Page 151 of Grim and Oro
“I didn’t,” I say, and she takes a step back, frowning in confusion. Then my brother appears behind her.
“He did it,” I say to them both. The room is quiet.
“And where is he now?” my brother demands.
Just then, Zed strides in. “He’s back in his cell.”
My shoulders melt in relief. “You found him?”
Zed shakes his head, confused. Everyone looks so damnedconfused. “No,” he says, honestly. “He put himself in there. Closed the bars, and everything.”
We all stare at each other.
“It doesn’t make any sense,” Enya says, leaning against the stone wall.
She’s right. None of it has. Yet—
He’s been telling the truth this entire time. Is it possible that this Nightshade heir, the warrior we’ve all watched kill thousands ... is happy to be away from his lands, away from killing, even if it means being locked up?
My brother turns to me. The extent of his exhaustion is clear. “You’ve spent the most time with him,” he says. “He is yours to handle.” Then, he strides out of the hall.
I run a hand down my face. “For once, you’re all quiet,” I say to my friends, who are staring. “No thoughts? No opinions?”
Before they can answer, the infirmary doors slam open, and Agnes comes tumbling out. She grabs my hands, her eyes full of tears. “She’s alive. Because of you ... she’s alive.”
She throws her arms around me, and I stand there, holding her the same way she held me countless times as a child, until she pulls away and goes back into the room.
I hear a small voice. Ara’s. She’s awake.
She’s alive.
“What will you do?” Enya asks.
“I’m going to ask him one last question,” I tell her.
Zed was right. Grim is exactly where he’s supposed to be—in a cell that smells like dead rats.
He sighs when he sees me. “I thought you might give me a respite from your presence. It would only be fair, I think.”
“Why?” I ask simply.
He seems to realize it’s not simply a response to his statement. He rolls his neck, making it crack. “Why what?”
“Why didn’t you use those powers on the battlefield?” He isn’t even ruler. His father is still alive. But his powers ... they’re unlike any I’ve ever seen.
Grim just stares at me. He looks slightly curious again. “You’ve never hidden yours?” I tense.
You and me ... we’re not as different as you think.
A wicked grin overtakes his face. He knows the answer without me even having to give it. “It’s a shame you are who you are, and I am who I am.”
“And why is that?” I ask, through my teeth.
“Because I think, in another life, we could have been friends.”Friends.
I almost laugh. I will never be his friend. I will never be able to see past the blood of his sword, or the sins of his father.
“Answer my question,” I snarl. “Why didn’t you use those powers?”
