Yvette
The soldiers seemed to be celebrating the union with a copious amount of drinking.
This was helpful in that it created plenty of noise to cover their footfalls as they passed.
However, dodging inebriated bodies as they stumbled in random, unpredictable directions was all but impossible.
Thankfully, on the two occasions they had actually collided with another, they had been too drunk to be suspicious.
“Don’t let go,” Keira’s voice instructed.
Nothing.
The hall was deserted, or so it seemed until her eyes raised to the dais.
Victor was sprawled over the seat of Northall, looking tense yet bored, unimpressed yet agitated.
Keira released her hand without hesitation, revealing herself as she stormed down the hall.
Victor’s gaze flicked to her at once. Heart hammering in her ears, Yvette kept hold of her illusion as Keira marched up the short steps of the dais.
His expression turned to one of amusement as he watched Keira’s furious approach, unmoving. His ease was enough to turn her stomach. He had a plan. Of course, he did. Victor was always a step ahead in his games. But what was going to keep her from gutting him where he sat?
“Where’s Caspian?” Keira growled.
“In the little village chapel, halfway married by now, I’d suppose,” Victor answered, putting on an air of disinterest that only served to highlight his satisfaction. “Now if I may inquire the same, Yvette, darling, show yourself. I know you brought her here.”
She froze. Of course he knew. Yvette released the magic reluctantly, and Victor’s eyes bore into her at once.
It hit her differently, seeing him and knowing he was looking back at her as well.
They’d not been together, not since that night, when she’d felt the full wrath of his temper turned against her.
Despite her anger, despite all the wrong he had done, somehow he still had the power to make her feel entirely minuscule under his gaze.
Yvette nearly jumped as the wood of the throne sprouted branches that tangled around Victor’s neck, the same magic she had worked in Grimlocke just the night before.
The first flicker of fear lit his features as his eyes remained locked with hers. His gaze did not waver even as Keira continued to advance toward the throne.
“Pet, I know you’re angry, but I did all of this for us,” Victor said, addressing her even as the strain against his neck was evident in his voice. “Tell her to stop now.”
“You did this because you’re a greedy, heartless coward,” Keira snarled, the vines tightening in their coils.
“You wouldn’t let her kill me, darling.” His hoarse words assured, trusting. The realization struck her like a sheet of icy water.
She was the plan.
He was trusting her to save him.
Keira’s anger flared, the vines constricting. She could see his face growing red as they gripped his throat unforgivingly. Victor pulled against them, body struggling as he fought for air.
“Don’t!” she yelped, and Keira froze. Yvette hadn’t even had time to think before the word leapt from her. Her heart raced as she realized what she’d done. “Just let him go. You can go find Caspian, and this can be over.”
Keira whirled, staring her down, the sting of betrayal burning in her eyes. “You would dare try to work that magic on me? After everything you’ve done?”
Yvette saw only a glint of metal, looking just in time to see Victor slice through the vines coiling around his neck.
Keira turned as he moved again, but not fast enough.
A scream ripped from Yvette’s throat as the blade completed its savage arc, burying itself in her gut.
Time slowed as they stood there, Victor’s other arm wrapped around her, Keira’s fingers digging into his skin, locked in a hateful embrace.
A wet cough summoned in Keira’s lungs as he withdrew the knife. Victor released her, and she buckled, rolling over once as she fell to the stairs.
“I’m sure you’re familiar with the effects of Magebane by now,” Victor said, as he stepped carefully around her to avoid getting blood on his polished boots. “Don’t worry yourself. I intend to see that common soldier of yours joins you soon enough.”
Keira made a sound between a gasp and a growl as she clutched the wound. It was clear from the stilted motion of her chest that she was having trouble breathing. If he had punctured her lung…
Yvette was frozen as she watched the pooling blood. The red current spread until it was dripping down the steps.
She realized Victor was coming for her a moment too late. Reflexively, she reached for her magic, shrouding herself, but Victor’s hand darted out, grabbing the base of her braid.
He shook her in one harsh motion, the shock prompting her to drop the illusion.
“Now, now, pet. You did so well,” Victor said, smoothing his thumb over her cheek.
“Let go of me,” Yvette battled to keep her voice even.
“No, I don’t think I will,” Victor whispered in her ear tenderly, his words running down her back like ice. “I just got you back.”
“She’s dying,” Yvette pleaded, trying to ignore the immense panic that somehow he hadn’t heeded her command, the fact that she was basically defenseless against him.
Her only weapon now was to hope her words held some natural sway, that he cared enough to listen.
“We can still help her. You’re not this person. You don’t have to be this person.”
Victor ignored her, instead he dug something from his pocket, a golden trinket. It was a spiral the size of his palm, the metal intricately detailed.
“Victor,” she tried to pry his hand from her hair, but he jerked her closer. “What is that?”
He ran his finger over the trinket, and it began to uncoil in his hand, a small golden snake. “It’s an Assassin’s Adder,” Victor said, allowing the snake to slither to the ground. “I paid rather a fortune for it to clean up your mess.”
Yvette shook her head. “You don’t have to-”
She stilled as he finally turned his attention entirely to her. That beautiful face that had been the essence of her dreams for so long.
“No, pet.” His words sliced through her. “If it were up to me, she would be very much alive. But you went against me. You brought her here. You insisted on putting her in my way again. You, darling, are the orchestrator of this predicament, and now she’ll die because of you.”