Page 53

53

D aisy rushed through Orc Mountain’s corridors without thinking, her sketchbook tightly clutched to her chest. Just needing to run, to escape, to forget…

But even as she sprinted down a long spiral staircase, lurched into a dark unfamiliar corridor, she knew there was no escaping it now. No forgetting. Not even down here, further and deeper, into a part of the mountain she’d never seen before. With rough broken walls, and twisty narrow corridors, and only a few dark jagged doorways…

But maybe she’d somehow learned to read the stone after all, from all that exploring and drawing with Filak , because she ducked behind a tall crevice in the wall, and found — another tunnel. Another deeper, darker passage through the stone, another door, leading into a small, unfamiliar, unremarkable stone room.

But it felt good, it felt safe, even with the too-distinct feeling of Filak striding into it behind her, snapping his hand to the wall. And with a loud, grating crunch, the door was gone, replaced with a solid, unmovable wall of stone. Leaving Daisy … trapped. Caught in this dank little dungeon, alone, with him.

And maybe — maybe that felt right, too. Maybe even… a relief. Knowing they were alone together, safe together, where they could do and say whatever the hell they wanted. And as Filak angrily began prowling around the walls, thudding more stone down to reinforce them, to trap Daisy in deeper with him, she almost felt — grateful.

“What the hell was all that?” she finally demanded at him, through her still-choked throat. “ Hvae var tetta ? What the fokk !”

Filak’s snarl back was just as angry, and he slammed down another sheet of rock with satisfying force. “ I tell you we no trust them,” he hissed. “ I never trust them!”

Daisy jerked a nod, and began pacing too, clutching her sketchbook tighter to her chest. “ I know,” she gulped. “ I thought — I hoped — ach. I never dreamt they would think we were murderers , all this time!”

Filak scoffed and slammed down another sheet of rock, and then launched into a swift, furious stream of Aelakesh . Something about selfish short-sighted top-dwellers, and Ash - Kai finding schemes behind every rock, and so-called scholarly Ka -esh being too stupid to see the truth shouting in front of their faces.

That wrenched at something in Daisy’s belly, but Filak was still slamming down rocks, his eyes blazing on Daisy’s face. “ We leave them,” he snarled. “ We forget them. We go to Skyli , we keep them out, forever!”

It caught Daisy’s breath for an instant — he wanted to leave with her, forever? But yes, wait, that was exactly what he was doing. He was blocking off this room, making it so no one could ever follow, and — Daisy’s eyes followed the lines of the stone — he would start digging, there on that wall he hadn’t yet touched. He would dig them straight to the Skyli , and block it off with endless walls of stone, and they would never, ever need to see anyone here again.

Daisy's agreement was already rising, almost escaping — yes, that was exactly what they should do — but then it caught. Quivered . Held . And her eyes dropped to the sketchbook still in her hands, to all the people and art and promises it held. All the… seeing.

“But what about… the rest of them?” she asked, thick in her throat. “ Everyone else who’s still back there, who wasn’t involved in this?”

But Filak furiously shook his head, and waved them all away with a swipe of his claws, so sharp that rocks clattered across the room. “ Forget them,” he spat. “ We no need them!”

Daisy blinked back down at her sketchbook, and then her numb fingers flipped it open. Skipping through pages, until she reached all her drawings from these past few weeks. The cave. Orc Mountain’s sickroom. Efterar , and Kesst . The Bautul forge. The tunnels she’d explored with Filak . The Skyli . The garden. Rosa . Rosa’s sons. Rosa’s brothers. Julian .

The portrait of Julian was the one Daisy had drawn in Rosa’s communications office, the day they’d all been laughing and drawing each other, and it was a good angle, a good likeness. Capturing that familiar wry smile on Julian’s handsome face, and also that ever-present sadness, whispering in his eyes. And the longer Daisy blinked at it, the more it clutched in her chest, prickled behind her eyes. Gods , Julian had been so kind to them. So generous. And whatever he’d known about the attack, he surely hadn’t suspected them. He’d defended them both from the start. From that first moment in the dungeon, when he’d promised Daisy his help.

And maybe Filak had caught that, glancing over his shoulder from where he was slamming down another rock. “ We write Julian , after,” he told her, his voice flat. “ Send him to come to Skyli .”

