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“I don’t care what they do to me,” I answered. “It’s not fair that you’re suffering. You had nothing to do with any of this.”

Sadie shook her head. “It doesn’t matter. I was close enough to Isaiah that I should have seen something. I should have caught on.”

I shut her up by tearing a piece of the loaf and placing it in her boney hands. “Eat,” I demanded. “You need to stay strong.”

She obeyed.

We both pretended like we couldn’t hear Isaiah’s torturous screams somewhere in the depths of the dungeon. Sadie had been listening to it every single day for weeks now. Even though he was a traitor, and even though I almost died because of him, I knew it hurt her.

She loved him.

And he betrayed her trust.

“Do you think things would have been different if Esther wasn’t involved?” I asked her as she ate. “Do you think Isaiah still would have turned on me?”

Memories of my time with Isaiah flashed through my mind. He had beenkindto me. He had saved me from the kraken in the river.

He asked me to leave Malachi for him. He swore I would be safe with him.

And then he conspired to kill me.

Sadie’s eyes were focused on something that wasn’t there. “I don’t know,” she whispered. “I don’t think I know anything about him anymore. All this time I thought we were close, but it turns out he was a stranger.”

A single tear left a watery trail in the dirt on her face.

“I’m going to get you out of here, Sadie. Just hang on a little longer.”

She gave a half-smile, but her eyes never focused back on me. She had gone somewhere else. Somewhere deeper. Likely the same place she was forced to go to every day here in the dungeon to keep herself sane.

“I’ll be back tomorrow if I can,” I whispered as I stood up. “Just hang on.”

My eyes had adjusted to the darkness of the dungeons. I had come down here as often as possible to check on Sadie, only bringing her food when I could spare some from the kitchen without being noticed.

Sadie didn’t deserve this. I knew that.

But Malachi didn’t see it that way. He saw themallas traitors. In his mind, Sadie was just as guilty as Isaiah.

I had to try talking sense into him.

My bare feet silently carried me through the dark tunnels of the underground. I had memorized the path by now. One long hallway and a left turn was all it took.

The temperature raised with every step I took toward the entrance of the dungeon.

I was close. Ten more seconds and I would–

“Enjoying the scenery, princess?” Malachi’s voice echoed off the stone walls.

I froze, my bare feet halting to a stop.

“Yes,” I responded without turning around. “The darkness can be quite beautiful.”

A low growl rumbled the still air around me. “Sadie is down here for punishment. She doesn’t deserve your company.”

I spun around to face him, only to be greeted by a blood-soaked king.

That’s who he was now, I supposed.A blood-soaked king.

Adrenaline pulsed through my veins.