Chapter 31

CHAPTER THIRTY ONE

M y first completed outfit was proudly in place tonight and it would be perfect for sneaking about. My tunic was black with a snug lining that kept the chill in the air from licking my skin and I'd made golden bird wings out of velvet and lace, stitching them to the back of it, arching over my shoulder blades and down my spine.

There was golden trim on the sleeves to match and my fitted trousers paired well with the look. It was finished off with a leather skirt that strapped around my waist, hanging open at the front to reveal my trousers and hanging over my sides to conceal any weapons I wanted to carry. Which of course was my dagger of vengeance. I had plans to make some knee length boots, but I didn't have much of a skill for that yet, always having preferred the touch of my bare feet to the earth. But in this place, and out on the battlefield, bare feet wouldn't cut it.

Glances were being thrown at my new clothes from the surrounding Raincarvers in the refectory, and not all of them were sniggering at me. Some actually looked intrigued and one girl even came up to me and asked where I got them. I had been one seriously smug bitch when I'd told her I'd made them, and her eyes had widened in surprise. But when her friends had called out to her and asked why she was talking to the ‘Rake reject', she'd blushed and run away like my social status was contagious. Still, I was taking it as a win. Albeit a pretty sour one.

I remained in the refectory all evening, waiting for the last of the Fae to leave, anxious to try and get through that door again. The Sky Witch had ignored my messages and without her help to reach the high passage in the sea cave, there was no point in me taking that route. Not until I perfected the cast over water which could carry me up there. And as every day I lost meant another one where I didn't know Harlon's fate, I wasn't willing to wait on her.

What we'd discovered through one of those doors had followed me into my dreams, the vivid image of that chained Dragon shifter leaving a chill in my soul. How long had it been kept there? What purpose did someone have in imprisoning it?

It seemed the Sky Witch and I had uncovered a secret that had been whispered about in the four nations since the Dragons' disappearance long before I was born. Were the Reapers responsible? Had they placed that beast there? Were there more hidden behind those other archways? And what about that strange prophecy which had been so like the one I had learned by heart in Cascada, yet so different in ways that truly mattered. It didn't point to my nation's victory. It spoke of favouring the ‘peacemakers of destiny.' But who was that referring to?

Beyond all of those questions which festered in me like rot, was the possibility that Harlon could be hidden within one of those archways and sometimes my nightmares replaced the terrorised image of that Dragon with him. I saw him in chains, with those jagged green crystals lodged in his flesh and I woke gasping his name into the uncaring silence.

So now, I waited, toying with the butter knife beside my empty plate, my gaze skimming from one Fae to the next as I willed them to leave the hall. It was late and I wasn't certain exactly what time the Reapers would come to lock the doors, but I was banking on at least a few minutes alone in here before they appeared.

The room was growing quieter, the last of the Skyforgers heading out, closely followed by the remaining Raincarvers, leaving just a group of fierce-looking Stonebreakers and the infernal Flamebringers who invoked my ire.

Kaiser and North hung back as the Stonebreakers exited and North cast a silencing shield around them, his passion growing with whatever he was saying. He looked angry and if I wasn't entirely mistaken, he looked a little scared. Kaiser remained impassive as usual until North grabbed his arm and Kaiser caught him by the throat, shoving him up against the wall beside the exit.

I slid quietly beneath the table and crept forward, gathering shadows around me with a concealment spell as I watched, trying to work out what they were saying to each other. North was shouting now and Kaiser was talking back in short sentences, his facial expression flat as his friend grappled to get free of him.

Frustration burned through me at not being able to hear what they said, and as that thought crossed my mind, that strange, dark kind of magic stirred inside me. It was reaching out before I could stop it, unable to wrangle it under my control, but out of nowhere North's silencing shield shattered and his voice boomed out for me to hear.

Hia kaské.

"-either she set you a mission in secret and didn't have the courtesy to let me in on it, or you're up to something that could jeopardise her," he accused.

"I'd never jeopardise her," Kaiser said in a low tone.

"Then why are you sneaking around the Keep? What are you doing when you disappear at night?"

"My word is my bond."

"Your word to who?" North spat.

Kaiser said nothing but he lowered his hand from North's throat. The Werewolf lunged, gripping Kaiser's arms with affection instead of anger, his tone softening.

"We're brothers, you and I. Orphans raised by the same hands. She loves us equally, trusts us implicitly. Why am I not privy to this information if she set you some task?"

