A Vow So Bold and Deadly (Cursebreakers, #3)(85)

“Indeed.” The scraver looks at me. “Where did you get this?”

Noah sighs and seizes a roll of muslin from a supply table. “At least I can be useful with this.”

Grey glares at Iisak. “Surely you could have made a smaller example.”

But the scraver is still looking at me. The room temperature seems to drop by fifteen degrees, and I shiver. “Tell me, Princess.” The words edge out with a low growl. “Where did you get this?”

The tension in the room has doubled.

“From Rhen,” I say quietly. “He bought it.”

“From whom?” says Lia Mara.

I hesitate—but Rhen has already lost. I am here. “From a spy,” I whisper.

“A spy!” cries Nolla Verin. She storms across the room. “What spy? What have you—”

“Enough.” Lia Mara’s voice is quiet but strong. “What is the name of this spy?”

“Chesleigh Darington,” I say. “She says her family was killed by Karis Luran. She was able to move among your people.” I hesitate again. “She said there were people in Syhl Shallow who plotted against the throne, that there was a faction against magic that had gathered artifacts.”

Grey and Lia Mara exchange a glance, and I swallow.

“She’s dead,” I whisper. “Lilith killed everyone in the castle—and she was there that night. She would have been among them.”

The room is absolutely silent for the longest time, unbroken until Noah lifts the muslin from the back of Grey’s hand and says, “You’ll need stitches. I’ll get a needle.”

Grey sighs and gives Iisak a withering look again.

Lia Mara’s gaze has turned more appraising. “Tell me more about this enchantress. Do you truly think she will stop with Emberfall?”

“She resents Rhen for his family’s role in destroying her people,” says Grey.

“Syhl Shallow had a role as well,” says Iisak. “The magesmiths would not have been forced to find refuge in Emberfall if they had been welcome here.” He pauses, peering at me, and another cold lick of wind whispers against my cheek. “Why did you think I was an enchantment?”

Literally nothing about my arrival here has gone the way I expected it to. But maybe I needed to shatter my expectations before I could start over. “Because of what she did to Rhen,” I whisper. “Because of what she did to me.” I glance at Grey. “Because of what she did to you.”

He says nothing. His gaze is heavy.

“You know what she’s doing to him,” I say. “You remember. I know you do.” My voice breaks. We were so close to some kind of … something before the scraver walked in here, and I wish I could reverse time to that moment. “Please, Grey. I know I have nothing to offer. No kingdom, no alliance. But please. You have to help me save him. Please.”

None of them look like they want to help me. None of them even look sympathetic. Scary Grey is in full effect. Jake is stoic and impassive—it’s no secret how he feels about Rhen.

“I once begged him for mercy, too,” says Grey.

“So did I,” says Tycho, and his voice is quiet but strong.

That hits me like a dart to the chest. I know they did. I remember. I probably have no right to ask Grey for anything on Rhen’s behalf.

“What does she want?” says Lia Mara. “This enchantress.”

“She wants to rule Emberfall,” I say. “She wants to force Rhen to stand at her side while she does it.”

“And why is she so cruel?”

The question forces me still. “Does it matter? Why is anyone cruel?”

“There is always a reason,” says Lia Mara. “And if she intends to set herself as my adversary in your stead, I believe it to be relevant.” She comes to stand beside Grey. When she looks up at him, he looks back at her, and his expression changes, softening.

I expect her to ask if Lilith will be a threat to her country, or whether it’s worth exploiting Rhen’s sudden weakness to take advantage.

Instead, Lia Mara reaches out to take his hand, and his fingers curl around hers so gently that it’s almost as incongruous as the scraver picking up the kitten.

Lia Mara says, “He is your brother, Grey.” Her voice is so quiet. “Do you want to save him?”

Grey hesitates, then looks at me. “Why did he buy that dagger from a spy?”

I hear what he’s asking. Did Rhen buy it to use against me? Or did he buy it to use against Lilith?

I’m not sure what to say.

I’m not sure he needs me to say it.

“This was war,” I whisper.

His jaw tightens, and Grey takes the dagger and shoves it into his belt. He looks back at Lia Mara, then to the waiting soldiers, including my brother. “Lilith will not stop with Rhen,” he says. “She must know Syhl Shallow was planning to attack. She may have no interest in war, but she has plenty of interest in conflict. Rhen would have tried to spare his soldiers, to mount a defense with the least loss of human life.” Another pause. “Lilith will not care. She will force him to send soldier after soldier into battle, until they’re all dead. His and ours.”

“Do you think you can stop her?” Lia Mara says.

Grey looks at Iisak. “We can try.”