JingYi drew a deep breath. Tedric certainly knew how to push on her tender spot, but she met his gaze calmly. “You know nothing about him.”
“Don’t I?”
“He may have his flaws, but he never lied to me about what he wanted. And when he makes mistakes, he tries to right them. Which is more than I can say for those who kidnap and torture Omegas to death in the name of freedom.”
Then, Tedric’s smile faltered. He blinked once. Then again, sluggish. His fingers twitched on the armrest, as if trying to curl around something no longer there. All at once, his body pitched forward. The chair toppled with him, stew splattering across the stone.
She didn’t dare move. The door slammed open. Haorán rushed in, unmasked, eyes locking onto Tedric’s crumpled body.
He didn’t hesitate, drawing a short blade from his boot with one smooth pull. “I’ll kill him,” he said flatly.
JingYi blocked him with her body, arm outstretched. “No.”
He didn’t move the blade. His chest heaved, muscles coiled, but he didn’t lower it. “He’s a threat. You know this.”
“So we kill him?” Her voice shook, but her stance didn’t. “Unarmed. Unconscious. Is that justice?”
A muscle in his jaw ticked. “My assignment is not to uphold justice. It’s to rescue you and Princess Adelise. His death will accomplish it.”
“Then tie him. Strip him. Take every weapon from him. If not for justice, then for information.”
Haorán didn’t argue anymore. Swiftly, he knelt beside Tedric and began stripping away the man’s weapons. The rapier by his hip. A hidden dagger in each of his boots. A thin, hooked blade beneath his jacket.
JingYi’s breath caught. Just how many ways could one man kill?
Haorán reached for the last strap across the torso.
Tedric’s eyes flew open. His body twisted, snapping upright with the alertness that should have been impossible. In the same motion, he slammed the heel of his palm into Haorán’s nose—bone met bone with a sickening crack.
Blood sprayed. Haorán staggered back. Stunned, but not down. Tedric rolled to his feet. He drove a knee into Haorán’s gut and reached for the knife Haorán had sheathed at his hip, wrenching it free.
Steel hissed. He lifted it high and aimed it at Haorán’s throat. JingYi screamed. Haorán, still reeling, caught Tedric’s arm before the blade found his jugular. The two men grappled, twisted, metal flashing between them in the narrow space. The walls shuddered with every impact. Haorán shoved Tedric away and tossed her a set of keys.
“RUN!” he roared at her.
With trembling fingers, she grabbed the keys and fled—heart hammering, lungs burning, uneven steps echoing through the corridor. Pain flared in her hip with every stride, her limp growing more pronounced the faster she moved, but she didn’t stop.
The clash of steel rang behind her, sharp and terrible. She had to reach Adelise. Had to free the others.
And pray—praythey still had time.
Adelise was pacing when JingYi reached the cell. She rushed to the bars, knuckles white around the iron.
“What happened?” she hissed. “The guards started dropping like flies.”
JingYi missed the keyhole twice, her fingers shaking so badly the keys rattled. She clenched her fist, forced them still.
“I poisoned their meal. Haorán is keeping Tedric busy. He’s buying us time.”
Adelise’s eyes flared. “Is hemad?”
“Brave,” JingYi said tightly. “Hold still.”
The lock clicked. Adelise stepped out without hesitation. “Let’s move. The others?—”
JingYi grabbed her arm. “Carefully. Some may still be too weak to stand. We’ll have to carry them in stages.”
Adelise’s fierce grin flashed. “You give the orders, I’ll follow.”