"Because your mouth runs away with you, North," Kaiser said plainly. "What I am doing cannot reach the ears of our enemies. I will not see your throat slit for this."

"By who?" North pressed. "The Stonebreakers? The Skyforgers? Who Kaiser? Who am I at risk from?"

"No one so long as you have no knowledge of my dealings," Kaiser answered.

North shook his head, stepping away and shoving his fingers into his brown hair. "We don't keep secrets from each other."

"I'm protecting you, North."

"I don't need protecting." North's eyes flashed dangerously. "I'm as strong as you."

Kaiser remained silent again and North scoffed irritably.

"You don't believe that, do you? You think I'm your lesser."

"Much more to the contrary, freyin," Kaiser said.

"Don't go calling me brother, you know she wants us speaking the universal tongue," North sighed.

"It was all you knew when she took you in. She understands its meaning to you - as do I," Kaiser said.

"Well fuck you for warming my heart." North smiled and it was a roguish thing. He was handsome in a carefree way, the effort put into his appearance minimal, but I doubted he needed to bother when those dimples and inviting green eyes did the work for him. Not that I could ever find a Flamebringer truly attractive.

"Anyway, what did you mean ‘much more to the contrary'?" he demanded. "You're her favourite. You always have been."

"I will do what others will not and it does not leave a mark on my soul," Kaiser said darkly and my upper lip curled as my gaze slid over his villainous features, his looks like poison dipped in honey. One taste and your fate was sealed. "The Matriarch sets me the tasks that she knows will hurt the others. That would hurt you , in time. It has nothing to do with favourites."

"I can handle anything you can handle," North insisted.

"You have a life to make for yourself, freyin, that's what she wants for you. It's why she protects you. But I am what I am," Kaiser said. "A weapon, nothing more. She understands that. There is no future for me but one written in blood. I do not feel regret, I do not suffer in the wake of any atrocity I commit."

"We are all her weapons," North muttered, and I caught a subtle tone of bitterness.

"She loves you," Kaiser stated.

"She loves you more."

"North," Kaiser said, stepping closer to him. "There is not an ounce of truth to that. I would not waste my time on petty lies. What use would it serve me? The Matriarch fears losing you. All of you. But she knows what must be done, and if one of us must be sacrificed to this task, let it be the one without a heart."

"Kai," North sighed, gripping his friend's arm. "You have a heart. You care for me, don't you?"

"You're my brother," Kaiser answered hollowly, those words sounding rehearsed more than true but North smiled, taking them as an affirmation.

"Alright, keep your secrets, asshole," North said, a wicked grin spreading across his lips. "We'd better get going. We need to slip out of Never Keep before the Reapers-" He stalled, glancing around him, suddenly on edge. "Shit, my silencing shield is gone. I didn't think I lost concentration."

"It seems you did," Kaiser commented.

North pursed his lips before casting another one and the two them headed to the exit.

I hesitated, glancing at the wall where the hidden door might lead me to Harlon if only I could find a way to get through it again. But something was telling me to follow the Flamebringers. They were up to something, headed out of the Keep, and they didn't want the Reapers to know about it.

Plus, if Kaiser was headed somewhere out the boundaries of Never Keep, didn't that make his death fair game? I'd been training myself ragged since my last encounter with him, the memory of his rage still a thing that crossed my mind daily. I knew he was a formidable opponent and I knew what I was risking in pursuing this fight. But no part of me could let go of it. My mama was owed this. I would avenge her, no matter how much of my own blood I spilled in the process.

I was torn as I looked from the wall to the open wooden doors they had exited through. But despite my burning need for vengeance and the hunger in my soul for Kaiser's death, I had to find the man who meant more to me than that.

I hurried to the wall, scouring it until I was certain I'd found the hidden door, but before I could begin using my magic to try and open it, footsteps sounded from the corridor outside the refectory.

I leapt away from the hidden door just as a Reaper swept into the room with her long gold cloak trailing out behind her.

"The refectory is closing," she called. "Please return to your Vault." Her eyes found me and I walked towards her, bowing low and muttering, "Praise to the stars,"to her before making my exit.

"Praise to those who tread their destined path,"her words followed me out.

Well, I guessed my choice had been made for me, and I shot a silent thanks to Scorpio, wondering if he'd laid this fateful opportunity tonight.

