Page 33 of Secrets of the Six

"Do it," I whisper, maintaining unwavering eye contact with the last person I'll ever see alive.

Surprise floods his gaze. "What?"

"Slit my throat," I dare. "I have nothing to say to you."

"You do not fear death?"

"Everyone dies, Señor. If it is my time, then it is my time. But I will not die a traitor nor a sniveling coward. So slit my throat and be done with it!"

He leans closer, so I shut my eyes, expecting him to slice his weapon across my throat. Instead, when his lips touch my ear, he whispers, "You passed."

My heartbeat quickens and my lungs ache as my chest rises and falls rapidly. "W-w-what?"

Rafael lifts himself off me and offers me a hand. "You passed the test, Vibora."

My eyes widen. "Vibora?"

I stare at Rafael, truly drinking him in, and notice the curvature of his jawline and the mischievous golden-brown eyes match Salvador's. How did I not recognize him before?

"Salvador?"

He holds up a hand as fury ignites deep within my soul. "Now, before you do anything rash – "

I don't allow him to utter one more word. I sweep kick his legs out from under him and he crashes to the wet floor with a loud thud. The noise alerts his partner, but I don't give a shit. I'm going to tear this man's face apart, ensuring he'll need that damn mask to hide what deformities I inflict.

I jump on top of him, but before I can claw his face to shreds, he snatches both of my wrists and holds me hostage. His companion once again grabs ahold of me and peels me from Salvador or Rafael or whoever the hell he is.

"You tortured me!" I scream, fighting against the brute holding me.

Salvador is slow to stand, but there's not an inkling of remorse in his face. "We had to make sure you wouldn't betray us."

"I'm going to kill you!" I stomp on the man's foot but despite the crunch of his bones, he doesn't relinquish his ironclad grip on me.

"I apologize for our methods, Señorita, but I assure you, it was a necessary evil." Salvador's mute companion finally speaks. "This rebellion is comprised of all the people we love and the only people we have left. I would never forgive myself if we didn't vet a new member, especially – "

"A thief from the Brogratto."

Suddenly the muscular arms holding me in place release and spin me to face him. "I was going to say, especially a stranger."

Shame pools in the pit of my stomach for jumping to conclusions, but never in a thousand years would I have thought that's what he was thinking. And fuck that. I shouldn't be the one feeling bad.

"Here." The man grabs a fluffy white towel off the shelf and extends it to me. I snatch it from him and wrap it around my shivering body. "I'm sorry for Remus' actions, but you must understand – "

"Who the hell is Remus?" I interrupt.

Realization brightens in his eyes. "I forgot you know him as Salvador."

I spin around and follow Salvador into the adjoining room where he's retreated, wiping the blood from his swelling lip. "How many damn names do you have?" I grab his bicep, twisting him to face me. "I want the truth, and I want it now. Who are you? Both of you!"

For a second, I'm not sure Salvador is going to speak, as if he's mulling over his next course of action. But finally, he surrenders. "My name is Remus Salvador Kane. I am the son of Generals Vitalis and Boudica Kane who served King Armando Montero until they were killed fifteen years ago." He motions to the man behind me. "And this is my cousin, Prince Cassius Montero, the rightful King of Orlencia."

I'm not sure what surprises me more, that Salvador – or should I say Remus – is a Venturan, or the lost prince Otero is fighting to put back on the throne is his cousin. There's a lot of information to unpack and I don't know where to start. Instead, I focus on the woman who orchestrated me being brought into this rebellion.

"Does Otero know about this?"

Cassius nods his head. "She wasn't excited about it, but we insisted."

"No, I insisted," Remus inserts himself into the conversation earning a wicked glare from me. "Cas isn't a fan of cruel interrogation techniques but that's why he has me."