Page 130 of Stormvein

She goes very still at my tone. “Sacha?—”

“Don’t.” I tear a strip of cloth from the bottom of my tunic and dampen it with water from my waterskin. My hands are steadier than they have any right to be. “Just … let me.”

With careful movements, I clean the dried blood away. The cut is shallow, not dangerous, but it’s a stark reminder of how close Lisandra came to ending her life. How close I came to losing something I’m only now beginning to understand the value of.

“I should have killed her.”

“For this?” She attempts a smile. “I’ve had worse paper-cuts.”

“For putting a blade to your throat. For betraying us all.” I clench my jaw, sucking in a breath through my nose, and force myself to silence. The moment replays in my mind. Lisandra’s knife at her throat. The fear that almost froze my blood. Not for the mission or how it would affect the plan, but for her. The rage so pure, I was a whisper away from destroying Lisandra where she stood, consequences be damned.

Years of control, nearly undone in a single heartbeat. For her.

I finish cleaning the wound, my touch gentler than my thoughts. “There. It won’t scar.”

“Thank you.” Her gaze shifts to Lisandra, and stays there. “You wanted to kill her.”

“Yes.”

“But you didn’t.”

“No.”

“Why?”

“You asked me not to.”

She looks back at me. “And that was enough? Just me asking?”

“Yes. It was enough.” I meet her eyes, and let her see the truth in them. “But in return, I want your promise that you won’t try to talk to her tonight. Stay on this side of the camp.”

“Sacha—”

“Your promise, Ellie. Stay away from her tonight.”

Her gaze returns to the ex-leader of Stonehaven. “Do you think she’ll try to escape again?”

“No. She’s not that foolish. But she’s marked you once.” My fingers brush against the delicate skin of her neck. “I have no wish to be in that position a second time.”

“What position?”

“Helpless.” The admission tastes harsh on my tongue. “I have no desire to be helpless to protect you again.”

Her hand covers mine where it rests against her throat. “You’re still here. I’m still here. And tomorrow we face whatever comes next together.” Her lips quirk up into a small smile. One that fades as footsteps come closer from behind me.

“Everywhere is quiet,” Varam says.

I let my hand drop, and rise to my feet so I can turn to face him.

“No sign of Authority movement along the eastern trails,” he continues.

“And the western paths?” We move away toward the edge of the clearing, far enough to hold a conversation without being overheard.

“Jaret saw nothing. If the Authority had scouts nearby, they’ve moved on.”

I nod. “We’ll keep guards posted overnight, all the same.”

His gaze shifts to Ellie, then Lisandra. “You should have killed her.”