Blue chirruped as he stuck his head out of my bag, yawning and blinking sleepily from his nap. He'd taken to doing that, staying with me most days and snuggling up in the soft fabric I'd stuffed in there. It was meant to be used to make a scarf, but he was so enamoured with the material that I couldn't bear to take it away from him.

I thought over what I'd heard North and Kaiser discussing as I hurried past the Great Stair, seeking them out and hoping I wasn't too late to catch them. At the end of this hallway, the passages diverged in several directions and if I didn't see which one they took, I doubted I'd find them again.

Kaiser was keeping secrets from his supposed brother and it sounded like The Matriarch herself – his adopted mother - had set him the task. That meant he was up to nothing good, and in fact, it was likely part of a deadly plot against one or several of the three nations. The Matriarch was one of the most feared Fae in the four lands and her bloody reputation spoke for itself. But if this private mission Kaiser was on was something she didn't even trust her other adopted children with, what in the ocean could it be?

I reached the Heliacal Courtyard, and my heart quickened at the sight of Kaiser and North slipping down the passage that led to the Vault of Embers. Casting a silencing shield of my own, I silently followed after them, keeping a healthy distance between us while Blue moved to perch on my shoulder.

North made a quick exit out of a window and Kaiser swiftly followed. I counted to fifty before slipping after them. It was pitch dark outside, the moon just a faint glow behind a mass of clouds that were threatening more snow, but as I shifted my eyes to that of my Leopard Order, I could pick out the faint shapes of the Flamebringers shrinking into the tundra.

I concealed myself against the snowy surroundings, working my magic to blend in with the ground as I kept low and followed them across the jagged rocks that were layered with snow.

They made a path for the western cliff then walked north, further and further while I remained at their backs, keeping fifty or more paces between us at all times.

After an hour of traversing the rock and ice, I noticed the Flamebringers slowing up ahead. We were far beyond the boundaries of the Keep now on a large, flat plain of snow that was protected from the wind. High rocks towered up around this place, concealing the view back to Never Keep and to the west, a cliff dropped away towards the dark sea. The cold was biting, but my new clothes were well prepared for this place, everything I made imbued with blaze oil to fight the chill. Though I was starting to run low on the stuff and would need to get more the next time Wandershire visited.

Faelights glinted into existence, rising up above the Flamebringers and more joined them, igniting the faces of five Stonebreakers opposite them. I knew their element from the look of them, the things they wore, the ink crawling across any exposed flesh. Three men, two women, outnumbering Kaiser and North. I hurried closer to a jutting boulder, climbing up it to peer over the ledge at my enemies, tucking myself in against the snow and drawing the shadows around me with concealment spells.

"I have waited a long time to challenge the Fury who The Matriarch hails as her most vicious prodigy," a woman at the front of the Stonebreakers bayed, the clear leader of their band. She had sharp features and dark hair, a brown fur ruff hanging from her shoulders and bronze armour beneath it. "I will send your head home to her wrapped in your Werewolf's hide." She gestured to North with her sword and he growled ferally, showing a glimpse of the beast that hid within his flesh.

"Your uncle butchered one of our sisters, Raya," North spat. "We're here to settle the score."

"My uncle will butcher the rest of your abnormal family and I intend to assist him in that plight this very night. True blood relatives have a bond that The Matriarch's orphan mutts could never know the depths of," Raya called and her group muttered their agreement, banding closer to her.

"Mutts?" North spat while Kaiser remained silent, taking the measure of his opponents, unperturbed by Raya's jibes. "I'll gut you for that word alone."

"Will The Matriarch even grieve a creature that didn't come from her own womb?" Raya mused. "Pity she cannot produce heirs of her own making, her body unable to bear fine crops, so she must settle for the chaff cut from withered wheat instead."

"My mother is the greatest Fae in the four nations," North snarled. "I'll slice your tongue from your mouth for speaking of her that way. She is a force of hellfire and she has instilled that very fire in us. Her children, her beasts, her finest warriors."

Kaiser shed the leather jacket from his shoulders, letting it fall in the snow behind him without taking his eyes off of his enemies. Beneath was a fitted white shirt that was short in the sleeves, revealing the thick muscles of his arms and the intricate design of a flock of magpies curling up his left one. Rings of teeth-marks were scarred on both of his arms just like the one I'd glimpsed on his side, the amber glow of the Faelights just brightening them enough to notice. He didn't unsheathe either of the swords at his hips, waiting patiently for the showboating to end, seeming unbothered as to when the fight might begin. It was clear he wasn't bothered by the cold, the fire in his veins keeping him warm just as all the Flamebringers were capable of. An enviable gift, I had to admit. Not even my blaze oil could truly banish the cold, but they were entirely immune to it. At least until their magic ran out.

