Rise (The Order of the Krigers #1)(51)

Beads of sweat covered his forehead, and his breathing became labored. He stopped talking and released me. Swaying, he slowly stood and stumbled over to the fireplace where he knelt on the ground, his back to me.

I sat up, not a single ache in my body. “Why did you do that?” He’d just spent hours torturing me.

Morlet didn’t respond. His body shook as he pointed to the nearby chair where a small pile of clothes sat neatly folded. “You can change in there.” His head nodded toward a door.

After picking up the clothes, I opened the door and discovered a large washroom. A small bathing pool filled one side of the room, and a dressing area took up the other. I peeled off my disgusting clothes and climbed into the warm water. All the sweat, dirt, and grime washed away. I stayed in there for several minutes, relaxing in the luxurious bath.

Finally, I got out and dressed in the clothes Morlet had provided—black pants and a plain tunic. I combed my hair, wishing it were still long so I could twist it back into a bun off my face.

Rolling my shoulders back, I steeled my resolve. This was my last opportunity to escape. Back in the bedchamber, Morlet hadn’t moved an inch. Seeing him there, exposed and defeated, pulled at my heart.

Against my better judgment, I asked, “Are you all right?” Most likely, he’d depleted himself healing me.

“I’m fine. Just tired. The warmth helps.”

Squatting next to him, I had no idea what else to say. One second he was inflicting pain, and the next he was helping me. “I don’t understand you.”

A small smile spread across his face. “Neither do I.” His shoulders slumped. “Kaia, I have to kill you.”

“Then why did you bother using your magic to heal me?”

“I don’t know,” he mumbled. “I couldn’t stand to see you hurt.” He wouldn’t look at me.

I stood and prepared to kick him so I could make a run for it. His arm shot out, and he grabbed my ankle, yanking it hard. I tumbled to the ground, stunned.

“Don’t make me regret it.” He jumped to his feet, pulling me up with him. “Go to sleep. I’ll let you know when it’s time to leave for the tower.”

So much for my great escape.

***

Morlet gingerly shook my shoulder, waking me. “Let’s go.”

Getting out of bed, I stretched. Morlet looked vastly different without his cape on. He transformed from a villain into an utterly handsome and regal man. However, there was still a dark sadness hovering around the edges.

“You’re staring,” Morlet said taking a tentative step toward me. It felt slightly invasive, almost too close, but I didn’t move away. His bright eyes studied me. Not wanting to be sucked into a spell, I tried to focus on him without actually looking directly into his eyes.

“I never thought the last Kriger would be a girl,” he said, his voice gruff.

I raised my eyebrows. “You have got to be kidding.” He sounded like Anders and Vidar. “What has you so upset isn’t the fact that you’re going to slaughter twelve innocent people, but that one of them happens to be a girl?” I wanted to wrap my hands around his neck and squeeze.

A sly grin spread across his lips. “What I mean is that I’m sorry it’s you.”

“You should be sorry you’re murdering people.”

“I’ve killed so many over the last hundred years that it hardly affects me anymore.” He went to the chair where his cape lay. “I imagined being happy when I reached the end. But … something doesn’t feel right.”

“Maybe you should be the one to die instead of the twelve of us. Have you ever considered that?”

He slid the cape around his shoulders and pulled the hood over his head, concealing his face once again.

I forged on, “Once you kill us, the magic returns to Skog Heks. Is that what you want?”

“What I want?” He bitterly laughed, the sound dark and foreboding. “I want the curse to be over. I don’t care how, so long as it ends.”

What would happen if the Krigers managed to kill Morlet? Would the magic die with him? Would Nelebek be free from Skog Heks? If so, how was that possible if everything had to be in balance?

“This predicament I’m in? It’s all Skog Heks’s fault, and yet, I’m the one who has to kill.” He reached his hand out, placing his palm against my cheek. I wanted to move away, but something kept me rooted in place. “I had no idea she planned to kill my family in order to put me on the throne.” Morlet’s other hand came up, cupping my cheek. “Do you know she planned it the entire time? She wanted to rule through me.”

His hands shook. He released me and took a step back. “Do you have any idea what it’s like to see your family slaughtered like pigs? In my brother’s room, there was blood splattered everywhere. My mother’s throat had been slit. My father stabbed in the heart.”

I couldn’t imagine seeing my father murdered. “Do you know who Skog Heks hired to kill the royal family?”

“No.” Is that how Anders was tied into all of this? Was he the assassin who murdered them? The thought made me sick.

“Skog Heks had to know when she used her magic to control you in order to rule Nelebek that the balance of power would be off, and she’d never succeed.”