Page 172 of The Bone Season

‘Perhaps something of a lieutenant.’

‘Yes. I was his enforcer, his debt collector, his weapon.’ I raised a hand to the gauze and padding at my side. ‘The Red Vision – the oracle – stabbed me here to punish my insolence, not knowing who I was. It wasn’t to kill me. This was a precise stab, meant to nick my liver.’

‘It did.’

I nodded. ‘I’d either have to bleed to death, or go to hospital, risking arrest.’

‘Have you done this to anyone?’

‘I haven’t stabbed anyone yet. That’s not to say I haven’t made threats.’

‘I believe you are trying to make a point, Paige.’

‘You wanted to know who I am. I’m telling you.’

‘The Pale Dreamer is not all you are.’

‘But she is part of me. I won’t deny it.’

Warden detached me from the drip. I watched his hands, their gentle precision.

‘I never did understand why you all wear those gloves.’ I said it with a thin smile. ‘What do you think is going to happen if you touch a human?’

‘It is her ruling, not mine.’

‘And you disagree with the way she runs things, even though she’s your consort, your sovereign. I think you’ve disagreed with her for a long time.’

‘Perhaps it is you who will sit in judgement of me,’ Warden said. ‘You do not understand why I would choose her as my consort. Is that not so?’

‘Yes.’

‘Then perhaps you should ask yourself if I did.’

Just as he started to let go of my hand, I grasped his wrist, keeping him where he was. He could have broken my grip with ease, but he stilled.

‘I’ve told you who I am,’ I said. ‘You gave me your word that if I came back, you would tell me the truth. Are you one of the scarred ones?’

Warden glanced at my hand on his wrist. He lifted his gaze to my face, and I knew.

‘Yes.’

I nodded. ‘And the symbol?’

‘The amaranth, a flower that grows only in the Netherworld. Its history extends to the time before we came here. Now it is a forbidden symbol of rebellion,’ he said. ‘A rejection of Sargas rule.’

‘And you still keep it here.’

‘A small reminder of who I once was.’

‘Do you want to be that person again?’

‘What if I did, Pale Dreamer?’

‘Then you would have to be careful. You tried to overthrow her, but one human betrayed your plans. That must have left more than physical scars. I imagine you lost your faith in humanity for a while. It’s why you looked so angry when I blackmailed you. You saw a shadow of the human who fucked you over.’

Warden looked into my eyes.

‘Perhaps,’ he said, ‘you do not lack perspicacity after all, Paige Mahoney.’

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