No wonder Samael had been killing the Free Men so ruthlessly. Oh God. The Free Men were bloody serial killers. And Finn had turned me into their pawn. If I hadn’t discovered that loose floorboard, I might never have got the chance to fix this.
Now I had to redeem myself, and not because I was defiled. Because I’d planted a fucking bomb in the drawer of someone who didn’t deserve it.
When I got to the castle gate, I’d hoped to scream that at the guards. Get word to Samael! Save his life!
Except the guards outside the gate were lying flat, chests rising and falling slowly. Hit by the nightshade, unconscious.
Maybe that wasn’t a bad sign. Maybe the nightshade had put Samael into a gentle slumber, and he’d forgone his nightly tea.
The gate stood closed, so I’d be scaling the walls again. My pure panic completely burned away the tiredness in my limbs.
Raven King, give me speed.
In no time, I was rushing up the walls, one stone after another. Desperate to get to him.
I felt a sort of magic working within me again, that power flowing through the stones, coursing through my veins. Apparently this magic had nothing to do with being on the right path, because without a doubt, I’d been on the wrong path before.
No one was guiding me to do the right thing. I had to figure it out for myself.
As I scaled the wall, the wind rushed over me, thick with the scent of the Dark River. The stars and moonlight beamed above me, and I breathed in the earthy, bitter scent of nightshade.
And along with it, I smelled brine, the moss on the stones. I didn’t smell smoke. That was a good sign.
When I reached the top and hoisted myself over the wall, I saw a field of soldiers still lying in the courtyard grasses. It looked like the most horrific battle had occurred here, and yet no blood had been spilled.
I glanced up at the castle itself. No signs of smoke, no walls blown out.
“Samael!” I screamed, but I could tell my voice was lost in the rushing wind, and I was too far away.
47
Samael
I leaned against the mantel, my mind churning. Everything was falling apart. I wanted Zahra here with me—or whatever her name was.
Despite my dreams, she seemed destined to betray me.
When I closed my eyes, I thought of the way her lips had felt against mine, and a shudder of pleasure rippled through me. She’d enchanted me. I should not be thinking of her large, dark eyes, or her beautiful mouth. I should be thinking about the fact that she’d escaped, and that my entire army was lying face-down in the grass. And that perhaps it was her doing that they were unconscious.
I could not calm my roiling mind, the storm within my skull. I couldn’t think clearly. I turned, and my gaze flicked to the sofa, where she’d slept. Without her here, I felt as if something were missing.
I needed tea before I could make any decisions.
I pivoted. Maybe I shouldn’t have run off after our night together.
Whatever the case, I was further away from becoming High King than ever. Lord Armaros probably already knew that I’d lost control of the castle. I imagined he’d spread the word already.
A legion of Clovian soldiers lay sleeping in the courtyard, and I didn’t even know how it had happened. I’d been swooping over the riverbank, searching for Zahra, and I returned to find a fortress of sleeping people.
I’d been sure she was mortal. She smelled mortal. What had she done?
She could be allied with the Free Men. They had the Mysterium Liber in their possession, and that contained magic. Perhaps they’d learned to use the spells within it, and they’d summoned a demon.
But if she were allied with the Free Men, it didn’t explain why they’d tried to kill her in my castle. Because the night I saved her from falling, she’d been attacked by them.
I turned back to the mantel, resting my head on my arm over the stone. I watched the flames move back and forth over the floor. I was losing control, and I wanted to know who I needed to kill.
Darkness billowed in my mind. What if my dream had been wrong?
I thought I needed her as my bride to become High King. I wanted it to be true. She was strangely intoxicating to me, and I wanted her by