Page 14 of A Court of Wings and Shadows

My heart slammed against my ribs.

He meant me. Or did he? I didn’t wield fire.

He staggered to the decanter, poured wine with shaking hands, spilling half of it on the marble. “They think I won’t find it. That I won’t unlock it beforetheydo. But Iwill.I’ll wield it. The Virelith will bend tome.”

He laughed then.

A brittle, broken sound that sent a chill skittering down my spine.

“The fae thought themselves gods,” he sneered. “But they bled, didn’t they? They died. We rose in their place. And now they cower in their holes and send monsters in the dark.”

He turned toward the far wall, where the crimson curtains hung heavy and still. “The prisoner knows. He’s hiding the truth behind those damned eyes. But I’ll get it from him. I’ll rip it from his bones if I have to.”

His voice cracked at the edges now, fraying like old silk.

“No more delays. No more half-measures. The girl is a key, and I will unlock the storm.”

My blood turned to ice.

This wasn’t just strategy.

This was obsession.

Delusion.

The king’s grip on reality, on reason, was slipping.

And he was aiming all of that madness at me.

Chapter

Three

Islipped down the corridor with the king’s rant still echoing in my head, his words like thorns digging beneath my skin. The firelight cast long shadows across the walls, each one shifting like it might lunge for me if I let my guard drop.

Then I paused.

Zander stood at the far end of the hallway, one shoulder leaned against the stone, arms crossed, his expression unreadable beneath the flicker of the sconces.

“What are you doing here?” I asked, my voice low, tight.

His lips quirked. “I live here.”

Right. Castle-born. Royal.

“Oh. Right.”

He pushed off the wall and took a step toward me. “What did my father want?”

I hesitated, then answered carefully, “He asked about Kaelith. About our bond. How she behaves in combat. It felt more like a… test than curiosity.”

“There’s more,” Zander said, his voice dipping, losing its edge of teasing. “You waited by the door, didn’t you?”

I blinked. “How did you?—?”

“I know you,” he said.

“I heard him speaking to himself after I left. His words were erratic. He’s…”