Page 75 of Ashen Wings

“I was mistaken in trusting you. You’re a fucking monster.”

Jace’s jaw ticks and the foundation shifts beneath us. “You think I don’t know that, Nova?”

“I want out of our deal. I’ll find a way to repay Finnick myself.”

“No,” he says, eyes glazed with rage. “I can’t let you leave. You know the truth now, and that’s a risk I’m not willing to take.”

My grip tighten around the dagger.

“So what? You’re going to hold me captive again? Keep me in your dungeon until I’ve lived out my days and meet Morvayne?” My thighs shake with a fury reserved only for combat. I’m fully prepared to claw my way out of this place if I have to.

“No. Help me find the rider…and I’ll triple your payout,” he says.

“Stipen can’t fix this, King Ashborne. Gods above, have you gone mad?”

“Yes it can, and you know it. That’s what you want, right? A handsome sum to live out your days in peace? It’s why you stayed to begin with, and why you continue to stay. Isn’t it?”

“Is that truly what you think of me?” I throw him a glare, but he’s right.

On this continent, only the greedy survive, and I’ve learned from the best that stipen is of higher value than blood.

I’ve killed for scraps and a hot meal. Slaughtered for measly payouts and hand me downs. If I have to endure another few weeks with Jace Ashborne I will, but not without assurances.

“Fine. Triple the payout, and that protection bond you’ve promised that’s yet to be fulfilled. I want it in place before we leave for Sea.”

“Done,” he says. “I’ll get my hands on the rune, and we’ll complete the offering in a few days' time, but Nova, the bond only extends to my human form. It won’t protect you if I shift.”

“I don’t care. It’s assurance you won’t turn on me and slit my throat the moment this is over,” I snap, clinging to the sliver of sanity I have left.

“I wouldn’t ever…” He trails off, eyes softening.

“Maybe back in Storm I believed that, but now, I’m not so sure.”

“Fine. Now, please eat.” The frigid tone in his voice is laced with defeat as he places a tray at my door. “You look like you’re about to pass out.”

“One more thing,” I say, before he turns down the corridor. “I want to see the egg.”

“What?”

“Yaris told me not to trust you. When he asked if I saw the egg in person, I reassured him you can be trusted even if I hadn’t. Now, I’m realizing, maybe he was right. So I want to see the egg. Today.”

“That’s not possible.” He shakes his head. “The Blightfangs would eat you alive.”

“Not if Tenebris speaks to them first,” I retort. It’s a calculated bluff, but I need to see this egg. I refuse to walk blindly into this deal again.

“I’ll speak with him and if they allow it, I’ll take you to it this afternoon,” he says with chilled indifference. I nod and pull the breakfast tray into my bedchamber. Jace lingers for a moment, before his solemn steps fade down the stairwell. The hinges throw the silence left in his absence as I close the door and flip its lock in place.

Only when I’ve settled back under the covers, nursing my hangover along with my ego, do I let everything in. The walls crumble, like they’re made of sand, until nothing but rage remains. Stupid enough to weasel my way into this situation, and all I’m left with is a blooming migraine and lost appetite.

I lift the lid of the breakfast tray, now growing cold beside me. Next to the plate of various fruits and pastries, is a small cotton pouch. My chest aches as I pull its drawstring to find a glass vial of opalescent water. Tears well in my eyes before I can shut them out. The healers had taken the clothes I wore back in Storm, Jace must’ve found Yaris’s parting gift before they stinking things were discarded. A simple scrolled note unravels as it falls from the pouch.

Keep practicing, Nova. We’ll meet again soon.

I crumple the note and toss it to the corner. Yaris is dead, and maybe that’s merciful in this brutal fucking world.

35

Idon’t look at Jace as we cross the gardens toward a sloping, wooded trail. I’ve cleaned up and managed to recover from the morning with a vow to never drink whiskey again. Now, the lingering silence between us has me questioning that promise twice over.