Page 166 of Severed Heir

“Not in front of every heir,” Sorpine snapped.

“Then we take her to second base camp,” Callum said. “If the Forgotten uncover we are keeping a necromancer alive, who knows what the hell they will do. We need to kill her.”

Sorpine’s shoulders tensed. “She stays alive. Release her dragon. We are not animals who torture.”

Sorpine may have saved my life. But what the hell was second base camp?

“Keep the bond open,” Damien whispered. “You’ve done nothing wrong. Lie if you must. But don’t shut me out. Not now.”

I wanted to. I hated needing him, but I needed an anchor to the world outside of where they were taking me.

“Find your will”,Damien urged. “Fight your flame. Burn through it. You’re the heir of Demetria, Severyn. You’ve got enough anger tofuel a war. Use it.”

Chapter Thirty

The cabin they led me to at second base camp was dark and damp, the stench of rot clinging to the air like a low-hanging fog. My wrists throbbed beneath the restraints, the cold metal biting deeper with every movement. But Kian stayed close, and I was quietly grateful he’d all but forced Warden Sorpine to let him come.

“Now would be a great time to tell me where I am,” I hissed at Callum, gagging on the thick, metallic stench that clung to the air like decay.

Kian reeled back, bracing himself against the damp stone wall. “What is that smell?”

Callum didn’t answer. Instead, he gave a sharp nod. “Light the room and you’ll see.”

Kian lifted his hand, and with a flick of his fingers, twelve lanterns flared to life in synchronized bursts of starlight. At the far end of the room stood two caskets, wooden and iron-bound. My chains loosened with a faint clink, but the chill trailing down my spine only sank deeper. Where the hell were we?

And why were there caskets.

Kian’s breath caught. “What’s in them?”

“Not what,” Callum said, “but who.” Then he moved toward the caskets and lifted both lids. “Malachi Herring,” he said quietly. “And the remains of Klaus Blanche.”

Klaus and Malachi.

Klaus lay inside, pale and still, crudely stitched together like someone had flayed him and sewn the pieces back wrong. His face was familiar, but warped, like a painting ruined by water. A jagged gash split his throat, the edges blackened and rotting.

Familiarity curdled into horror. I knew that wound. A ripper beast had once taken his form, wearing his skin like a mask. Damien had made that cut, slicing him down before the creature could reach me.

Then I saw that Malachi had a wound near her heart. Someone had stabbed her. Someone had killed her.

“Why are they here?” I asked, the words scraping past the nausea rising in my throat.

Callum tilted his head. “Don’t you want to see your brother and friend again?”

I couldn’t look at Klaus. I couldn’t. My gaze stayed locked on Malachi’s broken body.

“What was her cause of death?” I asked, already dreading the answer.

Callum’s smile curled. “A glass quell,” he said. “It struck her near the heart.”

A glass quell.

I tore that bond open and nearly screamed.“Damien... what did you do?”

Damien replied not even a second later,“I think it’s time we close our bond, Sev.”

“You killed her,”I hissed, my voice near venomous. “How could you?”

“Then save her,”Damien said smoothly in my mind.“You did it for Everett. I’m sure most of her is still in there.”

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