Daisy twitched a nod, but she kept blinking down at Julian’s face, at that sadness in his eyes. Because Julian wouldn’t really want to come live with them alone in the Skyli , would he? He wouldn’t want to be blocked off from the rest of the world forever — and therefore, from any chance of seeing Rurik again, either. No , Julian deserved better, and gods, so did Kalfr , and Efterar and Kesst , and Rosa and John - Ka and their brothers and sons. And all the people who’d helped with the Skyli , and all the rest of the Ka -esh, and all that damned mountain.

All the people Lew still wanted to kill. Poison . War . Death . Feeding belladonna to children . To Daisy’s own son.

And Daisy had sworn to stop hiding. She’d sworn to stop escaping and forgetting. No matter how terrifying it was, no matter how much it hurt.

She needed to see.

“Filak,” Daisy whispered, tight in her throat. “ We can’t leave. Not yet. Nei .”

Filak wrenched around again, his eyes wild and disbelieving on her face, and Daisy drew in a deep breath, pulled herself straight. “ We can’t leave yet,” she repeated, steadier this time. “ They were wrong, to suspect us like that. They were wrong to keep secrets from us. They were wrong to judge you for no reason, again .”

Filak didn’t speak, his eyes still glittering on hers, and Daisy blinked back down at her sketchbook, dragged in another breath. “ But they also — helped us. They let us stay, even after we damaged their sickroom. They healed me, and kept me safe from Lew . They gave me freedom to wander all over the mountain, and draw whatever I wanted. They welcomed my art, and encouraged it, and — they even offered to help me publish a book.”

But Filak’s head was shaking, and he slammed down another slab of stone behind him without even looking. “ They do this for them ,” he hissed. “ They wish to use you. Keep you.”

Use you. Keep you . It was another clutch in Daisy’s belly, bitter and daunting and far too raw, and she gulped down another breath, and shook her head. “ Not all of them, Filak ,” she said thickly. “ They paid me for my work. They helped me. They helped us .”

Filak kept shaking his head, a growl rumbling from his mouth, but Daisy kept going. “ And now — now they’re under attack,” she whispered. “ And I want to help them.”

Filak’s growl deepened, and he broke into another stream of harsh, angry Aelakesh . Insisting that Daisy had already done enough for them, she owed them nothing, they could fix their own damned problems.

“But,” Daisy cut in, between deep breaths. “ I was Lew’s partner for four years , Filak . I — I supported him, and helped him, and I didn’t — I didn’t even see what he was doing, with this attack. I did nothing to stop him. And I know his actions aren’t my responsibility, but” — she dragged down more air — “ I still think I can help. I want to help. I want to try.”

She didn’t know how much of that Filak had understood, but he came a slow step toward her, his hands in fists at his sides. “ Nei , Daisy ,” he said, a hoarse, menacing snarl. “ Nei Lew . Forget Lew .”

It was another wrench in Daisy’s gut, another whirling truth in the mess, because yes, Filak wanted to forget, too. And that wasn’t new, was it? No , Filak had always wanted her to forget with him, to escape with him, to run away into the dark with him. And she’d been all too willing, but…

“I can’t, Filak ,” she croaked at him, even as he came another slow, purposeful step toward her. “ I can’t forget Lew . It didn’t work. It only let him keep doing this without interference, getting that much further with his horrible plan! I need to — to face him, Filak . I need to see him.”

Filak’s eyes widened, his nostrils flaring, and too late, Daisy heard what she’d just said. She needed to face Lew . To see him. See him.

And yes, that was what she needed to do. It was the only way…

“I need to see Lew , Filak ,” Daisy whispered, holding his flashing eyes. “ I need to go back.”

She needed to go back.

The words kept hovering, echoing, while Filak stared at Daisy with those wide, unblinking eyes. As if he was considering it, as if he might even allow it…

And then — something cracked, loud and jagged and thunderous. The — floor. The floor was breaking beneath them, because Filak was roaring, his eyes burning, his body a sharp furious torrent of wild shouting rage.

“ Nei, Daisy ,” he spat, as he surged toward her. “ Nei Lew . Tú ert mín . Mine !”

She was his. His . And before Daisy could open her mouth, Filak crowded her back against the wall behind her, and yanked something out from his belt.

A… chain. A familiar, beautifully forged gold chain, shimmering and tinkling as it pooled through his long clawed fingers…

It was that chain. The chain he’d used to trap her in the dungeon. And why did he still have it, had he still had it this entire time, oh gods, oh gods —

But there was nothing Daisy could do. Nowhere to run. And she could only watch, waiting and trembling and terrified, as Filak swung the chain up, and snapped it to her throat.