guards outside, expecting Amir to open the door and climb inside and gloat, but nobody came.
Vasili was out there, riding atop Adamo like the coldhearted Caville prince he’d always been.
The more time that passed, the more his rage dangerously simmered in his veins.
He’d said the cabin was real—he’d said they were real.
And the worst of it was, Niko knew who Vasili was. He knew everything the prince was capable of, and he’d known Vasili would do this. What had he thought? That his dick was so fucking perfect that Vasili would suddenly become good after sampling it? By Etara, he was a fucking idiot. A stupid, blind fool. Again. And that was the worst of it. He hadn’t seen it with Julian because the bastard had been so good at hiding his lies within himself. But Vasili… The truth was all over him, in every glance, every word. He fucking told Niko what he’d do, and still Niko had been surprised when the snake had turned around and sunk his fangs in?
Niko thumped his head against the side of the carriage hard enough to summon an ache.
After everything they’d shared, the heartless viper hadn’t changed.
Fuck him.
Fuck them all.
Fuck Vasili, fuck Roksana, and fuck the Yazdans. Niko didn’t need anyone but himself.
He kicked again at the door. Its panel dented some. He kicked again, then backed up and threw his shoulder into a lunge. The door flung open, he fell for a heartbeat, then hit the ground hard enough to stun the breath out of him.
Shouts rose.
He didn’t dare look to see how close they were, just staggered to his feet, focusing on getting away. Scorching pain ignited in his shoulder—the same damn shoulder he’d dislocated before. Didn’t matter. Didn’t care. He was damn well getting away from them all if he had to drag his sorry ass from the road with his fucking teeth.
Horses circled in, blocking every angle. Their riders were dark silhouettes against the full glare of the sun.
The sound of a whip cracking was all the warning he received before agony tore down his back. He cried out around the cloth and whirled, squinting at the figure haloed in sunlight. Vasili… No, he wouldn’t.
Niko staggered. The man atop his chestnut horse raised the whip again.
“Run, Lord Nikolas. Please run for me.” Amir. His voice full of laughter.
The whip’s crack came down on Niko’s arm, zipping open a bleeding line.
Niko swayed on his feet, his body fighting to drop in the dirt. He fixed the rat prince in his sights and took a step forward. He’d pull that fucker from his horse if it were the last thing he ever did.
The whip cracked again, catching Niko’s sore thigh. He barked a cry and went down to a knee.
“Get back in that carriage or I’ll flay all the skin from your bones right here and leave your body hanging in a tree.”
Everything ached and trembled. Blood dripped down his leg, or maybe it was piss. He couldn’t tell. Didn’t care. He got his trembling legs under him and stumbled toward Amir’s horse, making the animal shy enough for Amir to fight to get it back under control.
“Oh, you want some more? Hm?” Amir laughed. “You like it, dog?”
None of the guards intervened, they just looked on like the puppets they were. Men and women who had lost their will to the flame. Niko couldn’t see Amir’s eyes in the sun’s glare to know if he was truly lost, but he suspected not. The flame didn’t care for any of this. It was Amir’s doing.
The whip cracked again, slicing across his chest, leaving a hot, wet line in his skin.
He saw him then, saw Adamo pawing the earth, and saw Vasili coolly observing from his saddle.
Amir’s gaze tracked Niko’s, finding his brother at the end of it. He grinned at Niko and leaned forward in his saddle. “You’re all mine now. Isn’t that right, Vasili?”
Vasili narrowed his eye but stayed silent.
“Get his ass back in the carriage and tie his fucking legs properly this time!” Amir snapped.
Vasili’s words, if he had any, were lost when the guards swooped in and manhandled Niko back inside the carriage.
They tied his ankles again, harder this time, and slammed the door closed.
The next opportunity to escape would come when they took him from the carriage into whatever building Amir would eventually tie him up inside. Niko was ready. If he failed again, if Amir got him somewhere secure, there wouldn’t be another chance.
The carriage’s