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Shadows flew across the wall. Joachim raised his hands, raising his magic. But it was too late.
The guard who had just groped me backed into a shadow, trying to make sense of the sudden crackle of powerful dark magic in the air.
Then he was gone.
Joachim leapt to hold a knife to my throat. “Whatever you’re up to, you might want to rethink it. If you change our deal, Lynx can rot where he’s hidden… and I’ll slit your throat and keep that memory as more precious than my arm.”
Zehr chuckled darkly into my ear.“It’s cute if he thinks that knife scares me. I’ve thought about putting a knife to your throat about a thousand times.”
“In a scary way or in a fun way?”I asked Zehr with lightness I couldn’t quite feel.
“Who said we have to choose?”
“Zehr, you are deranged.”
“Terrible thing to say to the man who’s currently saving your life.”
Joachim didn’t seem to appreciate my relaxed attitude toward him taking me hostage. He yanked back on my shoulders, his blade cutting into my throat.
For some reason, I thought of Kallus’s threat to Joachim that if I was hurt, their deal would be broken. Kallus probably didn’t care anymore. He’d threatened to torture me himself.
Zehr yanked every one of the guards away from us. Joachim aimed blasts with magic at his own horrified people, trying to fight back against Zehr. He yelled his threats about killing me, but I was his only chance at escaping alive. He carelessly let the knife cut me when he was focused on Zehr’s flickering through the shadows, destroying his guards. Warm blood tricked down my throat and soaking my shirt, but he didn’t cut any deeper.
Then the last horror-stricken guard disappeared.
Joachim and I were alone. He cursed into my ear. “What have you done, you wicked girl?”
Zehr flashed back into the room, grinning, letting Joachim see him for the first time. He gripped Branok’s shoulder. Branok started toward his father with a face full of fury and hatred.
Zehr snatched Joachim before he could cut me deeper, and Branok barreled into him.
“Good night?” Zehr asked me casually. He carried his own knife, which dripped blood as he sawed quickly through my bonds. As they fell, he snatched them from the air and shadow traveled away with them. That way, they wouldn’t weaken us as we fought.
Branok slammed Joachim into the wall and punched him over and over again.
“Easy,” I told Branok, touching his shoulder. My gaze met Joachim’s, which was hateful even when his face was a bloodied mess. “Where were we? You intended to torture me? Again?”
Being this close to Joachim when he had such evil intent for me had brought half-forgotten memories to the forefront of my mind, so strong I felt them through my body. My heart hammered like I was a terrified child once again.
But now I had the power.
“You have no idea what’s coming for you,” Joachim warned me.
“No, I don’t,” I agreed. “But you should be able to see what’s coming foryou.”
Right on time, Zehr flashed back into the room, and this time he was carrying Damyn. There was no hesitation from Damyn, no time to adjust to a new location he’d never entered before. He grabbed Joachim and tore him away from Branok.
Damyn slammed Joachim down on the table that had been intended for torturing me.
“I think you made a mistake.” I told Joachim lightly.
Joachim bared his bloody teeth in a cruel smile. “No mistake. I was going to torture you just the same as when you were a child. I can see the panic on your face. You think you can be queen, but deep down, you will always be nothing but that scared little girl.”
Damyn wrapped his hand around Joachim’s throat, as if he was going to squeeze the life out of him. I grabbed his arm, but Damyn was relentless, his fingers tightening as Joachim’s face turned red, his eyes bulging.
“Damyn!” I yanked back on that muscular arm, but I couldn’t pull him away. “Please!”
The begging did the trick. Damyn finally relented, turning those icy blue eyes toward me which softened and warmed.
