Page 147 of Slaying the Vampire Conqueror

“Yes.”

“It’s nothing special to look at. But when I wielded it, I could tell that it was magically enhanced.” He flipped it in one smooth movement, grabbing it by the hilt. “Well made. Deadly. Which was fortunate.”

Deadly enough to take off the Sightmother’s head with just a few strokes. Fortunate indeed.

“TheArachessen take their jobs seriously,” I said. “It had to be good enough to kill quickly.”

“Kill a vampire warrior quickly.”

I was prepared for this, I told myself.

I knew it was going to hurt.

I blinked behind my blindfold, ignoring the faint prickling. “Yes.”

I wouldn’t defend myself. Wouldn’t explain. What could I say to him? He had already seen the truth.

From the moment I had disobeyed the Sightmother’s orders, I was ready to die for it. I preferred that it would be by his hand.

He stood up, and I did the same, bracing against a wave of dizziness that greeted me with the movement.

His brow rose, looking me up and down, and I answered his unasked question with, “I prefer to meet death standing up.”

Another flippant echo of our first meeting. But this time, I had to say it past a lump in my throat.

He scoffed, turning the dagger in his hands again. “You think I’m going to kill you.”

“Yes,” I murmured. “I do.”

“Do you know how long you’ve been asleep?”

I shook my head.

“Two days. Two very busy days. And yet, as I was clearing the Salt Keep and claiming the palace and solidifying my hold over this kingdom, do you know what I was thinking about?” He paused, like he expected me to answer. When I didn’t, he said, “I was thinking aboutyou. Your lies. Your betrayal.” His gaze lowered to the blade. “I was thinking about this dagger.”

Then those eyes speared me right through the chest, deadlier than any blessed weapon.

“And I thought about how you had used it,” he said. “To protect your people and mine. To save my life. To slay your kingdom’s tyrant.” He dropped the knife to his side, knuckles white around the hilt. His words were rougher now, like they bubbled up from somewhere deep inside himself. “I thought about killing you for the crime of carrying a dagger you did not use. And I decided I couldn’t. I told myself a million reasons why, but the truth is one I didn’t want to admit.”

My throat was so tight,I felt like I couldn’t breathe. My heartbeat hammered against the inside of my ribs as he stepped closer, his stare fire.

“I cannot kill you because I know you, Vivi. I know every moment you lied to me, because I know every moment you told the truth. I know your truth. I can’t ignore it. Even though it would be far easier if I could.”

Weaver, I was prepared for death.Wanteddeath, compared to this—compared to the way every word he spoke drove another strike through the most vulnerable parts of my heart.

I felt each one deep inside myself. So terrifyingly true that every instinct told me to run.

I said, voice raw, “There is nothing I can say to erase what I did.”

“I don’t need your words.”

He was so close now I felt his breath on my face. Felt that truth on my skin.

“So show me,” he murmured. A command. A plea. Somehow both giving and taking, in equal measure. “Show me I’m right.”

It went against everything I had always been. I wanted to cower from it. Wanted to hide.

Instead, when Atrius’s hand rose to my face, I reached to the back of my head and untied my blindfold.

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