“Please,” I beg, my voice cracking with desperation asFinn’s eyes bulge, his face contorts. His hands claw at his throat as he thrashes on the forest floor, leaves and twigs snapping beneath him.
“Stop it!” Tears stream down my face as I plead with her. “Please, stop!”
Alvina doesn’t relent. Instead, she keeps her hands raised as she watches Finn’s life slip away.
His movements grow weaker, his face now a deep, unnatural blue. Then, with one final, shuddering gasp, he goes still.
No. No. No!
“Damn you!” I don’t care if she turns on me next. Nor do I care if the entire world catches fire and burns her to ash for what she’s done.
Alvina crouches down beside me and shoves the bag into my hand. “Actions have consequences, and you just paid the price for yours.”
Rage boils up inside me, white-hot and blinding. I gather the moisture in my mouth and spit in her smug face. Her hand cracks across my cheek, snapping my head to the side. The metallic taste of blood fills my mouth, but I barely feel the sting.
“Remember this moment, Everly. Remember what happens when you defy me.” Her words drip with venom, each syllable a dagger twisting in my gut. “Next time, it won’t be some random barbarian. It will be your family.”
She straightens and walks away, her footsteps fading into the distance.
As soon as she’s gone, the invisible force holding me down vanishes. I scramble to my knees, crawling desperately towardFinn. My hands shake as I reach for him, praying to every god I know that this is a nightmare, and I’ll wake up any moment. But as my fingers brush against his skin, reality crashes down upon me.
This is no dream.
“Finn,” I choke out. “I’m so sorry. I’m so, so sorry.”
Guilt rushes over me in billowing waves. Guilt I cannot outrun. It chases me down, lashing at my feet, my legs, my chest.
If only I’d been stronger, smarter, braver. If only I’d found a way to stop Alvina. If only...
But there are no if onlys that can bring Finn back.
He’s gone, and it’s all my fault.
Chapter
Thirty-Three
CENRIC
I scanthe faces around the midday meal, searching for Everly, but I don’t spot her serving the men. Instead, Brennah takes her place, flitting between the tables with a broad smile and an eager bounce in her step.
Where is Everly?
My eyes sweep across the camp once more, hoping I’ve simply overlooked her.
“Are you looking for someone?” Gabriel’s voice cuts through my thoughts.
I school my features into neutrality. “No. I’m just surveying the camp.”
Gabriel raises an eyebrow but doesn’t press further. I force myself to focus on my meal, but the food tastes like grit in my mouth.
Three days have passed since I kissed her, since I felt the softness of her lips against mine. Three days of deliberatelyavoiding her, of throwing myself into training and strategy meetings.
And yet, she’s never far from my thoughts.
I shouldn’t have kissed her. It was reckless, foolish. But in that moment, with the wine warming my blood, I couldn’t resist. Now, the memory haunts me.
I push my plate away, appetite gone.
