the door.
She was granting her a way out, sacrificing her body, her life, to do it.
The Watcher kicked her again, hard in the throat. As she fell back, he descended upon her, a saber tip pressing against her chest, just above her heart. His elbow trapped the arm still wielding a dagger, the rest of his weight pressing against her waist to keep her from moving.
“Why do you hunt me?” she heard him ask Zusa. It seemed so strange to her, to hear him wonder, but she dared not think of it. She wouldn’t allow Zusa to die for nothing. With her fall, Alyssa knew there was no way for her to escape. Men shouted from the other side of the door, but they were yet to begin breaking it in. At least she could accomplish something with her death. At least she could reward such a loyal servant for all she had done.
“Wait!” Alyssa screamed before she might lose her courage. “Take me, but let her live!”
The Watcher looked over to her, a quick glance before returning his gaze back to Zusa, who even in such a state remained dangerous.
“Why?” he asked. “Why would you kill yourself? I offered you a chance to end all this! Are you so vain that you would rather die than work with men such as me? All of Veldaren suffers, and I offer a chance to save it!”
“I never read your offer. I could never agree, not after what you’ve done. Now take my life, and spare hers.”
“What I’ve done?” he asked, and he sounded genuinely perplexed.
“Her son,” Zusa said, her voice hoarse from the kick. “You killed her son, then scrawled your name in the dirt with his blood.”
The Watcher looked taken aback. His eyes glanced between them. When something heavy thudded against the door, his body tensed.
“When?” he asked, his voice soft.
“Weeks ago, on the road north to Tyneham.”
Using one of his sabers, he pushed the final dagger free from Zusa’s hand, then stood.
“Murderer of children,” he whispered, as if finally understanding something. “I know what child you speak of. Five years old, perhaps six, red hair? He lives, lady Gemcroft. I saved him, though he was wounded and with fever. I left him in the care of a family, and paid them well to protect him.”
Alyssa shook her head. He had to be lying. It didn’t make any sense.
“Why?” she asked. “How? The caravan was attacked…”
“I came upon an ambush of a caravan, but not by thieves. They were men wearing the same insignia, a sickle held before a mountain. Your boy was the target. I never learned his name, but the caravan contained crates of gold bearing your family’s crest. They were smuggling it in to the Serpent Guild, though why, I do not know.”
It was too much. That crest, that was Hadfield’s family crest. Could he have attacked Mark, attacked Nathaniel? But why would the Watcher lie? He could easily kill her and Zusa. And besides, she’d seen her son’s body…his burned…
“Arthur claimed to have found the body,” Zusa said, as if she too were following her thinking. “His men brought it back. His men found the caravan. Mark, your lover. Nathaniel, your heir.”
As the door to her room cracked, the hinges wincing in protest, she saw the Watcher tighten the muscles in his body. He was preparing an action. Time was nearing its end. She couldn’t stall. She had to make a decision, the one that felt right.
“If you did save my son, you have my most sincere gratitude,” she said. “I’ll agree to your terms. Zusa told me they were fair, and I trust her. But if find this to be a lie, I will bring the wrath of the entire Trifect down upon you.”
The Watcher grinned at the threat.
“I have a date with the Serpents, so I must be going. I’ll keep your threat in mind.”
He turned to the window and ran, leaping out as if a madman. Then she saw him catch the rope still hanging, and like a spider he zipped back up toward the roof and beyond her line of sight. Zusa gingerly rose to her feet, holding her bleeding arm with her hand.
“You know what you must do,” she said, and Alyssa nodded.
“Enough!” she shouted to the men trying to break down her door. “Stand back; he’s gone.”
Zusa went over and unlocked the door. Guards spilled in, their weapons drawn as if they refused to believe her. One checked underneath her