I heard her hysterical laughter before I saw her walk back into my line of sight and cringed. The queen was not dead.
“Aha! It worked. I didn’t believe him, but it worked. I have my own SwordBrother. I’m invincible.” She crowed and grabbed Joss by the top of his head and wrenched it so far back he cried out in pain.
The knife at my throat pulled away slightly. I looked up into Kael’s eyes and behind the expressionless mask that he always wore. I saw him. I had stared into his eyes enough times to ponder what he was thinking. And I knew, in this moment, he could see me and he was fighting against that which controlled him.
He didn’t want to hurt me. His eyes were dark storms of fury and pain. I could feel the shadowing anger roll off of him in waves.
“Are you bonded to her?” I whispered, feeling panic consume me. I didn’t know that a SwordBrother could be bonded to more than one person. The bond was backwards if he was. Her life was now connected to his, and since he was near invincible, it was sheer genius on Cirrus’s part.
He didn’t answer, or he couldn’t.
“Okay. Blink once for yes, twice for no.” I was grasping at straws.
Kael’s eyes blinked once slowly. The hand holding the knife shook as he held it toward my throat.
“Does she know about us?” I whispered again. He blinked twice slowly.
“Don’t look at him!” Raven screeched, her voice rising in frustration. “Look at me! What are you willing to give me in exchange for the boy’s freedom? I know you care about him.” Even though she had the knife pointed at Joss, I couldn’t tear my gaze away from Kael.
Freedom! What a glorious thought. I would give anything to be free, and that’s what I answered. “Anything.”
“I want Cirrus back! And you can’t give me that. So instead, you’re going to watch Joss die, the way I watched Cirrus. Then I’m going to kill your father, your cousin, and all of your friends. Then my SwordBrother is going to kill you.” She beckoned to someone behind her and they were all there.
One by one, other Septori came before me and shoved my father, Hemi, Siobhan, and Fenri onto the ground in front of me—all of them tied up and badly beaten.
“No!” I felt Kael try and pull back as the knife brushed my throat drawing blood.
“Yes! I win. I always win. In chess, you know you don’t win until you take out the queen, you stupid girl. You brought this on yourself.”
She paced back and forth among her victims, toying with them. She made a long slice here and there across a forearm, or a little cut across a cheek. Siobhan screamed when the knife came near her arms.
“Stop it!” I yelled. “It’s me you want. Not them. Hurt me. I’m the one who killed Cirrus.”
“But where is the fun in that? I want you to suffer. Maybe what I should do is let them all live and take them with me.” She ran her hands along Joss’s face, then my cousin’s. Look I’ve got Denai, Sirens…I can build myself a whole new army.”
“No!” I shouted. The thought of my father, of Joss, or of any more innocent people being subjected to the torture I had been through was almost my undoing.
“Then choose. I’ll give you the choice of who dies first. Will it be the pretty Denai? I’ve heard you’re in love with him.” She placed her face close to his and he recoiled from the mask. “Will it be your father? Or the girl? I’ll give you to the count to ten, and then I’ll just pick, shall I?” She began to walk up and down the line of victims counting off and pointing the knife at each one of them starting with…Joss.
TEN.
Thalia, Faraway called out to me. Where are you?
I’m by the river. I answered tears pouring out of my eyes as I watched the Raven move from Joss to Hemi.
NINE.
I’m on my way. Hold on.
You’ll never make it in time. You’ll be too late, I answered.
Another brush of thought touch my mind. Wolf.
Wolf? Can you help?
SEVEN.
Nay, I cannot give you what you are unwilling to give up yourself. It was the second time he’d said that to me tonight. Then it hit me.