"Ha," Raya scoffed at North. "You're fodder for the war. She's smart enough to brainwash you into serving her, adorning you with her name so you truly believe you are her family. But plenty of her orphan stock lie in graves – if they are even given such a privilege once their bodies have served their purpose."

"Shut your filthy mouth!" North roared, and at once he shifted, tearing out of his clothes and sending his sword falling to the snow.

His Werewolf form was huge, bigger than any I'd seen before, the beastly creature standing even taller than my father's warhorse. His fur was grey with white splashes across his chest, jaw and legs and he bayed a terrible howl as he raced toward his enemies.

My heart pounded as Raya swung her sword at his neck and North narrowly avoided it, leaping to the left then snatching her arm between his jaws and throwing her across the snow. Blood splattered, painting the white red, but Raya jumped up, rushing back into the fight without giving any attention to the wound. The other four Stonebreakers ignored their leader's struggle, drawing blades and running at Kaiser as a single unit.

Still, Kaiser didn't draw his swords. He watched them as calmly as an evening tide rolling in at his feet, his brutal good looks making him resemble the beautiful effigies of the hunter of the sky, Orion.

A mere moment before the Stonebreakers collided with him, his eyes flashed red. His three blood-red Fury hounds spilled into existence in front of him, leaping at the male Stonebreakers and as I braced for the savagery of teeth ripping into them, it didn't come. Instead, the three beasts disappeared into the men as if slipping directly into their bodies.

They came to an abrupt halt, their eyes turning red as Kaiser's Fury possession took root in them. I drew in a sharp inhale as they snatched hold of the female Stonebreaker between them, driving their swords into her in unison, killing their own without hesitation.

She screamed in horror as she hit the snow between them and they finished her with wicked twists of their blades. Kaiser cocked his head a little and the three men raised their swords to their own throats. One of them whimpered in fear, another managing to cry out before the Fury forced them to swipe their own blades across their necks. I gritted my teeth, forcing myself to watch as they slumped to the snow, bleeding out at Kaiser's feet. And he hadn't even raised a single hand, hadn't taken one step forward to engage them.

He stood there without a drop of blood tarnishing him and he released a low whistle that called out to the Fury hounds, making them retreat from the bodies of the Stonebreakers and move to stand at his side. He petted their heads wordlessly then they disappeared as if they had never existed at all. Shock rolled through me at how easily death had been delivered by his mind alone, how he had shattered through the mental shields of those Stonebreakers within seconds and it had cost him no effort. No strain at all.

North pinned Raya beneath him and with a violent snap of his jaws, her cries fell quiet, blood pouring across the snow. He padded away, revealing her on the ground, her throat torn open and the furious look in her fading eyes. She choked on her own blood and the sword slipped from her fingers to lay uselessly out of reach.

My pulse thundered in my ears as North padded back to Kaiser, yapping his victory.

Kaiser raised a hand to briefly pet North's flank. "Head back to the Keep. I'll deal with the bodies and the remains of your clothes. You need to wash that blood off before you're seen."

North quickly licked Kaiser's cheek then picked up his sword between his teeth and raced off across the snow. I tucked myself in tight against the boulder, thickening the concealment spells around me as the giant Wolf went tearing by.

He didn't look my way though, and I watched as Kaiser started hauling the bodies towards the cliff edge with far too much ease, tossing them down into the hungry ocean, his hands only ever touching their clothes so they remained clean of blood.

I shimmied backwards down the boulder and prepared to make my escape. After what I'd seen him do, I knew I wasn't ready to face him. I had to ensure my mental shields were iron clad before I came head-to-head with him again. Because if he got possession of me, it was game over.

Blue nuzzled my neck, chirruping happily, unaware of the danger that lurked close by as I made a quick passage across the snow, rounding one of the hulking lumps of rock and setting my gaze on the faraway shadow of Never Keep in the distance. The wind was picking up, sweeping the snow around in great swirls and it would cover my tracks quick enough.

My mind kept replaying the moment those Stonebreakers had killed their own then turned their blades on themselves, the horror in their eyes speaking a thousand fear-fuelled words. Kaiser Brimtheon had caused a massacre without unsheathing a single blade and my heart was thumping erratically at what I now knew him to be capable of. I'd known he was strong, but this? It was terrifying.

