It led us into a small, dim lobby, with a single desk and a narrow staircase. A rotund, middle-aged human man dozed at the desk, an empty glass of very pungent-smelling alcohol drawing amber circles on scattered papers.
Raihn ignored him, and I followed his lead as he went up the stairs. At the top floor, he reached into his pocket and produced a key. Apparently, the lock didn’t work very well anymore, so he grumbled through three attempts before the door finally swung open.
He gave me a sly smile beneath the hood. “After you, princess.”
Tentatively, I stepped into the room.
It was an apartment. A stark contrast to the one we had just left in the castle—the entirety of the place was smaller than the bedroom alone there, the only furniture a single small bed, a dresser, and one tiny desk that I suspected Raihn probably couldn’t even fit at. It was clearly occupied, though—the desk held books and papers, one half-open dresser drawer revealed a glimpse of crumpled fabric, and the washroom lantern was still lit. The bed was a little messy, like someone had slept in it recently and made it very hurriedly.
I walked around the room slowly, brow furrowed.
“Who lives here?”
Raihn closed the door and latched it behind us.
“I do.”
I halted mid-stride. My brows lurched.
He chucked softly. “It’s still satisfying to shock you. Fine. Maybe ‘living here’ is a bit of an exaggeration.” He unhooked his cloak, tossed it onto the bed, and then fell backwards onto it with a grunt of satisfaction. “It’s… somewhere private to go.”
I thought of all those days that I never heard Raihn’s footsteps return to his rooms.
“You sleep here?”
“Sometimes.” A pause, then, “Sometimes I can’t… sometimes I just want to get away from that place.”
I watched him practically deflate onto the bed. He did immediately seem more at ease here. Like the remnants of whatever mask he wore within the walls of the castle had finally fallen free.
I didn’t want to see this version of Raihn—the version that reminded me far too much of the man I’d…
I cleared my throat, stuffed my hands into my pockets, and wandered the perimeter.
“No one knows about it,” Raihn said.
“No one but me,” I corrected.
I could hear the smile in his voice. “No one but you.”
“Stupid of you.”
“Maybe.”
“Since I’m a traitor and all.”
“Mmm.” The bed creaked as Raihn sat back up. I turned around to see him giving me a stare that made me jolt. All seriousness.
“We need to talk,” he said, “and we needed to do it somewhere I knew no one else would hear us.”
“I thought you said everything you needed to say. Or Septimus did, at least.”
My words were pointed, the accusation clear.
“I say what I need to say, in front of them.”
“You manipulated me,” I snapped. “You’ve been playing games with me since the beginning.”
Raihn’s face hardened.
“You committed an act of war, Oraya.”
I let out a choked laugh. “I committed an act of war? Me?”
This was a mistake. I shouldn’t even be here. I was armed now. I could— He winced, then raised his hands. “I—let’s not. This isn’t what I’m here for.”
“Then what?”
He stood, went to the dresser, and pulled something out of the middle drawer—something long, wrapped in fabric. He lay the object over the desk beside me and unwrapped it.
My heart caught in my throat.
The Taker of Hearts. Vincent’s sword.
It was an incredible weapon—he’d had it for centuries, and never refuted or confirmed the legends surrounding it. That it was god-forged. That it was cursed. That it was blessed. That he’d carved out a little chunk of his own heart to have it made. He’d told me these legends when I was a child, sometimes—always with a completely serious face but a glint of amusement in his eye.
Legends aside, the reality was impressive enough. The weapon was incredibly powerful, enhancing Vincent’s already-significant magical strength. It was his and his alone, rejecting all other wielders. I used to joke that the sword was Vincent’s true greatest love. For most of my life, I think I believed it.
Now, the image of Vincent’s bloodied face, straining to look at me in his final breaths, cut through my mind.
I loved you from the first moment.
My chest was very, very tight.