Death Marked (Death Sworn #2)(34)

“I know they’re no threat,” Karyn said, and her casual contempt made Ileni curl her fingers tighter. “I was thinking, however, that they might be an ally.”

The blanket dropped back over Ileni’s legs with a tiny swoosh.

Karyn tapped a finger against the armrest. “You must have realized, by now, that the Empire has changed since the time when we drove your people into exile. Perhaps it’s time for a reconciliation.”

Her calm assurance made it hard for Ileni to find words. Finally she sputtered, “Why would they want a reconciliation?”

Karyn’s eyebrows, which had never come down, arched even higher. Her feet thudded on the floor as she leaned forward. “Why wouldn’t they?”

Growing up, Ileni and her friends had told tales of sacrifice and heroism under the Empire’s evil reign, spat when they spoke of the Imperial Academy of Sorcery, fantasized about ways to destroy it. It was oddly disheartening to realize the imperial sorcerers had no idea how much they were hated.

“They’re fine as they are,” Ileni said finally. And it was true; in exile, her people could stay true to their ideals, far from the messy complexities of the world they had left. As she had been when she lived in the Renegai compound, surrounded by people who thought exactly like her, knowing she was on the right side of . . . of everything, really. Sometimes, she had guiltily suspected their cause might be hopeless. But she had never doubted it was just.

She missed being that person. She missed living a life where everything was simple and clear. Even if that simplicity had been a lie—and she wasn’t entirely convinced it had been—it was a lie she missed living in.

Ileni had grown up wanting the exile to end, for the Empire to be defeated. And wishing for it had been far, far better than getting the chance to do it.

“Leave them alone,” she said again. “They have nothing to do with any of this.”

Karyn’s shoulder lifted, an airy shrug that reminded Ileni of Evin. “So you’re willing to betray the new master of the assassins, but not the people who abandoned you and sent you to your death? Interesting.”

Ileni shoved the blanket to the wall and swung her legs over the side of the bed.

“How,” she said, “did you know there was a new master of the assassins?”

Karyn froze for a fraction of a second. Then she straightened in the chair, resting both hands carefully on the armrests. “I know you’re trying to be careful, but you’re an amateur. You’ve betrayed more than you thought.”

“No,” Ileni said firmly. Of this she was sure: she remembered every single word she had said to Karyn about Sorin. “No, I didn’t. So how did you know?”

“I’ll tell you,” Karyn said, “when you’re on our side.”

She was so smug, so sure, that Ileni’s mouth opened to protest. Silence felt like acquiescence, like the first step toward defeat. If she didn’t deny it out loud, Karyn’s certainty would seep into her mind and settle there. Ileni’s eventual betrayal would start seeming inevitable, even to her.

But it was only Karyn’s certainty—her arrogant, superior assumptions—that was allowing Ileni to remain in the Academy. So Ileni kept her mouth shut, biting the insides of her lips, until Karyn said, “Now. I have some more questions about the wards. . . .”


Are you willing to betray the new master of the assassins? Sorin asked.

He stood behind her, one hand sliding along her waist, the other resting on her wrist. She held a throwing dagger in her hand.

I love you, Ileni whispered. Her heart pounded, and she couldn’t tell if it was because he was about to kiss her, or because he was about to wrest the dagger from her and lay it against her throat.

I love you, too. His fingers slid along her wrist, and then the dagger was in his hand, so fast she didn’t have a chance to tighten her grip. He whirled her around to face him, and as his mouth came down on hers, she heard the thunk of the dagger hitting the cloth target behind her.

When he pushed her away, she clung to him blindly. It didn’t matter, of course, not against his strength. He held her in front of him, eyes black and blazing.

Betray me, he whispered, before pulling her in and kissing her again, or don’t. But make a decision before it’s too late.


Ileni woke with her heart pounding, her stomach clenched tight. She doubled over in her bed, not sure whether she was going to cry or puke or both.

She waited for several minutes before she realized that she was going to do neither. Instead, she threw her blanket against the wall and pulled the wardrobe doors open with a surge of angry power. They flew apart with a clash, and she yanked out the first dress she saw. It snagged on the edge of a door and ripped, a jagged tear across the seam of its neckline.

Calm down. She managed to get the next dress across the room intact but didn’t bother with changing its size. It shifted loosely across her shoulders as she hurried out of her room.

The halls were unusually busy—she had overslept—but Ileni had to ask four students before she found one who knew Arxis. The student, a plump girl with mint-green hair, nodded. “Arxis? He’s in the beginner’s class.”

“Right. Can you take me there?”

The girl gave her one of those looks Ileni was becoming used to. She had asked something stupid, missed something obvious. Revealed yet again how vastly ignorant she was.