I vowed to learn all I could about Furies and their weaknesses before I faced him again, but as my mind latched onto the warmth of a fire in my quarters, a cold and dreadful voice dripped over me from behind.

"I think it would be unwise of me to let an enemy spy run from me twice," Kaiser growled.

I twisted around, unsheathing my dagger in a flash, raising it in my left hand while jagged shards of frost grew against my right palm in warning.

"Stay back," I hissed venomously, mustering all of my hatred into those words.

He kept walking, his dominating form making me look up at him and his eyes flashed red in the dark, promising my end. I ducked low, slashing my dagger at his legs, but his boot came up and he kicked me square in the chest, sending me crashing away through the snow. I hit the jagged mound of rock that jutted up from the earth and one glance back showed me a gap I would just about fit into. I darted into it as he approached, crawling all the way to the back of it and rising to my feet.

He rested his hand to the rock, gazing in at me, his head tilting as he assessed me. He was too big to follow me in here, but that didn't mean I was any less trapped.

"Come here or I will set a fire that burns you out of there," he commanded, his fierce tone echoing through the rocks right into my soul.

"I will come out, but only if you agree to a fight. No Orders, just blades," I called, knowing it was insanity to ask it, but it looked like I was in the land of entirely fucked anyway. Might as well go down swinging.

Blue grunted in my ear like he was passing judgement on my madness.

"You're trying to bargain with me. What leverage do you possibly think you have? You have followed me to your death, silka la vin, and I doubt you told a soul at the Keep that you are here."

"Plenty of people know I'm here actually," I said fiercely.

"Liar. You hold no company. You slink in the shadows, going unnoticed, yet you dress to the contrary. A walking paradox. I know the cut of you, it is so glaringly obvious and tiresomely dull."

"And yet you noticed, and watched and made your assessment of me all the same," I growled, rage curling around my voice, fuelled by my utter hatred of this man. "So you must think I am a worthy opponent."

"Opponent," he echoed dismissively, shaking his head. "You are hardly that. You're just a rat that needs gutting."

"So I am worthy of a fight then?" I pushed.

"An extermination, nothing more."

"I demand more," I snarled.

"I am commanded by one woman and one woman only in this world. It is not you, and nor shall it ever be."

"I think those Stonebreakers had a point," I said lightly, though my heart was thrashing like it wanted to escape the confines of my chest. "The Matriarch has her claws in you so deep that you're just a mindless pawn serving a callous queen. She probably doesn't think of you beyond the victories you claim in her name."

I was aiming for a wound that might be there, hoping he would fight me on those words and be goaded into a duel with me. But as usual, he was unmoved.

"What is your Order?" he changed direction. "Speak it and perhaps I'll make your death swifter than I would prefer."

"Now who's driving bargains?" I scoffed.

"I have leverage, you do not." Fire crackled in his palms and he willed it into the narrow gap in the rockface, the flames blazing a path towards me then halting close to my feet. The heat was immediately stifling, the smoke filling up the small space fast.

"Out. Now," he commanded in that all-powerful tone of his.

"You want to know what magic I used on you last time, don't you? That's why you want to know my Order." I fought against a splutter as the smoke seeped into my throat, then sent a blast of water at the flames.

I doused them quickly, but he only cast more, letting them race along the walls and close in on me again. I swallowed them up with swathes of frost, sending it out in all directions to keep the fire at bay.

"Clever little cat. Now come here or I will send my hounds in after you." Terror knotted in my chest at the memory of those creatures taking me hostage, forcing me to relive my mother's death. The moment I felt it, Kaiser did too, drinking it in and letting it feed his magical power while stealing away mine.

"Mama-eskar," I hissed. Motherfucker .

"Your filthy mouth won't save you, silka la vin."

"You're under the impression that I don't have a back-up plan," I growled, sure that little nickname he had for me was nothing sweet.

"And there she goes, lying again. This has gone on too long." He sent a barrage of flames at me, but I cast lashes of water at his back, driving it up from the ground behind him and making them yank him down to the earth.

The second he hit the ground, I ran out of the narrow cave, leaping over the flames, landing on his chest heavily and kicking him in the face as I raced for freedom. His hand flew up, catching my ankle and I hit the ground hard, sending Blue flying from my shoulder to tumble away across the snow.

