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C ora stared at the two bodies, her mind reeling over what she’d seen. He’d taken their blood. The same way he’d taken Linette’s. And her own. He’d woven the prisoners’ blood between his palms, just like he’d done with hers the night he freed her from the dungeon.

What did it mean?

Teryn’s voice stole through her thoughts. “You seek to be king?”

“Let us not get ahead of ourselves,” Morkai said. “You must first bow to King Dimetreus.”

Cora swallowed hard, seeking her voice through the tangle of emotions that threatened to crush her. “What are you implying?”

“Dimetreus shall become King of Lela,” he said.

She furrowed her brow. The three kingdoms of southern Risa hadn’t been called Lela in hundreds of years. If Morkai sought to reform Lela…

“That’s the reason for the war,” she said. “You want to conquer Menah and Selay to rule over all three kingdoms.”

“Dimetreus wants to conquer Menah and Selay. I am simply helping him execute his plan.”

She shook her head. Regardless of what Morkai tried to insist, she knew better than to attribute any of this to her brother. He may have been signing the documents and approving the plans, but every seed was being planted by Morkai. “You just said you’d one day be king. How in the name of the Mother Goddess is that possible?”

Morkai lifted his chin and pinned her with a sly grin. “I am Dimetreus’ heir.”

“No. No, you’re…you’re a duke. My brother gave you that title. You didn’t inherit it. You hardly earned it. You’ve no royal blood. I…”

“Oh, did you think you’d be his heir? Think twice, Aveline. To the rest of your kingdom, you’re still dead. There is only one way you will ever be considered his heir again, but that’s a conversation better left for when we’re alone.”

Cora shuddered at the thought of being alone with him. The coach ride had been enough.

Morkai turned to Teryn and Lex. “Let’s get things moving, shall we? Prince Lexington, my offer to you is simple. You’ve seen my power. You’ve met my wraiths. I assure you the king’s living army is equally as impressive. Dimetreus’ reign over Lela will come swift. Unless you leave Ridine Castle as an ally, we will come for Tomas next. We will wipe out your pitiful kingdom in a single day and put an end to every life you cherish.”

Lex’s face was pale as he fumbled with the hem of his waistcoat. When he spoke, his voice was a trembling whisper. “What must I do to be an ally?”

Teryn stiffened.

“Go home, gather your father’s army, and send them to me,” Morkai said.

Lex’s eyes went wide. “His…army.”

“I’ll even take half,” Morkai said with a smile that didn’t meet his eyes. “Believe me, you will get far more out of an alliance with King Dimetreus than you will with Prince Teryn. Whatever belongs to Menah will soon belong to Lela instead. It’s a simple choice, really. Life or death to put it plainly.”

Lex took a step away from Teryn, his eyes on his feet. “When…when can I leave?”

“You can leave tonight if you wish. It seems someone has taken the liberty of readying your horse.” Morkai shot a glare at Teryn at that last part. “However, I will send you home in the king’s own coach. You can stay at the finest inns along the way.”

Lex lifted his head at that. “Will the king pay for my meals too?”

“Anything you like,” Morkai said, an edge creeping into his voice.

“All right,” Lex said.

Teryn turned slowly toward him. “Lex.”

“I’m sorry,” Lex muttered. At first, he couldn’t seem to meet Teryn’s eyes. Then his expression shifted, turning to steel. “You know what? I’m not sorry. You dragged me into this and I’ve still yet to understand how or why.”

“Lex, I wanted to tell you?—”

“No, it’s too late for that. I’ve been asking you to explain what the hell is going on ever since we met Mister Scary over here. All I’ve come to glean—on my own, mind you—is that you’re a liar.” He jabbed a finger toward Teryn, then pointed at Cora. “You’re a lost princess, and you…” He shrank back as his eyes landed on Morkai. “Well, you have ghosts, an army, and a monster and I’m terrified of all three.”

“The only sensible one of you all,” Morkai said under his breath.

Lex returned his attention to Teryn. “From what I understand, you already made a deal with the king in exchange for some bounty. I’m only following your lead.”

“It’s not like that.”

“It doesn’t matter,” Lex said with an exasperated shrug. “I understand duty as well as you do. I also know how to identify the losing side in a battle. You forget, Tomas has watched two kingdoms fall to Norun. We’ve already done too much to keep from falling next.”

“So you’ll help him destroy my kingdom instead?”

“I’ll do whatever it takes to save those who are important to me. Trust that.”

Teryn’s throat bobbed, his expression pained.

Cora tried to take pleasure in that look, knowing he was feeling a fraction of what Cora had felt when she’d learned what he’d done. Instead, she felt empty. She was still struggling to process everything Morkai had said. Everything he’d still left unexplained.

