Page 113 of Secrets of Graves and Gold

Something shifts in Konram’s expression. “‘We.’ I suppose that’s how you accessed the mirror. Is your riven sorcerer there with you?”

Stavros’s chin comes up. “Ivy has given more of herself than any of us to ensure your safety and?—”

“I don’t want to hear it,” the other man snaps, and then seems to gather himself. “I’ll take your report into consideration. Turn yourselves in, and I can withdraw those soldiers from their patrols.”

“My king?—”

“That’s all I have left to say to you.”

The mirror dims, and then it only reflects Stavros, his shoulders slumping.

Julita sniffs indignantly. You’d think he’s forgotten how well Stavros served him for all those years before. What a knobhead.

I have to suppress a sharp guffaw at the crude insult in her noble tones.

Cautiously, I step toward Stavros and touch his arm as he stands. “Do you think he’ll listen?”

Stavros sighs. “I can’t tell. We’ve never had this kind of distrust between us before. At least he gave me the chance to say the most important parts.”

I turn toward the door, my skin starting to creep in the cramped room. “There’s nothing else to do here, then. Let’s get out of this place.”

I lean close to the door and hear nothing from the other side. Ignoring my trepidation, I extend my magic around us again to hide us from view. I ease the door open, step into the hall?—

And wrench to the side with a heavy hand clamped on my shoulder and a blade tapping against my throat.

“Don’t move an inch,” the soldier who’s grabbed me snarls as I’m already freezing in place. My magic shudders, the invisibility effect faltering when he’s pressed right against my back.

He must have heard us through the door, managed to grab me through practiced instincts even when he couldn’t see me.

Now it doesn’t matter.

His blade digs into my neck with a faint sting. “All right. You’re going to walk with me down to the dungeons, and then you’ll explain to the general what the fuck you’re doing here.”

My lips part, but my entire body has gone deathly cold. I don’t know what to say. Stavros won’t intervene when my captor could slit my throat in an instant.

My power flares through my limbs, making my muscles ache, clambering for me to release it all. To blast through the prick who’s threatened me.

And all the others. Raze the whole fucking fortress to the ground. Crack skulls and smash spines. Ensure there won’t be a single one to give chase?—

Gory images flood my mind, and I recoil inwardly.

No, no, that isn’t want I want. We need these soldiers alive to stop the real villains.

I’d become the monster Stavros used to see me as.

But my magic keeps flailing at me. My mind whirls, and I can’t hold on to a single steady thought.

The jolts of rage break through again and again, alongside Julita’s frantic voice. No, no, we can’t get caught like this. It isn’t fair. Oh, Ivy, no…

Something clicks in my head. The soldier starts to drag me backward, and my voice spills hoarse from my throat. “Julita says no.”

I pull my thoughts deep inside my skull, letting my vision fog and my mind haze, hoping she understands.

Nothing happens except the soldier sputtering, “What the fuck are you babbling about?”

Then the tingling presence at the back of my head leaps forward.

My lips move again, but not through my will. Julita’s spirit grips my body and propels my voice—with the gift she gave up two ribs for years ago. “I will not go to the dungeon. You will not stop me from leaving by any means. You cannot prevent me from doing as I wish.”

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