Princess Inessa and Lord Fox were silent when she finished. Lord Kalen had stepped out to oversee the rest of the Daanorian soldiers and Khalad had resumed his toil at his forge, bent studiously over his task.
“Princess Inessa has been good to you, Fox,” the Dark asha murmured to ease the tension. “You look like a soldier for once. A royal uniform now instead of the threadbare shirts and breeches you’re so fond of.”
“I didn’t realize you’d seen us at the party,” the princess whispered, her cheeks coloring.
“It was none of my business.”
“But your leaving was my business, and you knew it.” The Dark asha’s brother’s face gave away no emotion. “You raised monsters and invaded a kingdom, and now you fight against Inessa’s own people. Still my business, all of it.”
Her head dropped, avoiding his gaze. “I had no choice.”
“No choice?” His voice was flat, but his words were cutting. “You had a choice, but you left and gave me none. You blocked your thoughts from mine, and still I sat and waited for months because I was a fool and thought I knew you better. Do not stand here and tell me you had no choice when it was you who gave me nothing to choose between.”
“Because you didn’t believe me!” She fought back, her words coming out in quivers and hitches.
“The elders said—”
“The elders said!” the asha shouted. “The elders said! Exactly that! They are lying cowards, and yet you heeded their words over mine!”
“I saw you, Tea.” His cold facade shifted, and my heart twisted at how broken the man now sounded. “I saw you kill her.”
She trembled. “I didn’t. I couldn’t.”
“And you don’t believe me either. You don’t trust me, Tea. Because even as I stand here, you still have the Veiling rune in place between us.”
“Inessa and I shouldn’t be here,” Khalad said softly.
“No. The time for secrets is over.” The bone witch’s hands curled, held at the ready, fearful of the next fight. She closed her eyes briefly, relaxed. Some magic I could not see thrummed between them, dissipated. Lord Fox started in surprise.
“It is gone.” A queer sob, all the more strange and sad because it came from her. “I don’t know. I don’t remember. All I remember is the screaming, and even then I don’t recall if it was mine or hers. Some nights I wake up and scream still because I can see the blood on my hands. It never goes away, even with all the soap and the scrubbing. Hers is the only death you can lay at my door. If I killed her, then I will pay for that soon enough. But I killed no one else, no matter what they tell you. I swear on Kalen’s grave, Fox. I told you nothing because you hated me then, didn’t trust me—and because if you knew, they would cast you out as well. Do not deny that—I understand.
“For the longest time, I hated myself. You can hate someone and still wait for them, but I didn’t want you to wait. I left because it meant I would live, that you would live. But even that is not enough. I cannot give you half a life, Fox. Neither you nor Inessa deserve that. So I took the daeva and made my plans without you because I knew you would stop me. I swear on Kalen’s grave. I swear.”
The man watched her with eyes so like her own. It was as if he could delve into her soul with one look and discern her lies from her truths. “And what are those plans?” he asked quietly.
“I do not want a fight with either Odalia or Kion. My war is with the elders and with Drycht. I will remain in Daanoris a few days more, and I will leave the city unscathed. As a sign of good faith, I will do nothing against the other asha. When I am done with King Aadil, they will no longer matter. Command your armies to return home, Inessa. They give the dead nothing but stomachaches.”
“Come back with us, Tea,” the man insisted. “We can talk to Empress Alyx. Mykaela will understand.”
“Empress Alyx and Lady Mykaela do not make up the whole of Kion, Fox. Not anymore. They will put me on trial for my crimes, and I will be publicly executed for the world to see. I have gone too far, Fox. There will be no other judgment, no matter what Mykaela or Zoya or anyone else claims.” Beside him, Inessa froze, her fear thick enough to touch. “And when I die, so will you.”
“If you declare war against Drycht and die in battle, then so will I. What difference will it make?”
“Because my odds there are better.” The bone witch rose, a knife in her hand. She cut her finger, drops of blood welling up. “Should I find what I seek in their mountains, then you will survive this, Fox. Or did you forget that there was once a spell in Aenah’s book you forbade me to use?”
She leaned forward, placing her injured finger against her stunned brother’s cheek. I watched as the small wounds on his face and arms healed, disappearing as his flesh knitted back together. “And I will use it, Fox. You will live. Regardless of how I die.”