Page 159 of Thorn Season
I staggered back, almost tumbling when my heels caught my skirts.
One more minute—justone—and I might have made it out.
“I was halfway to the gates,” he said softly, his voice skittering over me. “Then I asked myself: Would you use your freedom to flee?” He glanced toward my pocket, where the compass resided. “Or to finish your hunt?”
Cold sweat pricked my forehead. He stood a few yards from the door—too far to block my path but close enough that hecould. He’d chosen that spot deliberately. A predator toying with his kill.
As if reading my thoughts, Erik gave a faint, discerning smile. On anyone else, it would’ve looked benevolent. “How long will it take you to decide whether or not to run? I won’t wait all night.”
I swallowed dryly, the roar in my ears muffling his words. Then I inched forward, quaking like an elk trying not to alert a wolf to its movement. With each step, I tested my specter against the dullroot. The poison wavered in my blood now; soon, I’d be able to push my specter past the surface.
But not yet.
Erik laughed, and my hairs stood up at the sound. “Surely you can go faster than that,” he teased. “Or has this excursion truly worn you out? I did tell you to eat.”
“I won’t be your prisoner,” I said.
“Good. I never wanted you to be.”
“I won’t be your bride, either. You’ll have to kill me or let me go.”
He smiled wider, bright eyes following my progress. “Are those my only options, or are you open to negotiation?”
Of course this was a joke to him.Iwas a joke to him. Without my specter, I was defenseless.
Another twist against the dullroot. Another tug toward the surface. Nothing.
Erik sighed with the air of humoring a child. “Perhaps I’ve been too harsh in my methods. I see now that you require a gentler hand. A warm bed, a bathing chamber, comfortable clothing. We’ll start from there and continue this in the morning.”
“You mean after you’ve poisoned me again?”
“Ah, is that why you stall? You’re waiting for the dullroot to run its course?” He slanted his head, unnervingly calm. “It shouldn’t be long now. Then again, you look halfway to fainting. Let’s make a bet on which will drain first: the poison or your strength.”
He spoke steadily, his expression mild. Yet... there was a slight tenseness to his brow. A faint glimmer of worry beneath the mask.
He didn’twantthe dullroot to run dry.
The knowledge fortified me.
The door stood three yards away; nothing obstructed my path. My body tensed to run—
“You know what will happen,” Erik said, suddenly serious, “and Idon’t want to embarrass you. First, you shall rest...” His gaze dropped to my wrists; his voice deepened. “Then you will tell me exactly what power got you out of that cell.”
When his eyes lifted again, they’d lost any pretense of kindness. He didn’t know how I’d escaped, and the mystery was killing him.
“Come.” He smoothed his jacket. “It’s growing late.”
“No.”I unsheathed my knife, and Erik froze.
“Careful,” he said darkly. “Your defiance is only endearing in the right context. You must learn when to yield.”
I held his stare, my knife juddering. But I didn’t let it fall.
“Very well.” He drew away from the wall. “You will have to learn through demonstration.”
He started toward the door, but I didn’t lurch toward it as he expected. I dashed back to the portraits, crashed into King Hoyt’s frame, and thrust my hand behind the arch.
Erik growled, his thunderous steps changing course. But I’d already opened the hidden doorway—an entrance to one of the many passages Sabira had mapped out for me all those weeks ago. The passages I’d planned on using to bait my attacker.