“Escort Prince Lexington to the royal coach,” Morkai said to a pair of guards. Lex went with them willingly, offering not a single parting glance before he was out of sight.

Morkai angled away from Cora to face Teryn. With his back to her, she studied her surroundings, her assets. The guard with her bow watched her through the slit in his helm, while another stood a few feet away. She noted more guards standing in the shadows along the wall between the garden and the courtyard. They were all heavily armed while all she had was a half-empty quiver. The rest of her arrows littered the charred field. Her fingers flinched, begging her to reach for one of the arrows anyway, if only to have something solid and potentially lethal in her hand.

“What about you, Prince Teryn?” Morkai said. “Will you play the hero or the fool?”

“If I agree to be your ally, will you let me leave tonight too?”

Morkai let out a dark laugh. “No. I’ve already told you. You are a gift, one too valuable to part with. So long as you are in my custody, I have the upper hand, and I will play that hand in the name of peace. As heir to Menah and the fiancé of Selay’s princess, you make a most effective bargaining piece. Your survival will be contingent upon both kingdoms’ surrender. Should you value your life, you will convince your father to accept my terms for a peaceful resolution. When I send word tomorrow about our forthcoming meeting, I will include a letter from you written in your own hand. In it you will sincerely implore Arlous and Verdian to meet King Dimetreus with surrender in mind.”

Teryn held Morkai’s gaze without falter. “If I refuse?”

“If you refuse, then you will be a silent hostage. The result will be the same. Either you speak and urge your father to see reason, or you remain silent, captive, and hope your father has the foresight to know—should he refuse to surrender and enter war with Khero—he will not win.”

Cora’s heart raced as she watched Teryn’s face. She tried to open herself to sense his emotions, but she found her shields had already crumbled. Her nerves were raw, her senses frayed. She was already feeling everything at once and hadn’t even realized it. With a deep inhale, she focused on her breath, on the solid ground beneath her feet. Little by little her mind began to clear.

“What will it be, Prince Teryn?” Morkai said.

Teryn narrowed his eyes. “I will not encourage my father to yield to you, regardless of your threat to my life. You made a mistake in telling me you sought to inherit Dimetreus’ crown. You made a mistake in showing me your dark magic. I would never let Menah bow before a blood mage.”

Morkai took a step closer, his tone icy. “No, Prince Teryn, the mistake is yours.” He lifted a hand. “Take him.”

Four guards surged forward but Teryn immediately put up a fight. Cora watched his hand come around the hilt of one of the guard’s sheathed swords. That was the last thing she saw before she plucked an arrow from her quiver and charged the guard who held her bow. The guard was surprised by Cora’s sudden attack and stumbled a step back, arms spread for balance. Cora closed in and plunged her arrow into a gap in the guard’s armor, burying it into his armpit. The guard dropped Cora’s bow to remove the arrow, taking several more steps back. He tripped again, this time over the body of the old man. The guard went down on his back, his helm tumbling off in the process. Cora gathered up her discarded bow in one hand and took another arrow from her quiver with the other. Without hesitation, she straddled the guard and thrust her arrow through his throat. Only then did she see the guard’s face. It was…a girl, not much older than Cora. Her pupils were unnaturally wide with an odd sheen over her eyes. As she choked on her own blood, the sheen began to fade, her pupils constricting to a more regular size. The girl died with tears streaming from the corners of her eyes.

Cora leapt off the guard, bile rising in her throat. She didn’t know why it should matter that the guard had been a girl. And perhaps that wasn’t what had Cora feeling so rattled. It was more that the guard wasn’t what Cora had been expecting. She’d assumed Morkai’s guards were of the same ilk his hunters had been. Rugged criminals. Mindless killers. But this guard, her eyes…they held the same sheen she’d found in Dimetreus’. These guards weren’t vile monsters cloaked in armor but people . People he was likely controlling in the same way he was Dimetreus. And she’d just killed one of them.

“Well done, Aveline,” Morkai said.

She whirled around, an arrow nocked in her bow. The only guards around were the ones who stood by the wall. Her eyes shot to where she’d last seen Teryn but he was nowhere to be found. She’d been so distracted with the guard, she hadn’t noticed when his fight had ended. Or how it ended. Was he…

She shook the question from her mind and drew her arrow. Morkai lifted a palm, and she felt a sharp pain strike her chest. Her shot went wild as she heaved over, grasping her heart. The pain disappeared, but her lungs felt tight in its absence. Her gaze flew to his upturned palm. A tiny ball of crimson floated above it.

“I still have a drop of your blood.” Morkai strode closer, the red bead suspended over his palm. She held her breath, eyes locked on his hands. His grin widened. “Let’s have a private chat, Princess Aveline.”