Page 45 of Lady of the Lake

I lunge past her and sprint down the hall, moving faster than ever, my wrists tingling with cold magic. If Maertisa cries for help, I’m fucked. If she runs to find her brother, I’m done for, too.

I glance over my shoulder. She’s barreling after me, her face twisted with rage. I’m leading her away from the banquet now. All I need is to buy a little time.

Adrenaline surges through me, pushing me faster, harder, as I dart up the stairs. I hope the palace’s top floor will be empty of staff and guards. I leap up the stairs two at a time and look back at the top of the stairway. My gut sinks. Despite the broken nose, she’s catching up quickly, and now she’s only a few feet away.

I crash through a nearby door and into what looks like a room in the servants’ quarters. Hurrying to the edge of the room,I whirl to face her. My back to the wall, I hold my blade in front of me, catching my breath.

Maertisa steps into the room, her eyes bright. Her face is smeared with blood, her teeth bared in a snarl. She looks absolutely horrifying. “Now.” She spits blood on the floor. “We’re going to have some fun, you and I. Break some of those dainty little fingers. Perhaps I’ll cut off your ears and see if they’re fake. And then…” Her jaw goes slack, and she shakes her head. “And then…” She stumbles against a bedpost, her gaze unfocused.

“Something wrong, Maertisa?” I ask.

“I’ll cut off your ears.” She slumps, her features slackening.

“You already said that.” A slow smile curls my lips, and I raise my blade, still bloody from where I cut her. “Ever heard of aconite? It’s a poison, deadly for humans and Fey alike. And it’s running through your blood right now.”

Her eyes widen, and the blood drains from her face. “You bitch.”

“When last we met, you took Raphael away. He was imprisoned and tortured for months.”

I don’t even know if she can hear me anymore. She looks about to drop. The knife in her hand clatters to the floor.

“This is for him.” I lunge forward and plunge my dagger into her gut, twisting it.

She stares at me, her features contorted with horror. Her jaw falls, and she hunches over, grabbing hear lacerated stomach. A crimson drop of blood falls from her lips.

“Vidal,” she whispers. She collapses to the floor, her muscles going slack.

I let out a shuddering breath, my knife dripping with her blood and my heartbeat roaring in my ears.

Catching my breath, I turn toward the doorway.

Talan leans against the doorframe, his arms folded over his broad chest. His dark eyes burn with molten copper rings as he stares at me.

CHAPTER 21

He prowls into the room, his gaze sweeping from Maertisa’s body to me.

“What happened here?” His low voice carries a hint of steel.

“Arwenna sent an assassin,” I say. “I’m sure Eithne helped her find me. I told you she wasn’t over you. Neither of them is. You’ve got obsessed ex-lovers crawling all over this kingdom.”

Talan glances again at the body, and then his gaze meets mine. “I leave you alone for two minutes, and you wander off to start murdering warriors.”

I shrug. “I have a lot of enemies, apparently.”

“Maertisa is one of the strongest warriors in our kingdom. You’re lucky she came alone. Usually, she’s inseparable from her brother. How did you manage to kill her, exactly?”

His eyes narrow, and I suspect he can already smell the aconite. His Fey senses are sharper than mine, and he’s trying to catch me in a lie.

I heave a sigh. “I didn’t have all the guards you gave me in Perillos, and I knew you couldn’t protect me while you were busy with your magic. So, before I left, I dipped the dagger in oneof Aedan’s poisons. With the way Eithne was looking at me, I figured I might need it. Turns out I was right.”

His gaze sharpens on my arm. “And this is where playing with knives gets you. You’re injured, too.”

With the adrenaline fading, I almost forgot my own injury. Blood pours from a gash in my arm, staining my delicate dress. The moment I look at it, the pain hits, sharp and fast. “Yeah, she managed to cut me pretty badly.”

“Let me heal you.”

“Not here,” I say. “Take me back home. I don’t feel safe here.” I want to get out of here before her brother identifies me. “What happened with Lord Aedan? Did you finish?”

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