A Vow So Bold and Deadly (Cursebreakers, #3)(96)

“I want to breach,” says Harper.

I inhale to answer, and she rushes on. “I’m going, Grey. I’m not helpless. I’m not powerless. But she took him from me twice now, and if you’re not going to save him, then I’m going to—”

“Fine,” I say.

She clamps her mouth shut. Then, “Oh.”

I look at Solt. “Pick your soldiers to stand sentry and give the others to Jake. I only need one with me.”

“Yes, Your Highness.” His eyes are flinty. He turns his head. “Recruit,” he barks. “You’re breaching the castle.”

Tycho rides forward. His eyes are wide, some combination of hopeful and worried. “Yes, sir.”

I’m not sure what to say.

This feels like an insult, like a threat. But I did tell Solt to pick.

And Tycho stopped the assault the other day.

I think of my conversation with Noah, when he said, He’s only fifteen.

And my cavalier response. When I was fifteen, I was running my family’s farm.

And how did that turn out, Grey?

My family’s farm failed. I failed.

I don’t want Tycho to fail.

I imagine him facing Lilith. I remember when I was arrested at Worwick’s Tourney, how Tycho tried to save me, and Dustan caught him by the neck and choked him until I yielded. Tycho flailed like a fish on a hook.

But yesterday, he held a bow like it was an extension of his arm. He did not flinch in the face of violence. I’ll cover you, he said, and he did, giving me time to use magic.

I put out a hand. “Well chosen.”

Tycho blushes, but he reaches out and clasps my hand in his own.

I give him a nod, then look at the others. “I don’t want to lose the darkness. Let’s find a place to tether the horses.”





CHAPTER FORTY-ONE

RHEN

I haven’t slept in days.

Maybe weeks.

The night sky is full of stars outside my window, the same stars I’ve watched forever. I didn’t realize how lucky I was that Grey remained with me for every day of the curse, because this loneliness, this isolation, is profound. The castle has never been so silent, so dark, so cold.

I can see a bare reflection of my face in the window, the ruination of my eye, my cheek, more clear than I’d like, but I no longer care. I wish she’d taken them both.

“You should adorn yourself in armor,” says Lilith. I don’t know how long she’s been here, but she’s grown frustrated with me. Instead of lightly cajoling or downright mocking, she now speaks to me through clenched teeth, with fire in her voice.

It likely has something to do with my steadfast refusal to cater to her whims any longer. I don’t move from the window. “Wear it yourself.”

“Soldiers from Syhl Shallow will invade in minutes.”

“In minutes?” I say without moving. “Has war found me at last?”

“I have brought your sword, Your Highness.” The reflection of the weapon glints in the window. “Do you not want to defend yourself?”

“No.”

“You have two regiments stationed alongside the castle, yet you will not rise up to lead them?”

I turn and face her. “If you want them led, lead them yourself.”

She glares at me for a long moment. Then she huffs. “You wish for me to face Grey myself? Very well.” She lifts the sword, laying the blade along her shoulder.

“Wait.” The word is wrenched from me, and it causes me pain to speak it.

Grey. Grey is here.

I’m terrified. I’m relieved. My chest is so tight, my heart pounding so fast. Every beat seems to pulse his name. Grey. Grey. Grey. He is my enemy. He is my brother. He is here. Here. I can’t breathe.

“He’s here to kill you,” she hisses.

Yes. Yes, of course he is.

This is war.

“He will come,” she whispers, “and he will draw his sword, and he will try to take everything that is yours with the edge of his blade.”

Fear spirals through my gut, until I worry I will never breathe again. “You have taken everything that is mine.”

“Not yet.” She runs a finger along the edge of the sword, and blood wells up. “Think of your people, Your Highness. I could bring you the head of every single soldier who has sworn to protect you.”

I stare at that line of blood. Not yet. She’s right. She hasn’t taken everything.

Grey is here.

To kill me.

“Think of all the bodies you can drag, Your Highness.”

My eyes close. I draw a shuddering breath.

“Grey is here to take your throne,” Lilith says. “If he is victorious, I will simply kill each of your subjects, one by one, while you watch. While their former prince looks on. Each child. Each parent. Each woman. Each man. Limb from limb. Sinew by sinew.”

I flinch.

Once again, she threatens the downfall of my entire kingdom, while soldiers from Syhl Shallow are banging on my door, threatening war.

Only this time, I’m alone. Harper is gone. Grey is my enemy.

I draw a long breath. My head is pounding, and my chest aches.

But I reach for the sword.



My boots strike the marble floor, echoing through the empty hallways.