Page 31

“This is where we part ways.” I threw a heavy pouch at Gareth’s feet, coins clinking as it landed in the mud.

“That’s all I can do for you. Follow the cliff path to leave the city.

There’s a ship waiting at Tiberix port. I’ve kept my promise—now disappear and never show your face in Aetheria again. ”

I turned to leave, motioning for Laurel to follow, when a sharp intake of breath froze me in place. I spun around to find Gareth holding a jagged piece of glass against Laurel’s throat, his arm locked around her chest.

Where did he get that? A small voice in my mind nagged.

“Did you really think I would let you both leave so easily?” His lips curled into a snarl as rain began pelting down harder, plastering his hair to his forehead. “You D’Arcanes are all the same—think you can use people and discard them when convenient.”

I should’ve known better.

My heart hammered in my chest, but I kept my voice steady. “Let her go, Gareth. This is between you and my family.”

“Doesn’t matter. I want every one of you dead,” he spat, pressing the glass harder against Laurel’s throat. A thin line of crimson appeared on her pale skin.

“I won’t ask twice.” My hand inched toward my hidden pocket.

Gareth laughed, a hollow sound that mixed with the growing downpour. “What will you do, my lady? Run crying to your prince? Or perhaps—”

I lunged forward as lightning split the sky, illuminating Gareth’s shocked face.

He shoved Laurel aside and met my attack, his weight and strength almost overwhelming me.

We crashed to the muddy ground, rolling dangerously close to the lake’s edge.

His hands found my throat, squeezing until spots danced before my eyes.

Everything happened so fast. I didn’t even realize what I was doing before it was too late.

My fingers scrabbled desperately at my skirts, finding the pocket where Anderic’s dagger lay hidden. With the last of my strength, I pulled it free and plunged it into Gareth’s heart.

His expression shifted from rage to disbelief as the life drained from his eyes. His body slumped forward, heavy and warm against me as rain washed his blood across my hands and bodice.

The dagger’s jeweled hilt glinted in the faint light, crimson droplets sliding down the blade onto my fingers.

I stared at my hands in horror, crimson rivulets running down my wrists as the rain tried and failed to wash away Gareth’s blood.

My stomach clenched, not because I’d killed him—the bastard deserved it—but because I’d just created another mess to clean up.

Murder complicated things. Murder created questions. Questions I didn’t have answers for.

Anderic. What if he found out? No, I can’t let that happen.

Things were finally right between us. Fragile, yes—but steady. I couldn’t ruin it again. Not now. Not after everything.

“Get off me, you miserable bastard,” I growled, trying to shove Gareth’s lifeless body away. Even in death, he was being difficult—his dead weight pinned me to the muddy ground as the downpour intensified, turning the earth beneath us into a slick pit.

Lightning cracked across the sky, illuminating his vacant eyes staring sightlessly into mine. I twisted and pushed, but he remained immovable, a final act of defiance.

“My lady!” Laurel’s voice broke through the sound of rain. She grabbed Gareth’s shoulders, her small hands white with effort. “Help me push on three.”

Together, we rolled his body off mine. I sat up, gasping, my once-beautiful midnight blue gown now streaked with mud and worse, but thankfully his blood didn’t show.

“Are you hurt? Did he—” Laurel’s eyes were wide, her face pale in the darkness.

“I’m fine.” I wasn’t fine. Nothing about this situation was fine. “He’s not.”

We stood panting, staring at each other, then at the body between us.

The jeweled hilt of Anderic’s dagger glinted accusingly in the occasional flash of lightning.

Just hours ago, I’d been in Anderic’s arms, tasting champagne on his lips, feeling his hands tighten possessively on my waist. Now I was standing in the rain with a corpse at my feet.

How did my evening turn into this nightmare?

“What do we do now?” I finally asked, my voice sounding strangely calm to my own ears.

Laurel cleared her throat, rainwater streaming down her face like tears. “Lake Calista. Like you threatened him with before.”

I nodded, bending down to grasp Gareth’s ankles. Laurel took his shoulders, and we struggled through the mud toward the lake’s edge. The water looked black and bottomless in the stormy night, perfect for hiding secrets.

Or, in our case, a dead body.

As I was about to push him in, Laurel grabbed my arm.

“Wait! We can’t just dump him like that,” she said, her voice urgent. “His body will float back up. We need to tie him to something heavy, like a stone.”

I looked at her incredulously. “Have you disposed of many bodies before, Laurel? Should I be concerned?”

She looked at me; her blank expression didn’t hide the judgment in her eyes. “It’s just… common knowledge.”

“Common knowledge? In what circles have you been moving?” I shook my head, rainwater spraying from my soaked hair. “Whatever. We don’t even have rope to tie him with. And in this downpour, the tunnels will flood soon.” I gestured toward the darkening sky. “We need to leave. Now.”

The rain pounded harder, soaking through my ruined gown, making the midnight blue fabric cling to my skin like a second layer. A flash of lightning illuminated Gareth’s pale face, his eyes staring blankly at the heavens as if accusing the gods of betrayal.

Whatever. I didn’t care.

“Why don’t we just dump him and be done with it?” I nudged his limp arm with my mud-caked slipper. “I doubt anyone would find him. The lake is deep enough.”

Laurel’s eyes widened in horror. “No, my lady! We need to be thorough. If his body surfaces…” She trailed off, the implications hanging heavy between us.

“We’ll both go back. I will return with the rope and take care of it. You don’t have to worry,” Laurel’s voice took on an edge of authority I’d never heard before.

“Absolutely not.” I squared my shoulders, channeling every ounce of noble authority I could muster while standing ankle-deep in mud beside a corpse. “I’ll stay here. You run back through the tunnels and return with rope. We’ll take care of this together.”

Laurel hesitated, rainwater streaming down her face. “My lady, I don’t think—”

“Hurry!” I hissed, giving her a gentle push toward the tunnel entrance. “If the tunnels flood, we’re both trapped out here with him. I’ll be fine. Just be quick.”

She nodded reluctantly and disappeared into the darkness of the passage.

I turned back to the grisly task at hand, pushing my sodden hair from my face.

The corpse at my feet wasn’t getting any lighter or less dead.

The rain was washing away the blood now, but nothing could wash away the trouble I’d gotten myself into.

As I stared at the dark waters of Lake Calista, the hairs on the back of my neck prickled, and I became acutely aware of a familiar gaze burning into my back.

That feeling again—the one I’d come to recognize all too well.

My blood ran cold, colder than the rain pelting my skin.

The weight of eyes watching me. I knew who it was before he even spoke, the sensation of his gaze as familiar to me now as my own heartbeat.

“Well, well,” Anderic’s silky voice sliced through the downpour, smooth as silk and just as dangerous. “Quite the mess you’ve made, Princess. Should I be flattered you used my dagger for the occasion?”