I wouldn’t, either. It was never even an option.
I knew, even without him saying anything, that Raihn was thinking about Mische, because I could see the pained expression fall over his face—one part fury, one part agony.
My hand fell to his arm, firm and comforting.
“We’ll get her out,” I said. “And in the meantime, you know she’s putting up a hell of a fight.”
A faint hint of a smile, which immediately dimmed.
“That,” he said, “is what I’m afraid of.”
Raihn hated Simon, but I’d come to realize he was also afraid of him. Genuinely afraid, the way I had been afraid my entire life. I wondered if my fear seemed as outlandish to Raihn as his fear did to me. As undeserving of his time.
My fingers tightened around his arm. “You are better than him,” I said, more viciously than I’d intended. “Fuck him. We are going to destroy him, Bloodborn army or no.”
So easily, that we rolled off my lips.
The corner of Raihn’s mouth twitched. “There she is.”
He sat up, face hardening into an expression I’d seen many times before—the same look that would come over him during one of the Kejari’s trials. A kind of bloodthirsty focus, like he’d been presented with a very entertaining puzzle.
“So, princess,” he said, “that leaves us to figure out how to get back into the castle we just barely escaped alive. Now that we’ve established that we’re fucking insane.”
Two of us. A castle full of Rishan and Bloodborn soldiers. Most of whom were probably frantically looking for us. Septimus, presumably, still would want me for my blood. Simon needed to kill Raihn, and quickly, if he wanted to get his own Heir Mark. The nobles would support him due to his history alone—if out of nothing more than distaste for Raihn—but that goodwill would only last so long if Simon never managed to get a Mark of his own.
“Bad odds,” I said. But I found myself suppressing a smile.
“Oh, you look dismayed,” he said wryly.
I shrugged. “Reminds me of old times. It’s been a while since I’ve been underestimated.”
“We know just how much you love that. Going up against impossible odds.”
Despite myself, I smiled. “You loved it too.”
“I’ll admit it.”
He flopped back on the bed, hands behind his head. “So. If I remember right, this is the part where we come up with some kind of brilliant, twisted plan.”
It was indeed. And my mind was blank.
I fell next to him, staring up at the crooked wooden planks above us. A spider swung from beam to beam, crafting a silver-silken web. It was a chaotic thing, near-invisible threads strung messily into the shadows, functional but far from beautiful. Like fate itself, I supposed.
For a few long moments, we thought.
“So what do we have?” Raihn said.
Then, to start answering his own question, he said, “We have us.”
“A human and a usurped king,” I said, flatly.
“No. Two Heirs who won the Mother-damned Kejari.”
Fair point. Raihn and I had individually managed to fight through incredibly unbalanced battles in the Kejari, and done even more together. What’s more, our power had grown exponentially since receiving our Heir Marks. Sure, mine was still difficult to control, but I’d used it to kill Goddess-knew how many soldiers to save Raihn.
Somehow it had seemed… easier then, lost in a frenzy for blood.
All my life, Vincent had admonished my emotional impulsivity, teaching me that stoicism and focus were the only paths to mastering my magic. Yet I’d never felt more powerful than I did in those moments, totally out of control of myself.
I couldn’t let myself think about that too much now. How easily Raihn being in danger had unlocked something primal in me.
Mische in danger, I hoped, might unlock the same viciousness.
The corner of Raihn’s mouth quirked, albeit with a humorless edge that I suspected foreshadowed his own viciousness.
“Honored you have such faith in us, princess,” he said. “And after all this time.”
He got out of bed and crossed the room. I eyed his backside—I couldn’t help it—as he leaned over the bureau and rummaged through it. When he turned around, something sharp and glittering glinted in his hands, nestled in silk.
I recognized it before he returned to the bed. My brows leapt.
Vincent’s mirror.
“You have it,” I breathed.
“I got it out of the castle as soon as I could. You think I was about to let Septimus keep it? Or leave it lying around where you could find it and bring another round of Hiaj soldiers to my doorstep?”