No. No no no no no.
The world tilted.
I tried to speak, but the words stuck in my throat, tangled with panic. “Is she... is shemakinghim fight?”
The boy hesitated.
“Just a couple, so far.”
My knees gave out. The ground rushed up to meet me, and for a second, everything went black around the edges.
He caught my shoulder, alarmed. I shoved him off with a force that surprised us both.
“Why?” My voice cracked. “Why the hell would he go toher?”
“Because of you,” he said. “He thought she could help him save you.”
“Save me?” My laugh was sharp and hollow. “For fuck’s sake,Finn!”
I turned and slammed my fist into the stone wall. The pain was immediate, clean, grounding—but it didn’t help. Nothing would.
Blood trickled down my knuckles. I didn’t care.
“So,” I rasped, “what does she want?”
The boy looked away.
“She wouldn’t have sent you unless there was a price,” I pressed. “She never gives anything for free.”
He swallowed hard. “She wants you. She’s asked you to come see her. To talk.”
I stared at him, my heart beating too loud in my ears.
Of course she does.
Ashford never lost a coin. And now, she wanted me to pay the cost of Finn’s mistake—with my freedom.
My voice dropped to a whisper.
“Tell her I’m coming.”
Chapter 28
Thorne
I sat slouched in my office chair at Shade Tower, nursing a drink I hadn’t tasted. The burn in my chest wasn’t from the liquor—it was from dread.
The meeting with the king hadn’t gone how I’d hoped.
He’d summoned me just hours ago. Not to advise. Not to confer. Just to remind me who held the power.
Vasquez had already been there when I arrived, looking far too smug for someone still breathing.
“You called, sire?” I asked as I stepped into the king’s chamber, every muscle in my body taut.
“Thorne!” Ashton said warmly, wearing that hollow mask of charm. We all knew what lived beneath it. “Come in. Sit.”
I didn’t move until he gestured again.
