Page 70 of Commanding Scythe and Sky

But something resembling curiosity moved across the king’s features.

This close to him, I saw it for the first time. In the firm lines of his brow, cheekbones, and jaw. In the unexpected vulnerability of his now-dark-brown eyes as the demon’s influence receded.

Brothers.

The bastard before me and the betrayer shared features, if nothing else.

Well.

That wasn’t all.

They certainly bred them ruthlessly in this hellhole.

His lips compressed into a tight line.

When it became apparent he had nothing else to say, I nodded and turned on my heel. Bartholomew reclaimed his hold on my bicep and guided me from the room.

As we stepped into the hallway, the king’s hoarse voice cracked through the space behind us.

“Why?”

My heart lodged in my throat as mortification heated my cheeks.

I turned to face him.

I didn’t need clarification.

Why would a captive save her captor from the brink of death?

“Because I’m a healer,” I said simply, holding his dark stare even as everyone else’s bored holes through me. “I’ve never shied away from sad, broken things before. Why would you be any different?”

With that, Bartholomew Hadrianna and I marched from the room.

It wasn’t until I was alone in my bathroom, washing dark ichor from my hands, that I began to shake.

The trembling didn’t stop until I lit the candles on my altar and prayed long enough to steady my heart.

When Bartholomew escorted me to breakfast the following morning, the guard who’d struck me was conspicuously absent.

THIRTEEN

WELCOME REPRIEVE

MAGNOLIA

The wards rippled across my skin as I pushed open the door to my… dorm room, for lack of a better term. Both the shadows and Death had fallen taciturn, the Knowing’s presence required elsewhere.

I turned when August cleared his throat behind me.

“Aren teach you that one?” He jerked his chin toward the invisible wall holding him outside my door.

Seven Sisters, that smile actually touched his eyes. I hadn’t seen one do that since…

Well, since before the Balaskas army decimated Santa Bloom.

Trying to mask the pain slicing through my chest, I nodded, picked up the blade beside the archway, and reached up to tap the overhang.

Magic rippled.