black vanished, making way for the return of the brilliant blue. The prince’s gaze wavered, his pupil shrinking. He staggered, barely holding his balance, tilted his head, and lifted the bloodied blade in his hand as though he was seeing it for the first time. Then he saw the bodies and turned on the spot, staggering under the weight of his own actions.
“Fuck,” Yasir said from close behind Niko. He’d seen it, seen everything.
Niko let the marauder’s body slip from his arms. The prince looked up. Red speckles of blood had dashed his face, stark against his pale skin. Fear flickered in his eye. He’d lost control. Was this the first time, or had there been other moments? Niko tightened his grip on his sword.
Vasili straightened, ran a hand through his wild, knotted hair, and swallowed hard. “We’ve wasted enough time. We need to move.” He strode out of sight behind the wagon toward Adamo.
Niko sheathed his blades for a second time and regarded the bodies. Perhaps the marauders had deserved to die. They surely would have killed them given the chance. But Vasili hadn’t killed them. The flame had. Or maybe they were one and the same now?
“His eye…” Yasir whispered.
“You didn’t see it,” Niko snapped. “You didn’t see any of this.”
“Lycus!” Vasili’s voice lashed. He emerged atop Adamo. “If you mention a single word about burying these bastards, so help me Etara, I will have you flogged. We’re leaving. Now.”
Yasir’s face mirrored the confusion and distrust the man likely felt inside. He’d be wondering exactly who Vasili was and if anything he’d just seen was real. He tucked his pistol away, climbed onto the front of the wagon without a glance at either of them, and geed his horse on.
Vasili held Niko’s gaze, daring him to question what he’d seen, demanding it even.
This was foolish. They didn’t need to stay with Yasir. He’d already seen too much. Mention of a one-eyed man with darkness in his soul would soon travel from Yasir’s gossiping lips to the rest of Seran. The smart thing to do would be to make sure Yasir couldn’t speak of any of this, permanently. But he’d be damned if he was going to hurt an innocent man.
Niko strode past Adamo and muttered under his breath, “You’re going to get that man killed, and I’ll have no part in it.”
“You’ll do as I order.”
Niko checked for Yasir and found him back driving the wagon, geeing the carthorse along. He turned to glare up at the prince atop his massive horse. “We’re not in the palace now, Your Highness. You’re alone, and I’m the only bastard stupid enough to stick by you because I know what you are. We should leave him. Right now. He’ll forget what he saw. If we stay, he’ll ask questions, and he’ll keep watching you, and as soon as you think you’re done with him, you’ll kill him.”
Adamo shifted, and Vasili tightened his grip on the horse’s reins. He leaned down. “You think me a monster?”
“I know you are.” Niko flung a hand back toward the retreating wagon. “Let the man go.”
Vasili glanced at the wagon and back to Niko. “I have no intention of hurting Yasir. I find his presence refreshing.” Unlike yours, the prince’s unspoken words rang between them.
Niko threw his hands up, retrieved his wandering horse, and swung himself into the saddle. He trotted the animal alongside Adamo.
The prince’s pale lashes fluttered, and some of his hardness thawed. Adamo leaned in toward Niko’s horse, and Vasili reined him back, keeping his distance.
“Do you even care how three men just died?” Niko asked.
Vasili hadn’t known about the third, but it didn’t matter because he’d looked at the dead like they were no more interesting than deceased animals in a hunter’s trap.
When he didn’t reply, Niko trotted his horse on. Moments later, Vasili reined up alongside him but stayed quiet. As they approached the wagon, he said, “Yasir knows Seran. We’ll need him once we’re in the city.”
There was more to it but arguing with Vasili was fruitless. The prince only gave up information when it suited him. Damn Vasili for dragging another innocent soul into his wretched world. “Just so you know, if it weren’t for the flame, I wouldn’t be here.”
Vasili’s cheek flickered. He stared ahead. “So you persist in reminding me.”
“Lose control of it and I’ll put you down.”
“Of that, I have no doubt.” Vasili clicked his tongue and trotted Adamo on to meet up with Yasir.
He’d effortlessly