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“Torrance, wouldn’t it be merciful of me to give said man his due punishment, but keep it out of the public’s eye? That way his family’s legacy wouldn’t be damaged by his stupid mistakes?” I let my dagger’s blade trace the edge of the table, scratching its surface, as I walked to Titan’s side. Titan had pressed his eyes closed, his breathing coming more rapidly. “Torrance?” I looked back at him.
“That…that would be merciful,” he said slowly.
“It’s decided then.” I lunged forward, sliding my dagger across Titan’s throat.
“Dace!” Torrance cried out, jumping to his feet, and reaching out to his father as if the deed could be undone. Titan’s hands drifted to his throat, his mouth opening and closing while blood gurgled along with the peaceful sounds of a babbling brook.
I pointed my weapon at Torrance, finally letting all my anger fill my voice. “You’ll sit back down!”
Torrance recoiled back into his seat, his eyes large as saucers, his face losing color. Even after everything his family had done to me, I still felt sorrow for his loss.
“You have done enough,” I said through clenched teeth. “I’ve been nothing, if not forgiving, but this…this crossed the line. I cannot stand by idly while your father hires people to kill what is mine.”
I grabbed a handful of Titan’s hair, pulling his head back and watching as the blood poured anew from his wound. “Ryker’s name was on that contract too, wasn’t it?” I hissed. I didn’t need his assurances, I had every right to believe it after the way we had been attacked.
Dropping his head, Titan’s whole body fell forward, bouncing the china on the table. Torrance looked down at his father, his body utterly still.
“There is plenty of room to argue that you should also have the same fate.” I wiped my blade on the back of Titan’s shirt as I talked to his son. “But I’m moving past it. However, you are dismissed as my advisor.”
The weight on my belt was balanced as I put my weapon back in its sheath. I walked around the table once more, picking the remnants of my apple up from my seat and bouncing it in my hand.
“Tell everyone it was an assassination. Then they’ll feel sorry for you.” I held up the apple. “Thanks for breakfast. Oh,” I paused at the door, “make sure to actually free your Nymphs by this weekend. I’ll send a patrol by to make sure you’ve done so, or there’ll be more untimely deaths.”
White knuckled, Torrance gripped the arms of his chair, never turning to look at me as he watched blood pool over his breakfast. That was the last time I looked at him. Quietly, I slipped from the room, heading back to my waiting carriage.
There was more to do today, so much more, and if I was going to get it all done, I had to get a move on. At least now the assassin’s contract was considered void and there was one less thing to worry about.
Chapter25
Ryker
Dace’s bed in the infirmary was empty. His scent went with the changing of the sheets. I eyed it, knowing what he had left to do this morning. It wasn’t the act itself that bothered me, though I didn’t particularly enjoy the idea of blood on his hands, I knew that it was, for lack of a better word, unavoidable. The issue that nagged at me was that Dace’s wound was not yet fully healed. Fae naturally healed quickly, but an injury of that size took more time than he had allowed it.
“You’re back!” One of the female healers stood up from her task of folding sheets. “Someone is awake today. A little soon, but he seems to be doing well, so as long as he can stay bedbound he’ll be fine.”
“He’s awake?” I squeaked, immediately running the last few steps. Flinging open his curtain, I peered down at my friend, curious if I’d find his honey brown eyes or the bottomless pools of black.
Daethian’s dark lashes fluttered open as I appeared, waking him from his rest. Two perfect almond-shaped, toasted caramel eyes looked back up at me. I released a breath, dropping the book in my hand to rush to his side.
“By the mother, Daethian.” I smiled, though I knew at any second happy tears could gather in my eyes. “I thought you were dead for a minute. How do you feel?”
“This hurts.” His voice was rough and raspy from lack of use as he pointed to the pile of bandages wrapped around him. “You should see it when they change it, it’s pretty gnarly.”
“Are there any residual feelings of anger? Should I be worried you’re going to strangle me or rip off my limbs?” I said, quietly.
He rubbed a hand over his face. “I wish we could forget about that. I wish I could forget about that. I can never tell you how sorry I am. I was there, but I couldn’t control myself. Any fleeting thought, no matter how dark, always escalated.”
“A Burgundy Witch’s curse,” I whispered.
“No shit?” Daethian cocked his head. “Aren’t they dead? Like very, very dead?”
“All except one. King Ganglin had some sort of control over her and used you to get to me. In the end, that didn’t really work out well for him.”
Daethian gasped as if it was all coming back to him. “Fucking, holy shit, fuck fest.”
“Watch your mouth!” I laughed.
“I killed King Ganglin. Didn’t I?”