Adrenaline seared my veins as I kicked out, trying to get Kaiser's hand off of me, but he dragged me towards him with such force that there was no chance of escape. He flipped me over onto my back, his hands banding tight around my legs as he dragged me ever closer, reeling me in for slaughter.

His eyes flashed red and I knew what was coming, the seconds of my life ticking by with a screaming knowledge that they might just be my last. He was about to unleash his Order, about to grip me in his possession and end me as surely as he had ended those Stonebreakers.

I pushed my right hand into the snow, my connection to water spreading out all around me, reaching, tugging, trying to gather it all up to launch at him-

I felt a layer of ice beneath us, thick and near-impenetrable, arching over what seemed to be empty space.

Instead of fighting Kaiser off, I let him rear over me, let him grab my tunic in his fist and tug me up to face the wrath of the burning hot glow of his eyes. But really what I was doing was cracking the ice beneath us, shattering it all at once. With a rending, groaning roar, it collapsed and I cast a tether of water to catch me, hauling me away from him as he went crashing down into a pitch black cavern.

Breathless, I shoved myself to my feet, backing away from the gaping hole as ice and snow continued to cascade into the abyss. There was no sign of him, no sound, no hints of life at all. That fall had to be deadly, and as I peered into the gloom, waiting for a flash of fire to prove he was alive, hope rose in my chest.

Nothing.

I cast a Faelight in my hand, guiding it down into the endless cavern, falling, falling away lower and lower to where his face-down body lay. Kaiser didn't twitch, he didn't move at all, but he had to be dead. There was no glimpse of life in him.

Blue crept towards the ledge, blinking down at the corpse of my enemy below, letting out a low chirrup.

"I did it," I breathed, then joy exploded through my chest and I whipped Blue into the air, kissing him on the head. "I killed him!"

Movement in the chasm made me stall, shattering my dreams so very quickly. I lowered my hand while Blue remained perched in it, looking back down into the hole, my chest tightening as I found Kaiser rising to his feet. He glared up at me, and my Faelight picked out a glint of blood-red armour shining on his skin, some extension of his Order form clearly having saved him from that fall.

He strode towards the wall and started climbing, his gaze fixed on me and death pouring from his eyes. Eyes that were darkest red, staring into my soul and trying to tear through my mental shields so he could get possession of me.

I battled to keep him out of my head, stumbling away from the edge of the pit with a gasp, hesitating for one final second before running the fuck away. He was a beast set on ripping me to pieces and there would be no more games; if he caught me again, I would breathe the last of my breaths with his possession taking grip of me. He would claim me completely and make me suffer before he destroyed me.

I was used to fleeing, running from Ransom and his friends, but never in all my life had I felt so certain that if I slipped just once, my death was indisputable.

The slippery, snow-covered rocks and uneven ground made it hard to keep my footing, but I didn't slow, didn't dare hesitate as I fled across the frozen ground while Blue flew along by my ear.

One glance back sent my pulse into a tailspin. Kaiser was already heaving himself out of the chasm, rising up and fixing his gaze on me across the land.

Blue made a clicking noise at me that sounded like encouragement, like he knew what would happen if the wraith at my back caught me.

I ran until my lungs were burning, my thighs were screaming, and my heart was fit to burst.

Finally, I turned into the wide expanse of land between the Vault of Sky and Vault of Frost, aiming for my Vault and praying to Pisces that I could find an unlocked window.

I glanced back again, not seeing him, but that somehow only set me more on edge. My heart hammered as I made it to the first line of windows, figuring I'd just smash one if I had to, but on the third try, one swung open and I all but fell inside, hitting the flagstones hard and finding myself in a darkened latrine.

I shoved the window shut, locking it fast and staring out into the dark for half a second, seeking my purser but unable to see him. With relief scattering through me, I sprinted out of the communal latrine and made a quick path for the stairwell that led down to my quarters.

My breaths came raggedly as I arrived and hurried into the safety of my private space. Though as I shut the door and locked it tight, I had the sense that if Kaiser Brimtheon had finally decided on marking me for death, there would be no escaping. No path I could follow that wouldn't lead me to his rancour.

But as I sank down onto the furs laid out beside the fire grate, a manic kind of smile lifted my lips. Because I had just made him acknowledge me as a worthy adversary and yes, a monster he might be, but I was destined to slay him. I just had to buy myself time to learn how to kill a pestilent beast.