“Yes, you are.” He stands, and I draw in a quick breath at how dangerous he looks.
It’s not just his impressive height or the way his hand rests on the hilt of his sword. No, it’s something more intangible, a cold aura that chills the very air around him. His eyes hold a ruthlessness that makes my skin crawl. There’s no warmth there, no hint of mercy or compassion.
And to think I was sarcastic and evasive with him. He could snap me in half if he wished.
I gulp and dig the heels of my boots against the dirt floor.
He leans down and uses his dagger to cut the ropes binding my hands and feet. Before I can rub my chafed wrists, he yanks me to standing with a rough tug.
He pulls me from the room at such a quick pace that I am forced to run to keep up with his long strides
“Where are you taking me?” I ask between breaths.
“You’ll see.”
Chapter
Three
EVERLY
Fear spikesthrough my veins as the man drags me through the corridors, where the walls press in on me, and the air grows colder with each step.
He stops in front of a door and shoves it open, revealing a woman tied to a chair in the center of the room. Her dark red hair hangs limp and matted around her face, and her green eyes are dull and lifeless.
The room is bare, except for the chair. A single torch sputters on the wall.
The man pushes me into the room, and I stumble, nearly falling to my knees. He follows close behind and closes the door with a resounding thud.
The woman doesn’t even look up, her gaze fixed on some distant point only she can see.
“You will spy for me, Everly, or I will tie you next to thiswoman, and you can both starve together. Would you like that?”
Bile rises in my throat as I contemplate running from this room, from this man, from this entire situation.
But I can’t.
I’m trapped, like a fly in a spider’s web, and I don’t want to be a fly. I’d rather be a hawk, so I could scratch out this man’s eyes.
Sadly, I’m not a hawk, and I have no other choice but to obey. Otherwise, I’ll be like this woman. Broken. Battered. Desolate.
My focus shifts back to the red-haired woman, to her pale skin and vacant eyes.
I swallow, my mouth dry as dust. “I’ll do it. I’ll spy for you.”
The man’s lips curl into a smirk. “Good choice. You’re smarter than you look.”
Thanks for the compliment, you pompous ass.
He steps closer. “You will infiltrate the Bloodstone army camped outside Karra. You will gather information and report back to me. If you try to run, if you betray me...” He glances at the woman in the chair, and my stomach twists into painful knots. “Well, let’s just say you’ll end up like our friend here.”
“I understand.”
The man studies me for a beat longer, then steps back. “Good. My men will provide you with the necessary instructions.”
Chapter
Four
