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“No,” I said, whipping his wrist toward the ground. “I won’t keep running in circles and taking your taunts and snide remarks. We’re all alone. No Nikolai here to calm you down or Syrra to run interference. What pisses you off more—that Ibestedyou or that youneedme?”
His violet eyes flashed as he took a step closer to me.
“I don’t care that you beat me,” he said, dark and slow like he was luring me into a trap. “I don’t like that after years of serving the king, years of doing his bidding with no remorse and no guilt for the people you hurt, you justdecidedyou were done. Threw off that black cloak of yours and swapped sides. Is that supposed to impress me? Am I supposed to thank you for helping us? What happens when this is all over? Will you answer foryourcrimes?” His breath was hot on my cheek, the rapid rise and fall of his chest beat against my own.
“That’s what you think?” I snapped, refusing to retreat. “That I’ve been happy serving the king all this time? Do you think I enjoy my life, knowing it’s paid for in blood? The blood of Halflings! The blood ofmykin.” Riven bit his bottom lip, the points of his fangs threatening to draw blood. His sharp cheeks were so close I thought they might cut me, but I didn’t back down from the loathing in his eyes.
“You want to know who that woman is?” I asked him, too angry to wait for an answer. “She runs a refuge here. She helps hide Halflings from the king. From the Shades. I came to see her because I fund her work.”
Riven’s gaze trailed along my face as if trying to read the truth in what I said. “You know of the Rose Road?” he whispered incredulously.
So he knew about the refuges? I couldn’t help the smug grin tugging on my lips.
“Know about it?” I shook my head, not breaking his gaze as I pulled out the bronze pendant that hung around my neck. “I founded it.”
Riven studied my face, his gaze lingering on my bottom lip. For a moment, I was reminded of that second duel of ours. My body pinned against the wall with his, knowing I was moments away from death, only to feel the brush of his lips on mine. My breath stilled in anticipation. Would he do it again? Would I let him?
After a long moment, he took a step back, his eyes dropping to the ground. “I didn’t know,” he said softly.
“You didn’t ask.” I tucked the pendant back inside my shirt.
He looked up at me, his lips pursed. “You’re right.” He turned around and started back along the path.
“And for the record,” I said, unsure why I felt the need to prove myself further. Why I cared about his opinion of me. Riven didn’t turn around but stopped, waiting for me to speak. “I’ve never taken a life I didn’tneedto take. If the Crown falls and you want to put me on trial for the lives I did end, I won’t stop you. Every life I couldn’t spare, I carry with me. You don’t need to tell me I’ll answer for them one day. I already know.”
I pushed past him, uninterested in speaking any more about his hate for me. Mine was enough for the both of us.
RIVEN TRAILED BEHIND MEthe rest of the way. I didn’t slow my pace or turn around to see how far his cloak lagged behind. The well-worn path from the village began to veer toward the King’s Road, leading to Cereliath. I treaded off the path and onto the soft grass of the glade. A gentle wind blew through my hair and swirled along the edges of my cloak. I inhaled the faint scents ofwinvraand wheat that it carried.
The suns had well passed their midpoint in the sky; dusk would soon be upon us. My stomach rumbled loudly. I stepped into the small grove where Nikolai and Syrra were waiting. The forest was green, beautiful, but felt lacking after my time in the Faeland. I missed the metallic leaves and unusual combinations of colors along the brush.
I stumbled upon the half-made camp. A pile of wood lay in the middle of a small clearing. Our bags were dropped in their usual circle around the would-be hearth, but Nikolai and Syrra were nowhere to be found.
I leaned down, reaching for something to eat from my bag when I noticed it. Three of our horses were tied along the trees but the fourth’s reins hung loose. One of Syrra’s circular blades lay beside its hoof.
Syrra would never discard her weapon so carelessly.
They’d been taken.
I pulled my cloak over my shoulders and crouched to the ground. I closed my eyes and listened as intently as I could. I heard the steady rhythm of Riven’s heartbeat still crossing through the glade. To the west I heard running water, a spring from the cool, fresh scent in the air. Not far to the east, I heard faint murmuring.
I opened my eyes and headed east, listening for voices and heartbeats every few steps. The sounds grew louder as I hunted, curving through tree trunks like a wild cat stalking her prey. I noticed footprints in a patch of wet earth. They were new and slick but trampled over again and again. At least ten captors.
I crawled along the base of a small ridge. There was a large stone set among the trees and hidden behind thick brush. I leaned my back against the rock and listened.
“One Halfling—and an Elf!” a gruff voice shouted. “No one in the capital will believe it. Imagine the dinners that creature will buy.” Several voices broke into a chorus of laughter. I tested the strength of a root wrapping around the stone. It didn’t break. In one motion, I hoisted myself on top of the rock, peering over the edge at the scene below. There were over a dozen men, some burly and tall, others short and thin, standing around a fire. At the far side of their camp was a brown carriage. The outer wall of Koratha was painted on its doors, six miniature bodies hanging from the stone.
Traffickers.
Nikolai and Syrra were bound in ropes near the carriage. Nikolai was twisting his body, fighting the ropes that kept his hands tied behind his back. Syrra was tied too, but her body lay crumpled beside him. Dread ran through me like a blade. I watched her body to see if she moved, but Syrra was perfectly still.
I moved on instinct, pulling my twin blades from behind my back. I leaped off the rock, cutting the first man down before he could look up.
I perched on his shoulders as he bled. I counted fourteen more.
I stepped onto the ground as the first man fell. The second man turned around and caught my blade by the throat.
Make that thirteen.
