Page 103 of Lady of the Lake

Genivieve smiles at me. “See? Even the mongrel gets it.”

So, this is it? My grand exit—cornered by a couple of pimply boy sadists and a basic bitch?

“But…” Fake-posh says ponderously. “The Seneschal said?—”

“He’s wrong,” she interrupts him. “He’s banking on Raphael giving up and letting his ex rot in a dungeon. Which, fair enough, he should. But no—apparently, she gave him a few mind-shattering blowjobs, because he’s not letting it go. He’s already sniffing around for us.”

A flicker of hope blooms, then quickly dies within me. Even if Raphael is looking for me, he’ll never find us in the vast network of winding hallways in Avalon Tower. That’s why Genivieve dragged me in here.

“It’s easier this way,” Genivieve says, taking a step toward me. “We tell them she tried to escape. She used her magic, the naughty thing.Diametricmagic. Wehadto kill her, there was no other way.”

I can’t break myself out of their grip.

“I must admit, I’ve fantasized about this moment for quite a while, Nia,” Genivieve says, “and it feels just as wonderful as I’d imagined?—”

Someone slams into her, knocking her to the floor. It takes me a moment to recognize Darius, gods love him, and then another immense figure steps out of the shadows. Serana glares at the humans, an axe in both hands.

The lackeys drop their grip on me, and I slump to the floor. I hit my head on the flagstones, and the world goes dark for a few seconds. I drag myself over to a wall, listening to the sounds of metal clashing against metal. The clanging blades blend with screams, and the smell of blood hangs in the air, so thick it coats my tongue.

“Nia?” Serana wraps her hands around me. “Are you okay?”

Darius sheathes his sword and reaches into his pocket for something.

“Asthma,” I mumble.

“Yeah, we noticed.” Darius shoves an inhaler into my face, knocking the plastic vial against my teeth. “Sorry, sorry.” He sounds frantic with worry. “Are you okay? Nia. Can you breathe?”

He curls his hand around the back of my head and pushes down on the inhaler twice. I suck in the albuterol, coughing a few times as the medicine fills my lungs.

Thank thegodsfor my friends. If I survive this, it’ll be because of them.

“I’m okay,” I rasp. “Thank you.”

Serana wraps her arm around my waist and drags me to my feet. I still feel like shit, but at least I can breathe again.

I look around me. There’s blood everywhere, pooling on the old stones. Two Iron Legion corpses and Genivieve just beyond them, her head nearly severed from her body.

I lean into Serana as we walk away from them. “How did you find me?”

“Tana told us where you were,” Serana says, “and Raphael was frantic. We could all hear you wheezing, so we grabbed your inhaler and ran after you. Raphael is searching for you, too.”

“Where’s Tana?” I ask.

“Waiting for us at the docks,” says Darius. “She said if we go through the east end of Camelot, the Iron Legion won’t find us.”

My mind is spiraling. “And where are we going from the docks?”

“Wearen’t going anywhere,” Serana says. “The other demi-Fey need us here. But you have to disappear. Tana said that if you don’t leave Camelot within an hour, you’ll die.”

“And the rest of Avalon Tower will follow,” Darius adds.

“You can’t stay here, either,” I say. “Wrythe engineered a plague to kill us all.”

“What are youtalkingabout?” Darius asks.

“That’s the weapon in Merlin’s Tower,” I rasp. “It’s a biological weapon that targets Fey and demi-Fey. The Pendragons want to destroy us all. I’m mildly infected already, but demi-Fey can’t spread it, though we can catch it. He’s going to unleash it on Brocéliande, then into Europe. It will kill all the magical creatures. I got a teeny whiff of it, and I feel like death.”

Serana and Darius are stunned into silence. Finally, Serana says, “We’ll tell Raphael and Amon. We’ll find Nivene. We’ll find a way to stop this. But you need to get the fuck out of here, because they’ll make an example of you.”

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