My mind spun as I wondered why Thaan would bait me into trying to kill him.
So he could hurt Selena with it later?
I could almost hear his voice in my head as he explained what had happened.Pheolix attacked me. I had no choice but to kill him.
My fists clenched. I pushed forward, and Thaan still didn’t move out of my way. He climbed backwards over the lip of the cart, apprehension thick in the air. I leaned in to lift the false board away, my hand reaching within, feeling for the cloaks stashed secretly below.
He wanted me to attack.
I’d be a fool to.
But he’d let me come so close.
Would I be a fool not to?
Drawing the cloak out, my lips peeled from my teeth. “Where’s Deimos?” I growled. “Why didn’t you send him this time? Why lead me out personally, wearing her face?”
Thaan leaned further from me, fear sparking in Selena’s eyes. True fear. “Pheolix, this is my face—”
Pretending to be her again. Something in me snapped with rage.
Weapons lay in neat rows beside the hidden cloaks. I plunged my hand back in for a knife.
“Pheolix,” Thaan said again. The scent of terror exploded, sour in my nose.
But I’d never get another chance.
My free hand grabbed Thaan’s throat.
He pushed me away, a palm against my chest.
I was already arching my arm, dagger in my hand.
Her fingers pulsed.
Pain in my torso. Pressure over my breastbone. A searing heat through my shoulder.
My heart stopped.
55
Cebrinne
Deimos dropped to his knees.
I twisted the blade. It was harder to do than I’d expected. I’d seen swordsmen do it before, though only once or twice. Stab an enemy and then twist, as simple and smooth as turning a key in a lock.
This wasn’t easy.
This ship might have been sailed by merchants, but the sword I’d selected was new. Polished and sharp.
Yet Deimos’s body protested my blade’s breach, his ribs clamping down on the sword before I could fully rotate it. Immediately, I realized I’d missed his heart. The instant death I’d hoped for waited minutes away instead. His hands wrapped around mine, rooting me there to the main deck, warm and solid. The scar that tracked across his cheek deepened as his mouth twitched in something like a smile.
“Finally,” he gasped. “I’ve been waiting ten years for you to do that.”
I’m not sure what I’d expected, but that wasn’t it. I’d heard his voice once before, the night Vouri died. But it sounded strange now. My fingers loosened in confusion, but his grip over me tightened, holding me in place. “Where’s your sister? Not on her way to Cressi. Is she headed north?” He rasped a hard breath. “To Winterlight? To Pheolix?”
I nodded, suddenly struggling to breathe.
