Chapter 30
B ut we couldn’t stay in the Everless forever. The Drakhold—and duty—waited. So we dressed, extinguished the braziers, and reentered Nocta.
As expected, my body ached in all sorts of places as we made our way through the forest. I didn’t hate the walk as much this time, my mind lingering on the passion I’d experienced.
I’d resisted marriage to Lorcan. Now I realized that I should have pushed for it sooner.
With Vander’s ward, Lorcan and I could speak every night, using our time in bed to plan.
As the Drakhold’s towers came into view, the trees around us vanished and the maze’s soaring hedges took their place.
I froze, my heart pounding. “What’s happening?”
Knights in black armor poured around the nearest hedge. Steel rasped as Lorcan drew his sword. Vander shoved me behind him.
Rasimir stalked around the hedge and flung a hand toward Lorcan. “ Olnava !”
Lorcan went rigid, his eyes wide as he tipped and fell to the ground. Before I could draw breath to scream, Rasimir pointed at Vander. “ Olnava !”
Vander stiffened. A scream ripped from me as I reached for him, but he fell sideways and crashed into the hedge next to us. Knights rushed around him, then grabbed me and dragged me past his body.
“Let me go!” I cried, struggling to see over my shoulder. The knights tightened their grip and walked faster.
We spilled into the courtyard, where a small mountain of clothing and dirt rose above the stones. Except it was moving, the bulk rising and falling like it…breathed.
Because it wasn’t clothing and dirt. Timmon the bridge troll lay on his side, his craggy face etched with pain and a thick line of drool trailing from the corner of his mouth to the ground.
Ropes crisscrossed his body and attached to stakes driven into the stone around him.
Knights stood guard at his head and feet.
More knights dragged Lorcan and Vander into the center of the courtyard. Panic gripped me as I watched their chests, looking for signs of life. The vor Rasimir had used surfaced in my memory. Stun, I remembered. It meant “stun.” They were all right. He hadn’t killed them.
The knight holding me dug his fingers into my upper arms, and I bit back a cry of pain.
Rasimir stepped in front of me, his green eyes glittering. “The troll had quite a story to tell. He says Captain Vander instructed him to collect blood from my subjects.” Rasimir pressed a hand to his chest. “Now, I said that’s impossible because Captain Vander would never do such a thing.”
I couldn’t speak. I had to pretend. Except what good was pretending now that we’d been caught? It was over. Vander and Lorcan lay rigid on the ground, their limbs frozen and their eyes wide and unblinking.
Rasimir jerked his head toward Vander. “Strip him.”
One of the knights standing over Vander bent and ripped away his shirt. Rasimir watched me closely as the knight rifled through Vander’s trouser pockets before straightening. “Nothing, Majesty.”
Rasimir raised his eyebrows, his lips forming a mocking O. “Surely not,” he murmured, his tone filled with false disbelief as he drifted closer. “Not Lorcan Balauri. The noble, righteous King of the Drachvi would never betray me.” The disbelief vanished as he snarled, “Strip him.”
A knight gripped the two halves of Lorcan’s coat and yanked it wide, its buttons bouncing over the courtyard’s stones. Panic beat at me as the man ripped open Lorcan’s shirt.
Glass vials clattered to the stones, and I swayed in the knight’s grip, resignation settling on my shoulders.
Rasimir plucked a vial from the ground. With agonizing slowness, he uncorked it and sniffed the blood. “This stinks of Veradorn. How could that be?” He swung toward Vander. “ Rix .”
Vander came alive. Gasping, he drew his knees to his chest, groaning as if the movement pained him. Knights seized his arms and forced him to his feet.
Rasimir caught his gaze and pointed at me. “Kill her.”
I startled, my stomach plummeting.
Vander shook his head. “No,” he said hoarsely. Immediately he collapsed on the ground. An anguished cry broke from him as he twisted and writhed.
“Kill her!” Rasimir screamed. “Do your duty and kill her!”
Gagging and coughing, Vander thrashed like the merman I’d drained on the riverbank. Veins bulged in his forehead. He drew a short, sharp breath and bellowed, “No!”
Tears coursed down my cheeks. “Stop it!” I yelled, struggling against the knight. Another stepped close as if he meant to help the first one keep me from rushing Rasimir.
Vander thrashed harder. His teeth chattered, and tears streamed down his cheeks.
“You’re killing him!” I screamed.
Rasimir looked at me as Vander continued to writhe. “I’m not killing him. He’s killing himself. And it’s a foolish man who tortures himself for a woman’s love. I could have told him that’s a waste of time.”
“Only for you,” I said, hatred vibrating inside me. “No one could ever, ever love you. You’re too full of hate. You’re rotten to the core. That’s why my mother left you. She saw you for exactly what you are.”
Striding to me, Rasimir slapped me across the face. My head snapped back, and pain exploded in my jaw. Before I could recover, he pressed his palm over my mouth and growled, “ Guro .”
Heat blasted my lips. I screamed, but the sound was muffled as my mouth was sealed shut.
Rasimir grabbed both of my hands. “ Baini .” He released me as metal gauntlets climbed to my wrists. Panic soaring, I tried flexing my fingers, but they were locked in place. The gauntlets dragged at my arms, the weight stretching the muscles across my upper back.
“I don’t know why I bother,” Rasimir said, smirking as he watched me struggle. “It’s not like you have any gifts. But you’ve got a womb, and we can make use of that at least.”
Don’t puke. If I threw up with my mouth blocked, I’d choke on my own vomit.
Rasimir turned to Vander. “ Koyno .” When Vander stopped twitching, Rasimir turned back to me. “Your lovers will stay in the dungeon. I’ll spare Vander’s life for now. Watching him fight my orders will be an excellent motivator when it’s time for you to do your duty in Lorcan’s bed.”
Hatred was a bonfire in my chest. The gauntlets tugged at my shoulders. Breathing through my nose, I blinked tears from my eyes. Rasimir wouldn’t see me cry.
“Take the traitors to the cells,” he said.
Knights grabbed Vander under the armpits and dragged him toward the Drakhold. Two others went to Lorcan and lifted him by the arms and legs.
Rasimir gripped my arm. “Come, Daughter. You and I are going to have a conversation.”