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He huffed out a dry laugh. “Besides that. You told me to cut it off before I got deeper and got hurt.”
“Yeah,” I said, thinking of the handsome banker. “And you didn’t listen, if I recall.”
“I know.” There was a pause. “I’m telling you the same thing.”
“What? It’s not like that. It’s nowhere near like you and Joshua— ”
“You and this prince may not have known each other long. You might not have been pretending make-believe like Joshua and I were, but I know you, Lis. You don’t get interested in anyone. It might be because you could touch him. It might be whatever the fuck you are to him and he’s to you, but— ”
“Okay. I understand what you’re saying. I do. But what I feel or don’t feel for him doesn’t matter.” I rolled onto my back. “We have way bigger problems to deal with.”
“You’re right. It doesn’t.” His exhale was heavy. “What does is that you need to get out of here.”
All tiredness vanished in an instant. “What?”
“You’re not bound. You can escape. There’s a window right above us that looks like it can be easily opened,” he said. “You should’ve already made a run for it.”
I turned my head toward him. “Are you out of your mind?”
“Lis—”
“I’m not leaving you. Gods, I can’t believe you would even suggest that again. That you would think I’d be okay with doing that . . .” I trailed off, suddenly understanding Naomi’s anger.Naomi.My breath snagged. I stopped myself before I could learn of her future, like I’d done the last two days. I didn’t want to know, because I needed to believe that she was alive. That she’d gone to her sister’s house and that it remained untouched despite the fact that I knew Laurelin wouldn’t live to see the end of the Feasts. That this attack could have been what ended her life.
I just needed that little piece of hope, because I knew when I closed my eyes again, I would see what I had when we’d been taken from the manor. The bodies of staff and guards I’d seen every day inpieces.Bodies strewn about the lawn, lit by moonlight. And the city? Homes had been burning and the path to the city gates had been cluttered with stone, broken wood, and . . . and shattered bodies. So many bodies, lowborn and Hyhborn. The old. The young, some that were—
“What happened in Archwood wasn’t your fault.” Grady interrupted the spiral of my thoughts.
Clamping my mouth shut, I scrubbed my hands down my face, wiping away the dampness that had found its way to my lashes.
“I know that’s what you’ve been thinking. It’s not,” he said, voice low and hard. “The King didn’t want Archwood defended. He wanted the city destroyed. Prince Thorne told you that.”
I flinched at the sound of his name.
“Archwood was fucked whether or not you ever set foot in that city.”
Dropping my hands to my stomach, I shook my head. “Well, it was mighty convenient that Prince Rohan came for me the same night they laid waste to a city.”
“It wasn’t convenient. It was fucking Hymel. What was going to happen to Archwood was going to go down. They just took two birds with one stone.”
Maybe Grady was right. That Archwood would’ve fallen no matter what, and if Hymel had never gone to the Hyhborn, then we might have died that night in Archwood. Maybe we would’ve escaped. I didn’t know.
But what I was sure about? What I needed no intuition to know? Grady wouldn’t be in this situation, his life hanging on whether or not I displeased the Hyhborn. He wouldn’t be here, for better or worse, if it weren’t for me.
The only thing I could do now was make sure that Grady got out of this in one piece, and I would, even if it was the last thing I ever did.
I didn’t remember dozing off, but I must have, because I was suddenly wide awake and my heart was pounding.
The chamber was quiet— the entire inn wassilent,but something woke me.
“Lis?” Grady nudged my leg with his knee. “There was screaming.”
Swallowing, I turned my head toward him, able to make out the line of his profile. His head was tipped back. I followed his gaze to the ceiling, where there was nothing but silence. A chill skated down my spine as the streams of moonlight retreated from the ceiling, slipping across the beams and out the window—
The gas lantern in the bathing chamber suddenly turned on. Every muscle in my body tensed. The glow pulsed. Ice drenched my insides as the lamp on the table flickered to life, pulsing wildly. Air lodged in my throat as the air all around us charged with static— with power.
“The Hyhborn,” I whispered. “Something is going— ”
A cry pierced the silence, sudden and abrupt.
