Last Stand (The Black Mage #4)(26)

“They’ve been waiting for the Black Mage to leave,” Tallus spat, “so the king is unprotected.”

Darren charged the cell, and I snatched his arm before he could strangle the knight with his bare hands. “You lie! We have guards, hundreds—”

“Everyone knows the prince is hunting rebels north, even my leader in the south.” Tallus broke into a vicious grin. His whole mouth was crimson. “They know the king is unprotected. All it will take is one—”

The knight broke into a cry as Darren’s casting sent him sprawling against the prison wall.

“Darren!” I jerked the boy around so he was forced to look me in the eyes, instead of at the man he was attempting to kill.

“He’s talking about Blayne.” Darren’s eyes were wild and his nails were cutting into my arms. His pulse was beating wildly against his throat. “Ryiah, I—”

“We can’t kill him. He can help identify the rebels in Devon.” I took control of the situation, trying not to think of the man who had willingly suffered to help me perform this terrible lie. “We will send envoys right away. Your brother will be fine. Have Mira double the King’s Regiment and call Marius back from the south.”

I waited, feeling the grating pressure on my arms slacken. Then I addressed the prisoner. “You will reveal these rebels in exchange for your life.”

The man said nothing, his chest rising and falling as he fought back the pain of his latest blow.

“We will grant you a king’s pardon.”

“Never!” Darren tugged away, fighting my grip, but I refused to budge.

“This man will never betray his own without it.” My eyes were locked on his. “It may not be what you want, but surely one man’s life for the king’s safety is worth the price of revenge.”

“Fine.” The prince bit out the word and crooked his neck to glare at Tallus over my shoulder. “We grant you this, traitor, but if you fail to comply, you will be strung from the palace rafters like your brethren.”

It took every bit of resolve I had not to react to Darren’s threat. It was impossible not to remember Derrick.

“Yes.” The knight took a retching breath and forced his words into a command of his own. “But I will not say a word until the document is signed.”

Darren said nothing. Instead, he marched to the other side of the room and began shoving reports into a file. I had a feeling he wouldn’t sleep at all that night—he’d be studying those papers, searching for anything missed.

In a way, our reactions were one and the same. The things I did tonight, they would haunt my sleep for years to come.

When my twin finally arrived as part of the healers to clean up the mess, we could finally leave. Darren wasted no time in taking off.

Paige remained behind with me. I prepared for the look of outrage when Alex took in the scene before us—a beaten knight and the sister with his blood coating her fists.

Even Paige had to flinch and look away.

But all I saw was grief when Alex’s gaze met my own. And pity. He didn’t say anything as Paige stood nearby, supervising the healing. We needed the rebel “fit to travel but nothing more.” My twin’s expression was far better than I deserved.

I wondered what he would say now that he could see the price of my choice, the price of all of our choices in siding with the rebel cause.

I waited until Nyx knocked on the door, conferring the results of that night’s interrogation and distracting Paige for the moment I needed. “I am…” My breath hitched and I couldn’t speak.

The knight shifted against my brother’s casting, and his fingers touched my wrist. I started against the movement, and my eyes shot to Tallus’s face.

“D-don’t b-be s-sorry.” The words were crumbled and bare. “S-save u-us a-all.”

My brother placed his hand on top of Tallus’s and my own. “You aren’t alone.” His gaze conveyed everything he was too afraid to speak aloud.

I swallowed, my throat raw. My eyes stung from fighting so many tears. When did I become the villain of my own tale? Why should anyone place so much faith in a girl as flawed as me?

“I promise.” Could I honor that vow? Or would it—and all our dreams—go up in smoke the moment the lies fell away?





6





“It shouldn’t be you.” Ella’s beautiful face was splotchy and stained. “It shouldn’t be you, Ry.”

Darren and the rest of our guards were waiting by the horses while I said my good-byes. Alex stood next to his wife, clenching and unclenching his fists. He refused to say anything. He just gripped me tightly, his heart beating heavily against my own. Now that the rebel was healed enough to make the two-week trek to the palace, the Black Mage’s procession would be on its way.

I knew Alex regretted how fast things had come to an end and that he wanted to say more, do more—make amends. We’d shared two meals since Sir Maxon’s squad arrived, a bit of venison stew and then cold porridge the following morning, but there had been no opportunity to slip away. Not after Tallus. And now I was leaving. If looks could convey a word, then there was a story writing itself.

Some foolhardy part of me had hoped, upon hearing Darren’s plan for the keep weeks back at the palace, that I’d have the entire stay with my twin and his wife. But fate had a mind of its own.