Page 118 of Between Wrath and Mercy

“Oh, I do. Lavenia and I live a bit closer to the plains than Rainier does. We own quite a bit of the land the farmers care for, and our duty is to protect and help provide for them. Though, it doesn’t often feel like a responsibility because we enjoy doing it. We’ve been chasing her brother all over creation, but I’m eager to finally go home and relax. I’ll make a farmer out of Ven yet.” I laughed, imagining Lavenia in her outfit from the night before, digging potatoes out of the ground. “Something tells me you’re not asking out of pure curiosity. Does this have to do with the ring I saw?”

I could hear his smile as he spoke, and I chuckled, leaning against him. “You’re smarter than you look.”

“You’re not.” We both started laughing, and it took me a moment to stop.

“I hadn’t said yes when you saw it at lunch. I wasn’t sure what I was getting myself into—if I could be a good queen, or if it was something I’d even want to do. I don’t think I could get away with refusing a title, considering he will be king.”

“But you’ve said yes since then?”

“I have.”

“What changed?”

“Seeing firsthand how much better Rain and I would be.”

“Oh yes, queens who throw blades and ask questions later are a prime example of confident leadership.” He elbowed me, and I snorted. I knew he was joking but still felt like I needed to defend myself.

“Itwasa lapse in judgment—I’ll give you that. Rain is so much better than his father, though. I only have to do just as well as his mother, and Vesta still improves.” He grunted in agreement, and we sat in silence for a while.

“Lucia felt a lot like you do. She was afraid she wouldn’t be a good queen. I think the fear of disappointing your people or being good enough is part of what makes people good leaders. Soren is old and doesn’t give a damn. He sure as hell doesn’t care if he’s a good leader. But a healthy fear makes us better, makes us work harder. Lucia would have made a good queen, and so will you.”

“Thank you, Dewalt, truly.”

We sat in silence for a while before Dewalt locked me back in my cage and left. I could hear the rumble again in the ground, vibrating in my chest. I knew it was because Rain was distressed and having a hard time keeping his divinity in check, but the feeling brought me comfort enough to sleep.

Minutesorhourslater, I couldn’t be sure, I heard the telltale sound of someone about to enter my cell, and I sat up. Dewalt had brought me a blanket, and I threw it off me, ready to see whoever was coming to visit me, hoping it was Rain.

It was not Rain.

In the dim lighting, I couldn’t see her face. She was slim with long, flowing hair, and she stood a bit shorter than I did.

“Hello?”

“I’ve heard you’re headed to the gallows.” I didn’t recognize her voice, a strange lilt to it I couldn’t quite place. “So, this trip might be a waste, but it’s important to send this message.”

“What are you talking about? Who are you?”

She strode toward me, her movements oddly graceful.

“I am Keeva. Youngest of the Nine—and the most deadly, or so has been said.”

I stepped farther back into my cell. I knew she couldn’t have been thrilled with the broken betrothal, but I couldn’t control Rain’s actions. How had she gotten the key to my cell?

“You’re fatter than I thought you’d be.” I snorted. What was this woman playing at? A jilted ex-lover? Rain had told me there was no love between them. “I would have thought the woman to win the elusive prince’s heart would have been extraordinary. To oust one of the Nine, surely you would have to be a woman of exceptional beauty or power, yet you seem to be neither.”

I laughed dryly, not sure what she wanted from me. “You're right—my divinity is not impressive. Though, the prince does tell me I am beautiful. I wonder if that says more about you than it does about me.”

A low growl, unsuited for her slight frame, came from her as she advanced toward me. “I do not understand it. We would have been greatness, and instead, he chose to make me an enemy.” Her approach toward me was slow and unsettling.

“He harbors no ill will toward you. Why would you be enemies?” I knew Nythyr had opened their pass, already forgoing the alliance, but still. Was the broken engagement that insulting?

“Why wouldn’t we be?” She tilted her head, and a second later, blinding pain tore through my right leg at the shin. I collapsed to the ground, a scream and a curse on my lips. Reaching down, I felt my leg and nearly vomited. My bone was poking through my skin, and she hadn’t even touched me. “He will learn.”

I shrieked as the pain mirrored itself on my other leg, high on the thigh this time, and I knew if I reached down, I’d find bone once more. I was screaming and sobbing, unable to form words. No one was going to hear me, and this woman was going to murder me. Dewalt had been right; I was going to die at her hands. She stepped closer again, and she kicked my leg out of her way to approach. The piercing throb flowing through me tore a garbled wail out of my throat, and my vision was white with agony.

She stood over me and spat, her hair hanging down and brushing against my face. I did the only thing I could think of and grabbed onto it, hauling her downward with my remaining strength. She fought me, rearing back, but I held on, grip tight in her silky hair. She was surprised, unprepared for me to fight back, likely the only reason she didn’t snap more of my bones in that instant. I could tell I was about to pass out from the pain and, based on how wet I felt, blood loss. Perhaps she'd nicked an artery with a shred of my bone. I was going to die, but I wouldn’t die alone. I shoved my hand around her throat and squeezed, focusing on her already fast heartbeat and speeding it up. She put her weight on one of my broken legs, and I screamed, the pain about to push me over the edge of consciousness. She was panting as her heart rocketed, and she collapsed. I kept my hands on her until I heard it, the overbearing silence that came after a heart beat fast enough to stop it for good. This wasn’t like the tírrúil—I didn’t just knock her out. I killed her as I had Faxon.

I didn’t have the strength to roll her off me, but I used my remaining moments of consciousness to send whatever divinity I could muster to that artery. If I could just stop the bleeding, I would deal with the rest later. I was glad for the dark to claim me, hoping the pain wouldn’t follow me there.

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