Page 142 of With Wing And Claw

Fear grabbed her by the throat, that one name piercing through the fog of her exhaustion, her confusion, her rising nausea. Naxi –wherewasshe? Had she run into this army on her way out? Surely she wouldn’t have been captured or even killed so easily – but if she had, if—

No, wait.

Nicanor hadaskedher where the little menace was.

He couldn’t know, then, could he? He couldn’t have found her yet? Which meant Naxi was out there,somewhere—

And innocent.

For a single, chest-shattering moment, she could not breathe.

‘I … I don’t understand.’ She had to keep talking. She had to know just how much she’d messed up – how much she’d misunderstoodallof it. ‘If you wanted to get rid of me, why not just tell every single soul around the court? They would have done the job within the hour. No easier way to dispose of me.’

‘Who says I wanted to dispose of you?’ he said, and he sounded genuinely offended as he turned back towards her, white brows drawn together. ‘I like you far too much to do away with you that easily, Demonbane. Figured I’d try to nudge you in the right direction first. There would have been no need for draconic measures if that had worked.’

Nudge.

Horrific certainty washed over her.

‘Symeon,’ she breathed, and the floor swayed harder. ‘That attack on me – him calling me a traitor – that was—’

Nicanor shrugged, looking amused. ‘He may have received some suggestions on the verbiage, yes.’

No, Nicanor!the boy had shrieked in that moment before the knife slit his throat, genuine panic in his eyes.I was just—

Just following orders.

Just scaring her into picking the safe path, the path that went along with what most of the court wanted her to do. Stay loyal to the Mother’s legacy. Wage war against the rest of the archipelago. Regain control,somehow, of the empire they had lost.

She barely felt her limbs anymore.

‘And the leak on the human housing – telling Iaris, then killing her after she’d spread the news – that was you, too?’

‘I took care to do it while you were away from the court,’ he said, looking genuinely rueful as he grimaced. ‘You weren’t supposed to be in any danger at all, I promise. Figured I’d let the mob kill a few humans before I regained control of the situation, to show you that you were only causingmoreinnocents to become victims with your incomprehensibly chivalrous decisions – but that admittedly went a little sideways when you returned earlier than I expected. Apologies for that.’

Apologies?

Apologies?

She wanted to hit him. She wanted to strangle him with his own fucking coat –anything, really, to break through that polished, uncaring breeziness. Her body wouldn’t obey, her mind too busy catching up to remember her muscles’ existence. Her heartbeat was a rambling gallop. Her hands were clammy with sweat.

‘You told Bereas to attack the ships.’ It all made sense now. Too much strategy for that smug fucking hothead, indeed. ‘Another attempt to narrow my options. You … you spread word of the agreement I was about to make with the Alliance and then poisoned me at the Hunter’s Moon yourself?’

‘Mm-hmm.’ He threw her a quick grin. ‘Painless poison, though. I promised you that.’

‘How? You were never even near my wine!’

‘Oh, it wasn’t in the wine,’ he said and beamed – an expression ofgenuinepride, a sudden spark of passion in his pale blue eyes. ‘It wasn’t Fire’s Kiss in the first place. See, I developed thisreallyintriguing substance that can spread the toxins through touch alone – so I took the antidote, then rubbed the stuff all over my hand. You may remember—’

That hand.

On her shoulder.

‘Oh, gods.’ Her breath came in shivery gasps now. ‘Oh, gods – and then Gadyon—’

One purple bargain mark on her wrist.

No pink,and that was all she’d be able to see in the gallery … but only now, with clarity of mind returning to her, did she realise there had been asecondmark missing.