Ilain’s jaw twitched, and Vayden swallowed, crestfallen.
“Ah,” Blount said. “How did he go?”
“The Terrae Keep,” Ilain replied weakly.
“Unfortunate,” Blount remarked. “I had hoped to have my revenge against him. Oh, well.” He patted Vayden’s chest. “I suppose killing you in front ofherwill be justice enough.” A nod of his head indicated Ilain.
Then he turned to Isla. “Darling Freye.”
“Buttercup,” Isla replied, mocking his snide mannerism.
Rafferty snorted as Blount pursed his lips. “When did you hear that?” he demanded.
“Oriane was not quiet during copulation,” Isla said.
That earned a full-on chortle from Rafferty.
“Always clever,” Blount said, eyes burning with malevolence. He took her face in his hands, drawing her closer even as he towered over her. Vayden tensed, but Isla didn’t so much as flinch. “I liked you once.”
“I remember,” Isla said.
“Do you also remember what you said to me?”
“‘I prefer non-magical men,’” she said. “It wasn’t a lie.”
“You said you like to subjugate them.”
“Thatwas a lie.”
“Along with so many other things, I’m sure.” Blount drew her face toward his, forcing her a step closer. “I don’t mind that you rejected me, Islaren. It’s your betrayal I can’t stand. Despite your rebuff, I trusted you. I kept you in my confidence, called you a friend.”
“You don’t have friends,” Isla said. “You have playthings. Vassals. Slaves. You use them up and throw them away when they displease you, just like Oriane.”
His gaze hardened, though his thumbs brushed gently across her cheeks. “If you wished to be free of my service, darling Freye, all you had to do was say the word.”
“No,” Vayden murmured just before Blount tightened his grip on Isla.
Isla’s eyes flashed toward her husband as Blount brought his mouth to hers. But it wasn’t a kiss of passion or affection. It was a magical inhale that swept Isla’s body of air. Her figure jerked, going rigid. Vayden and Ilain cried out in alarm, yanking on their guards’ holds. But the men held them back, keeping them from rushing Blount.
Almost as soon as it began, Blount pulled away. Evylin swore she could see a shimmer of wind drift between their lips as the Wind Relic glowed brightly on his chest. Then he let her drop.
Isla hit the floor with a sickeningthump.
Evylin gaped at her still body, uncomprehending of what had just occurred.
“Isla!” Vayden wept, ripping himself violently from the arms of his captors. He fell to the marble in his attempt to get to her side. Blount held up a hand to halt his men when they moved to hold him back.
With no sign of emotion, Blount watched as Vayden scrambled to his wife’s side. He pulled her onto his lap, his shackled hands fumbling to clutch her to his chest.
Looking down at the couple, Rafferty paled. “Is she . . . ?”
“Dead?” Blount asked, watching his half-brother’s grief with something like morbid fascination. “Yes.”
Evylin’s heart broke, seeing Vayden sob over his wife’s limp form. She thought of their daughter, Reyana, who would never see her mother again. Tears came to her eyes as she looked at Ilain, who wept silently as well. She’d lost her brother, and now she’d lost a sister as well.
It wasn’t right. The Calder family had lost too much. They’d sacrificed far too much. And in the blink of an eye, Isla was taken from them too.
Bored by the dramatics, Blount moved on to Brea. The woman stared down at her dead friend, lips parted and body trembling. But she met Blount’s gaze with fierce, dry eyes.
