Page 47 of A Court of Thralls and Thorns

This was a brother.

A man who had shaped himself into something different than what his family had tried to make him.

And I hated that it made my stomach twist.

Hated the way my mind warred with itself.

Because if Zander Rayne had a heart, even one small, protected piece of it?—

Then how much of my hatred was misplaced?

Zander glanced toward the doorway, and I hugged the wall. “Elara. I will be right back.”

I ran swiftly and silently down the hallway, my breath steady despite the rush of adrenaline surging through my veins.

The hidden wall loomed ahead, blending seamlessly into the stone. I reached for the sconce with the illumination crystal, twisting it just enough to release the hidden latch.

With a soft groan, the wall shifted, revealing the dark passage beyond.

I slipped through, my movements quick, but I didn’t get to fully lock it in place.

Instead, I waited, pressing my back against the cool wall as I listened.

A heartbeat.

Muffled, steady, familiar.

Zander.

He was still on the other side.

I heard the soft creak of boots against stone, then the faint shuffle of movement—like he was lingering.

For a long moment, he didn’t leave.

Then, finally, his footsteps faded as he moved away, presumably returning to Elara’s room.

I exhaled.

Slipping further into the dark passage, I secured the wall behind me, leaving no trace that I had ever been there.

I scurried back toward my squad’s barracks, the familiar path burned into my mind, my heartbeat only just beginning to slow.

When I pushed open the side door to our room, I froze.

Riven and Cordelle were already awake.

Riven sat cross-legged on her bed, running a whetstone over the blade of her dagger, while Cordelle scribbled something into his leather-bound notebook.

The moment I stepped in, Riven’s gaze snapped to mine.

“Where were you?” she asked, brows raised.

I kept my expression neutral, shutting the door behind me. “Just checking out how far down this hallway goes.”

Riven studied me for a moment before shrugging. “The walls go all the way from one side of the cliffs to the other. Warriath is positioned on the corner of the continent, so it’s one long arced wall, wide enough to house all the guilds and support the battlements.”

I nodded as if this was brand-new information to me, even though I had already figured out most of it. “I just can’t believe the ingenuity of the construction. It’s not like the other kingdoms.”