Chapter 22
Chapter Twenty-Two
Dahlia
Something was hunting her.
It was as if the darkness had eyes.
Dahlia kept imagining Flyka stepping out from the shadows and slitting her throat. She shivered and moved a little faster. Perhaps she should have accepted Felix’s offer.
Popping into the next lane, she skidded across the ice and caught herself before she face-planted into a pile of snow. She sighed as her home came into view. Only a few more steps until she reached the alley.
The air changed, and the hair along her nape rose.
Terror filled her as she swung into the alley. Safety was so close.
A huge weight slammed her into the stone wall of her home. Her ribs screamed at the rough treatment, and her cheek burned. Her attacker flipped Lia around and pinned her in place, legs dangling in the air. A scream lodged in her throat as the terribly familiar face stared down at her.
Olwen.
He yanked the hood from her head, his expression turning into something ugly.
“I knew it,” he growled, the words hardly intelligible. His whole body shook, muscles seeming to swell. “Reilleve.”
Dahlia stared into his horrible face. The bared fangs. The hatred in his pitch gaze. A glowing white light along the edges.
Her death had finally come for her.
“Commander.” Her voice did not shake. She did not scream or plead. Her brother and Loshika were only a few feet away from the Loriian’s beast that they liked to occasionally release to instill fear in Asterans. “I wondered when you would recognize me.”
He glared down at her, his teeth snapping in her face. “I should tear out your throat where you stand.”
“Then do it.” Dahlia turned her neck and stared at the door. At least the window did not have a view of the alley. Cosmos would not have her death imprinted on his mind if he was still waiting for her.
Time stretched. The pain didn’t come.
Only Olwen’s harsh pants in her ears.
Lia slowly turned to him. He was still glaring at her, but it was not as violent—almost accusing.
“You don’t smell of fear,” he spat as if it was offensive, “But resignation.” He inhaled again, and his mouth went slack. “Like you want it.”
Her eyes slammed shut against the ugly truth he had blurted out. The secret sin she harbored and wished to hide forever. Part of her knew her death would scar her brother, but she was so tired of living with the fear for her family and friends.
She did not want to die.
Just for the pain to stop.
For the fear to stop.
Dahlia wanted to be safe and free.
“Look at me!”
It was impossible to open her eyes and face what he had seen in her gaze. Olwen shook her hard, the back of her head hitting the stone wall.
“Look at me, coward.”
Her eyes snapped open, and Lia gazed at the monster who would take her life. She had made mistakes in her life and had been called many things before, but a coward was not one of them.
See this through.
Licking her chapped lips, she whispered, “Do what you must, Olwen. Know that I do not bear you any ill will. This is fair. This is just.”
It was not a lie. Life was a cruel mistress, and sometimes you did not have a choice. You had to protect those you loved. And Dahlia had hurt Olwen’s family.
Her pulse slowed as she slid her fingers up his shaking forearm and laid her hand over his that was wrapped around her neck. “It’s okay. Please make it quick and . . .” she swallowed hard, feeling his grip tighten. “Please don’t leave my body here. I beg of you.”
They stared at each other for a long time.
He was the first to break.
Olwen swore and glanced away, his body heaving with each labored breath. He released her all at once, and Dahlia dropped to her feet, pain shooting up her shins at the impact. She sagged against the stone, gasping for breath. The massive giant slammed his hands against the wall.
“Qov you!” he bellowed.
Their door snapped open, and Cosmos came barreling out, a hooded cloak obscuring his face. She caught a glimpse of his auburn curls falling in his eyes and a kitchen knife in his trembling hand. Lia blurred into motion, putting herself between her brother and the giant.
“Go back inside,” she said, pressing one hand against Cosmos’ chest and holding the other out toward Olwen, who’d taken one step toward them. Was Loshika inside? “And lock the door.”
“No!” her brother yelled, pressing harder against her hand. “I won’t.”
Dahlia never took her eyes off the giant, who was assessing them with glowing eyes. She took a step backward, forcing her brother closer to relative safety. “You must. For me.”
“But he—”
“Is a friend. We’re only having a heated disagreement. Aren’t we?”
The giant’s gaze bounced between Dahlia and Cosmos, perhaps seeing too much. She gritted her teeth, desperation filling her. Cosmos needed to get out of here now before Olwen discovered the truth.
Lia turned her back to the giant and shoved her brother with all her might. Cosmos slipped on the ice, careening backward. A familiar blue hand popped out from behind the door and yanked her brother inside. The door slammed shut, and the bolt slid in place.
Thank you, Lo.
Muffled shouting reached her ears.
The giantess had promised Dahlia she’d take care of her brother. Even if it meant protecting Cosmos over Lia. She wasn’t sure if the giantess would keep her promise, but she had. For a moment, Lia laid her palm against the smooth wooden door.
I love you both.
With quiet resolve, she faced her executioner.
Olwen hadn’t moved from his spot, his large body already taking up too much space in the alleyway. There wasn’t a way around him or through him. Instead, Lia leaned into the cold place that had formed in her heart. She stepped away from the door and approached the giant.
Lia knelt before him, the snow and ice chilling her knees.
“I have made terrible mistakes. Please don’t punish the innocents that took me in. I am the one you want. Please spare them.”
A sense of peace crept through her as Olwen pulled his sword from the sheath at his hip. She bowed her head, staring at the icy cobbles. She would not close her eyes and miss the last seconds of her life.
The cool kiss of steel touched the tender skin underneath her chin. He lifted until her neck was craned back. Olwen stared down at her like a pagan god of war.
“You have many crimes to pay for,” he growled.
The sword bit into her skin, and she held very still as a drop of blood rolled down her neck.
Olwen yanked the sword back, her neck burning immediately.
She slapped a hand against the cut, shocked when he slammed his sword back into the sheath.
Olwen grabbed her by the cloak and yanked Lia to her feet with a little shake.
He leaned down into her face. “You’ve been hiding much, Reilleve.” His gaze darted over her shoulder toward her home and back to her face. “You hold too much information to kill, and yet, you’d be too much of a distraction for Neve right now.”
Her breath caught at his name. “Is he alright?” she asked without thought.
“No thanks to you,” Olwen snapped. “You do not get to ask questions. This is what will happen. I will give you one week to come forward on your own. The city is surrounded, so there will be no escape for you.” His gaze slid once again to the door behind her.
“That will give you enough time to do what it is you need to do.”
She blinked up at him in doubt. It was too good to be true. “Why?”
His attention moved back to her face, once again seeing too much. “Because my king comes first. I need him focused on the battle ahead. Not on ripping the secrets from your soul and the flesh from your bones.”
Dahlia blanched at the image he painted.
He grinned, but it wasn’t nice. “I don’t do this for you. I live for my king.” Olwen released her cloak, and she stumbled as he backed away. “If you try to run, I will sic Flyka on those who have been sheltering you.”
“Even if they are innocent?” she rasped, some blood seeping through her fingers.
“If they are friends to humans, then they are never innocent.” He turned at the end of the alleyway and called over his shoulder, “One week, Reilleve.”
Unease slunk down her spine when Olwen disappeared from view. She didn’t move for several long minutes, waiting for the trap. It never came.
Not when her toes went numb.
Nor when she stopped feeling the blood leaking through her fingers.
Snowflakes fell from the sky, dancing like tumbleweeds through the air. She tipped her head back and closed her eyes, letting them land on her upturned face.
One more week.
A smile tipped up her lips.
Only seven days until she would once again see the monster she married.
Even though pain and almost certain death were a probability, Dahlia couldn’t wait.
Maybe they both would find peace.