A Court This Cruel & Lovely (Kingdom of Lies, #1) (89)

Could I imagine the cold, devout Farrow caring about anything except wiping out the corrupt? Absolutely not.

“But then Madinia’s mother died.” Auria’s voice dropped to a whisper. “She’d insisted on traveling back to her village, and along the way, her carriage was attacked by a group of corrupt who’d escaped from the king. They robbed them of all food and water and killed her guards. There was so much blood in her carriage, there was no way she could have survived. And yet they didn’t even leave her body for a decent burial.”

So that was why Farrow was obsessed with wiping out the corrupt. I knew what it was like to hate the people who’d hurt your family. To loathe them with every beat of your heart.

My eyes were growing heavy, and the other maids were slowly drifting in, sneering when they caught sight of me.

“I’d better head to bed,” I told Auria. “Thanks for the tea.”

“You’re welcome.”

“Shouldn’t you be in your luxurious room with your bath and furs?” one of the women asked. I didn’t recognize her, but she’d obviously heard of me. I just sighed and walked out the door. The castle was becoming quieter, but it was still a dangerous time to risk sneaking down to Asinia, the guards likely still alert.

But I couldn’t seem to help myself. The thought of her burning with fever…

I didn’t have the medicine yet. I had the beginnings of a plan for that, but it would require Tibris’s help. But I needed to see Asinia. Needed to tell her I was coming back. To urge her to hold on.

I snuck down to the dungeons, my power coming to me quicker than it ever had before.

I kept my gaze on the stone floor in front of me, still unable to look at the empty cell where Wila had spent her final hours.

“Promise me you’ll free them. And one day, you’ll come back and burn this fucking place to the ground.”

Wila had spent her final hours thinking of the others in here. I’d arrived planning to free only Asinia.

Sometimes I thought I’d suffocate on my own guilt and self-loathing.

I sucked in a breath, terrified of what I was about to see.

My body froze. My eyes flooded. I let out a sound that might have been a choked sob.

Asinia sat up in her cage, her face no longer pale, her eyes clear as she gazed back at me.





CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE





“You’re…better.”

She attempted a smile. “A man came down with a healer last night. They gave me medicine, and the healer looked half dead by the time he was finished with me.”

I handed her the bread and cheese I’d stolen from the kitchen, nodding at Demos as I pressed his bundle through the bars.

He nodded back, falling on the food. Ever since Tibris had worked on his arm, Demos had gained weight, his appetite returning.

Letting myself into Asinia’s cell, I sat in front of her. She looked much, much healthier than I’d ever hoped for. Her eyes were bright, and even as thin as she was, she was sitting up by herself, tearing off a hunk of bread.

“I’m sorry,” we both said, and she laughed. The sound was incredibly out of place down here, but it felt good to hear it from her.

“I thought you were bad at lying.” I attempted a smile. And yet, she’d kept the same secret I had. And neither of us had ever known.

“I never let myself think about it,” she admitted. “It didn’t feel like lying, because in my mind, my power didn’t exist. I’d buried it so deep, I never dared think about it unless I was alone in my bed at night.”

I’d done the same until recently, when I’d finally realized nothing was going to change and I needed to prepare to run.

“What was your plan, Asinia? For the Gifting?”

She gave me a shaky smile. “I figured I’d be executed then. But some part of me thought I could escape to the city, maybe pay someone to replicate the blue mark and disappear. Or get on a ship to someplace new. There are places where we would be safe. I know there are. What were you going to do?”

“I think some part of me always knew I’d run. I’d hoped for a miracle, but I’d known one day I’d have to flee the village. Once they found me, my plan was the same as yours. I was going to get to the city and get on a ship.”

“But you came here instead.”

“The moment I learned you’d been taken, my plans changed.”

“Even if…even if I don’t get out, it means everything that you tried.”

“You’re getting out.”

She attempted a smile, but her expression crumpled. “They killed my mother,” she whispered.

I pulled her into my arms. “I know,” I said. “And I swear to you, they’ll pay.”

“And your mother.”

“Yes.” I hadn’t allowed myself to mourn her properly, because I knew if I thought about her too much, if I considered her last moments…

“Pris?”

Her voice was barely a whisper, but I shook my head. “Call me Setella. Tibris is Loukas,” I murmured into her ear. “Don’t say Vicer’s name at all.”

She pulled away, her mouth falling open. “Ti…Loukas is here?”

“Oh yes. He’s the reason you’re alive. He was healing you a little each day, but you kept getting worse. It was…”