s shout echoed against the walls. “Don’t touch her! I’ll kill you if you do.”
