Page 133 of Wraithwound

“You already know my name,” she said, fear twisting in her gut.

“Let me out, human,” Runa hissed.

Lena continued to ignore her.

“No. Not that,” he said waving her off. “How did you know? That I wasn’t him, I mean,” he said, amused.

Lena stared at him. He was toying with her, and while she wasn’t thrilled about it, the questions were buying her time. Lena waited a long moment before giving him a pointed glance.

“What?” he said, raising his arms in question and making a show of looking down at himself.

“Leonid has a limp,” she said simply.

“Ah, does he now? My poor brother. He must have acquired it recently,” he said plainly.

“What is it you want?” she tried.

“Let’s not talk about that just yet. Instead, I thought we’d talk about what you want first. What I can give you,” Malnik said.

“There’s nothi⁠—”

“Cross, what is it she desires most?” he asked, turning to the soldier.

“To help her brother, Henry,” Cross answered, the muscles bulging in his neck as he spoke.

Lena’s heart sank, and she glared at the warrior. She should have known better than to trust a soulbound soldier. Anger flared brightly in her chest at her own stupidity.

“Not so accepting now, are you? Let me out, so I can kill him!” Runa shouted.

“Where is her brother?” Malnik asked.

“I don’t know. I didn’t ask,” Cross said simply.

Lena’s attention snagged on that. And it was true, he’d never asked.

“Is he alive?” Malnik asked, giving him a sideways glance.

“No,” Cross said.

“But he must not be dead if her biggest desire is to—” Malnik got quiet, his eyes going distant and then lighting up as he lifted his gaze to her. A cruel smile grew on his face, and he began to laugh.

“You consumed his soul, didn’t you! Your own brother? My, you truly are a monster, aren’t you?” He chuckled.

Lena’s face drained of color.

But then the smile disappeared from his face. “I can give you Henry, Lena,” he said curtly. “Ah. You thought he was dead. Is that it? He’s not. His lifeforce is still within you.”

Lena looked down at herself, half expecting to see a sign of Henry’s lifeforce. When she met Malnik’s eyes again, he knew he’d gotten to her.

Her heart sped up, feeling like it was going to burst with exertion and yet, time slowed around her.

“If that is why you set off on this journey, well then I’m happy to tell you, you’ve almost succeeded,” Malnik said.

No. It couldn’t be true. She’d already been fooled once. Unable to help herself, she glanced at Cross.

“Oh, you can’t be too upset with him. He was on a similar journey as you, and he’s just succeeded as well. Once we’re done here, you can bring Kiara up. We’ll perform the binding ceremony, and she’ll live.”

“What?” Cross asked, a violent calm settling onto his features.