Page 210 of Commanding Scythe and Sky

“Hey, sunshine, you okay?”

Cora nodded, giggling as he set her on her feet.

“Good,” he said, smiling down at her with the same affection he used to reserve for Jaycee. It made my stomach turn. Yet another tally in the ‘nothing makes sense’ column. “You ready to go, witchling? That made for a long day.”

I just nodded, leading the way.

Bartholomew followed, not bothering to crack the shell of silence between us as my brain spun in tight circles, scouring every memory, every inkling.

I wasn’t entirely sure when he left me in my room. Only that Adrastos’ scent clung to the linens when I tried to lie down. After violently stripping the bedding, I climbed back onto the bare mattress, kind of wishing I hadn’t turned down Barry’s offer for dinner but unwilling to admit it to any of them.

I never heard so much as a peep from Adrastos’ room.

But I was still lying there staring at the door, head spinning, when the latch suddenly clicked, and I jackknifed off the bed as it popped open.

FORTY-ONE

THE RAVEN

BLYTHE

“Hello?” My voice came out painfully small, snagged somewhere in my throat as I stared at the finger-width gap between the door and frame. “Bartholomew?”

Nothing. In a frantic bid to cling to the last scraps of my sanity, I rolled off the bed and grabbed the hairpiece. The rock was—naturally—silent.

Fantastic, now I was depending on the thing.

Frantic, I scanned the room for anything remotely useful as a shield or weapon, then eyed the bookshelf, wondering if retreating into the passageway was my safest bet. Only…

If Moros or one of his people came calling and found me gone, my absence would invite every worst-case scenario at once. I had no intention of hiding in the walls like a rat, either.

“My Lord?” I tried, tucking the hairpiece into my messy bun for good measure before snatching up my book.

Lingering silence was my answer.

I padded forward as quietly as I could, peering through the gap into the hallway’s flickering sconce light. A very different hiding place flashed through my mind before I pushed the door wider and stuck my head out.

The door had never—never—been left open. I’d raged against it for months, checking after every set of footsteps faded on the off chance one of them had slipped and left it unlocked. Now it stood open, and my stomach was in free fall.

“Prince Adrastos?” I breathed, tiptoeing into the hallway and peering down its seemingly endless length—somehow worse without anyone in it. Empty. Eerie. Far too quiet.

I blew out a long breath, weighing my options. Chances of escape? Minimal. Guards were always posted at the doors and along the palace perimeter, and I somehow doubted a few months with Aren, Ansel, and Lana had prepared me to overpower warriors trained from birth to enforce a mad king’s will. Certainly not long enough to get beyond the wards and jump home. If there was even a home to return to…

But maybe… maybe this gave me a chance to find more entrances to the passageways. Maybe I could sneak down to Ally—make sure she was still in one piece since they hadn’t let me see her in days. Maybe the risk was worth getting a better lay of the land.

Maybe this was simply the fastest possible route onto Moros Balaskas’ shit list. A list I had absolutely no intention of joining.

Something—someone, some thread—tugged at the spool of power behind my solar plexus, pulling me out and down. I muttered a curse.

Come on, Blythe. What would Ally do?

Ally would’ve already raised hell, some snarky corner of my brain supplied. Because she has the godsdamned skills to do it. You’re just a healer. Who are you kidding?

Just a healer. I wasn’t just anything.

And while I didn’t stand a chance in a real fight, Aren had shown us how to turn healing gifts toward harm. It might not work against someone shielded like Adrastos or Moros, but if I caught a sentinel by surprise, maybe…

My skin crawled, my stomach turning at the thought of hurting anyone.