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Nikolai pulled me off the ground and held me from behind. He placed a bag over my head, as I hurled every insult I knew at him. He ignored me and pushed me forward. We walked in small steps; my gait bound by the rope at my knees. I leaned back into his shoulders and grabbed his torso with one hand. I pinched. Hard. He sucked in a breath as he pushed me off him, but he didn’t say anything.
I hoped it hurt. He was a traitor. Had sold me out to whoever it was he was bringing me to. Riven would be livid when he found out.
A cold wave of realization crashed through my body, settling into my blood.
Riven. What if Nikolai wasn’t a traitor at all?
What if Riven had ordered this?
He knew exactly where I had been. He left before I woke that morning. I thought he’d been leaving to enact his part of the plan, but perhaps he needed me alone. Gave Nikolai the opportunity to catch me unaware.
I didn’t have time to think through the implications of that because we stepped into some sort of building. The floor under my feet was hard and uneven. It was made of wood. I could hear the faint crackling of a fire, and a breeze brushing against a windowpane.
Where in the gods am I?I thought bitterly.
Someone opened a door and we walked through it. My ears picked up the added heartbeats, too many to be sure. Maybe five? Plus, the three who walked in with me.
I didn’t need to guess any longer because Nikolai stopped, halting me with his arm. He removed the bag.
A man sat in front of me in a large wooden chair, not unlike a throne. Behind him stood Syrra and Collin. The man had blond hair that emphasized the thin, golden band circling his head. His eyes were a fierce green, like spring leaves fading into amber at the center, the same as his brother’s.
Prince Killian.
The ground swayed underneath my feet. Nikolai’s grip tightened on my shoulder, keeping me steady. Killian raised his chin, assessing the state of my bindings. His eyes paused on the redness around my wrists. His lips pursed for a second and then broke into cruel grin.
“Please, forgive the impolite nature of this audience, Keera,” the prince said, casting a dark hush over the room. “It was for your safety as well as the safety of my comrades.”
“Capturing me? Or holding me hostage?” I bit, not even trying to conceal the ice in my voice.
“Both,” Killian said. “I couldn’t risk freeing you until we spoke. And I couldn’t risk revealing myself until we were well out of my father’s and brother’s reach.”
“And for what exactly?” I snapped. I thrashed against Nikolai’s grip and took a step toward the prince. Nikolai made to grab me, but Killian held up his hand.
“Keera is our friend, same as always,” he told Nikolai. His hard gaze swept over the rest of the people in the room. Some nodded their heads. Most stood silently with their hands latched around the hilt of a blade.
“Bullshit,” I spat. Syrra lifted her hand to cover a smirk.
“But, Keera,” Killian said, his lips twitching to one side, “we’ve been friends the entire time. Your surveillance in Aralinth, your mission in Cereliath, blowing up the dam in Silstra.” Killian listed off each city on his fingers. Every tick landed like a hard blow against my gut.
“You know about that?” I didn’t believe it.
Nikolai scoffed behind me. Killian sent him a warning look.
“I devised it,” the prince answered.
“But Riven...” My breath hitched. It was starting to make sense.
“Yes, my Shadow has kept me well-informed of your missions,” Killian said, waving his hand.
His Shadow?It couldn’t be true. Riven would have told me. He couldn’t have kept this alliance from me for so long. Not after I proved myself in Silstra. Not after we...
Need to know. The blood drained from my face and my body fell limp beside Nikolai. I wasn’t the only one who had been keeping heavy secrets.
“Where is Riven?” I asked. “I want to speak to him now!”
Killian’s mouth fell into a straight line. Exhaustion flooded my bones even though I’d been sleeping for days, my knees straining to hold me.
“Riven is indisposed at the moment,” Killian said, standing up from his chair and walking toward me. “He knows where you are and will be back soon. As soon as he arrives, you may speak with him. But you’ll have to make a choice first.”
