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“Run while you can, Squire,” Taristan bit out, twisting his wrist to disarm Andry and throw him back in the same motion. “Run as you did so long ago.”

In reply, Andry reached for the hand ax still belted at his waist. He spun it deftly. “I will not.”

“Dutiful squire,” Erida sneered, hateful with every breath. Rage rotted through her. “What an ending for you. To die trying to kill the queen you swore to protect. Your father would be ashamed.”

Andry gave a roar and spun, the ax circling with him only to meet Taristan’s dagger again. They both parried, exploding into a furious duel. The squire was not Taristan’s better, but he was close to his equal. Enough to hold him off.

Torn as she was between Andry and the sword, Corayne could not hesitate. She lunged after Erida, dodging every clumsy swipe of the Spindleblade.

Livid, burning eyes looked back at her, fiery as the inferno around them. Erida pulled her lips into something like a smile, but worse, her mouth too wide, showing too many teeth. Little by little, she backed toward the steps, even as Corayne bore down.

“I did not think I would get to kill you myself,” Erida said, her voice raspy.

Corayne’s training came back to her in flashes, her lessons hard-learned. She struck with her free hand, swiping her spiked vambraces at Erida’s face. The Queen dodged, but barely, sparing herself the worst of the blow. Still she stumbled, a trail of blood across her cheek.

Somewhere, Taristan shouted, his concentration split between Andry and the Queen.

“I did not think you were stupid enough to listen to What Waits,” Corayne spat back. “And give Him everything you ever could be.”

Another crack ran through the marble, another step resounded through the Crossroads. The wind shifted, the air shuddering with embers.

Corayne struck again, forcing Erida to her knees, the Spindleblade shakily held between them. But Erida was still ferocious, her teeth bared, even as her face bled.

Corayne almost laughed at the sight. The Queen of Galland kneeling to a pirate’s daughter. Then pity washed over her. Erida was a girl once too, surrounded by enemies, grasping for any way to survive the pit of vipers she called a home.

But Corayne’s compassion soon ebbed. She had not forgotten everyone dead for Erida’s hunger. For her own will, long before What Waits crept into her heart.

When Erida struck again, Corayne caught her by the arm. She broke the Queen’s hold on the Spindleblade with a well-practiced twist,compliments of Sorasa Sarn. This time Corayne was faster, snatching the sword off the ground to raise the gruesome steel painted in too much blood.

Shaking, Corayne laid the sword to Erida’s exposed neck, the edge of it against skin.

Beneath her, Erida choked back a gasp of frustration. There was no remorse in her, only bitter acceptance.

“This is the cost,” she said, breathless, torn between a scream and a sob. “This is the price I must pay.”

Corayne wanted to slap Erida, to scream in her face.This was your own doing, your own choice, she wanted to yell.Your greed brought us here long before What Waits wormed into your head. You destroyed half the world for nothing more than another crown.Around the hilt of the Spindleblade, her fingers curled, itching to wrap around Erida’s throat.

But Corayne held her ground. Her eyes flicked up, to the steps now inches away. They splintered, ashes sweeping across crumbling marble. She still could not see the top, the upper levels engulfed in shadow.

A red light pulsed among the branches, thumping like the beat of a ragged heart.

“We can only walk the path in front of us,” Corayne said, repeating Erida’s own words from so long ago. From another life, when they first met, queen and pirate’s daughter.

On the ground, the Queen’s ruined face crumbled, tears gathering in her eyes. Corayne half expected them to turn to steam.

“I leave you to the path you’ve chosen, Erida,” Corayne murmured, taking a step backward. The sword still angled between them, keeping the Queen at bay. “The fate you deserve.”

The steps rumbled, the earth shaking. Erida swayed with it, her ash-brown hair singed at the edges as embers landed. For a moment, theyflared up, beautiful as a crown.

You do not have the spine for it, my dearest love.

Corayne flinched as if stabbed, almost losing her grip on the sword.

Insider her head, What Waits spoke with another voice, the only one that could break Corayne’s heart.

Mother.

Something shifted in the smoke, a shadow at the top of the marble stairs. It took form slowly, solidifying into the silhouette of a figure too horrifying to comprehend. He was too tall, His limbs too long, His head dipped beneath the weight of impossible horns. As Corayne looked, frozen to the spot, the red light flared and pulsed faster, until two slitted eyes opened in the shadows, bright as the heart of a lightning bolt, burning hotter than any fire ever could.