Page 128 of The Twisted Throne

Before Ahnna could answer, Alexandra lifted the knife she’d stolen and stabbed it down.

Through her own left hand.

Barely able to comprehend what was happening, Ahnna watched in horror as the queen slid the knife free of her flesh and then, without hesitation, shoved it through her own cheek.

“Stop!” Ahnna reached for her. “What are you doing?”

Alexandra only stepped back, took a deep breath, and plunged the knife just below her belly button.

And then she screamed.

Shrill and desperate, she howled, “Help me!”

“Oh God,” Ahnna breathed, catching Alexandra as she fell into her arms. Alexandra’s hands locked around her neck, pulling Ahnna’s ear to her mouth. Then the queen of Harendell whispered, “Run.”

More screams split the night. Shrill and piercing, they echoed through Verwyrd. “Assassin! Assassin!” And then, worst of all, “The king is dead!”

Guards exploded around the corner, and at their head was James. He slid to a stop, eyes widening, and Ahnna knew exactly how it looked. Because it was exactly as Alexandra had planned.

“Help me,” the queen sobbed, trying to push out of Ahnna’s arms. “Help me, Jamie.”

“I didn’t do this,” Ahnna said, allowing Alexandra to crawl away. “She did it to herself. James, you know I didn’t do this.”

A soldier appeared around the corner. “The king is dead, my lord! Murdered in his bed by assassins unknown…” His voice trailed off as his eyes landed on Ahnna.

“Edward!” Alexandra howled. “Oh God, she killed him!”

“It’s not true,” Ahnna protested, even as she saw how damning her position appeared. “On my life, I have not done any of this!”

James drew his sword. “You killed my father.”

“I didn’t.” She lifted her hands. They were covered with blood. “James—”

“Don’t,” he whispered.

If you come near me again, if any of you come near me again, I’ll kill you all. I swear it.Her last words to him filled Ahnna’s head, and she knew James was hearing them again, too.

Scrambling to her feet, Ahnna took several rapid steps back. “I didn’t do this. You know me. You know I wouldn’t do this.”

But she could see in his eyes that James was past reason, so deep in grief and anger that there was nothing else. The queen of Harendell was framing her. And Alexandra had picked her moment well.

Run.

Spinning around, Ahnna broke into a sprint, her boots pounding on the thick carpet. But not as loudly as James’s as he pursued, shouting orders to secure the palace and lower the gates.

The gates that were the only way out of this palace in the sky. Which meant she needed to get to them before those taking the orders.

Adrenaline burned through Ahnna’s veins as she rounded the curved hallway, elbowing past those who’d spilled into the corridor.

“Stop her!” James shouted, but everyone saw Alexandra’s blood on her clothes and recoiled in fear. The door to a servant staircase appeared ahead, and Ahnna wrenched it open. Only for a hand to close on her tunic, ripping her backward.

She fell into James hard enough that he stumbled. Ahnna letherself fall, her weight pulling her clothing free of his grip. Rolling, she lunged to her feet, feeling his fingers catch at her sleeve.

But she had already thrown herself down the stairs, leaping all eight of them to hit the landing. She nearly fell, catching her balance against the wall, her left wrist jamming hard.

Ahnna ignored the pain and jumped down the next eight.

The door at the bottom was closed, and with James on her heels, she didn’t try to open it, only cut right down the narrow passage until she reached another door. Ripping it open, she exploded into the kitchen, crashing into screaming servants.

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