story after another, winding up to the top, spiraling around.
Did Samael regret slaughtering the Free Men tonight? It hadn’t been part of his plan, and maybe put his informant at risk. Getting information about the meetings of the Free Men would only be more difficult in the future.
Before I crossed out into the hallway on the top floor, I blew out my candle. I didn’t want anyone spotting it outside.
Then, I peered around the corner, searching for signs of movement. No one else was up here. Not a heartbeat, not a breath.
I tiptoed into the hallway. I didn't stop to look at the room where my sister had once lived, where she probably died. I didn't want to think about the blood on the glass. The charm lost among the floorboards. So I pushed those thoughts away, and I kept creeping along in the dark hall, until I got to the door that led out onto the crumbling spike of bridge.
Slowly, I inched it open. When I slipped outside, the cool night air rushed over me, exhilarating. I stepped out onto the broken bridge that jutted out so high over the river.
The wind whipped over me, and I smiled, feeling oddly at home on the desolate shard of rock. But I didn’t see Finn. What the hell, Finn?
I’d give him only a minute or two, and then I would head back. I didn’t know what Samael would do if he found me missing, and I didn’t really want to find out. There were only so many times I could use my “passed out drunk between the wall and the mattress” routine.
Wrapping my arms around myself, I looked out over the dark water. It wasn't often in the city of Dovren that you could get a clear sky like this, a perfect vault of stars. I almost felt a certain magic beaming into me from the moon and stars.
But as I stared up at the night sky, my body started to tense, because I felt a subtle, nearly imperceptible vibration in the stones beneath my feet. Movement somewhere in the tower.
I closed my eyes. Raven King, keep me safe.
I’d been so careful. So quiet sneaking in, and I'd made sure no one was around whatsoever. I’d made sure my candle was out.
I reached for the holster at my thigh, and pulled the dagger.
I held my breath as I heard the creaking of a door inside.
Bollocks.
I was basically trapped out here on a crumbling stone promontory, high above the river.
Samael had said the soldiers’ bones were completely shattered when they fell, bodies smashing hard against the water. It no longer felt quite as comforting up here.
The sound of footsteps in the hallway told me I wouldn't be getting out of here unnoticed.
The door of the bridge opened, and three soldiers stood in the entryway. “Lila!” One of them shouted.
My stomach dropped. How the fuck did he know my real name?
The soldier drew his sword, but I lunged closer, closing the distance so he couldn’t use it effectively. I slashed for his face. He dodged back, nearly toppling off the bridge, arms windmilling.
I lunged again, this time slamming the blade up between his ribs, pulling it back out fast before I lost my balance. The wind rushed over us, whipping at my hair. Lucky for me, the narrowness of the bridge meant I only had to fight one at a time.
The soldier clutched his chest where I’d stabbed him, and he toppled off the bridge, his scream ripping through the night silence, growing quieter as he fell.
But already, there were four more coming for me. I was outnumbered, and in a terrible position. Fear crackled along my nerve endings. I could read the pure hatred in their Clovian eyes.
“Your kind should be exterminated,” one of them shouted. “Wiped off the earth like the vermin you are. Lila.”
My real name again. I’d been discovered.
My lip curled, and I widened my stance, ready to take on the next one. Somehow I felt like the night air was giving me strength, imbuing my muscles with speed. The bridge was only about two feet across at this point, and I had to be very careful I didn’t lose my balance. But even though I was outnumbered, I could take each of them one at a time if I really focused.
The next soldier was also trying to use his sword, but again I made sure he was in too close. “Bitch!” he shouted at me. “Your kind make