Page 55 of Creatures that Breathe

Except in the market, she’d accused me of killing the king.

Good tactic to avoid suspicion.

The pieces are starting to come together in my mind, but there’s still a missing link.

Draven. Why is the name familiar to me? I comb through my files and come up empty.

Lev’s gaze flicks between Leni and me, his unspoken displeasure hanging heavy in the air. “Fire’s a coward’s way to kill.”

“Too messy,” I agree. “That’s the issue. It’s impossible to guarantee death when the proof of it is a lack of evidence.”

He nods, tapping his fingers. Contemplating. This is as far as we’d gotten in years. An actual lead. I’m supposed to be excited, not swimming in dread.

Lev’s brows slam down. “So then he didn’t burn?”

“I don’t know. The opposite doesn’t make sense either. Mythical black flames to cover fingerprints? A scent? That’s a lot of effort.”

Or not. Leni destroyed an entire block of illegal activity while on her knees, dabbing blood from my hands.

I should tell Lev that she started the fire. But before I can say anything, Leni flinches and her eyes scrunch so tight her lashes imprint on her cheeks. Her body jerks suddenly, her shoulders coiling in tension. Her features contort, and I can almost see the nightmare she’s ensnared in.

Without thinking, I reach for her hand. I’m not a soother. I don’t bring peace, but she clings to me desperately. Her nails dig into my skin, but I don’t care. All I want is to protect her from whatever lives in her nightmares.

Lev’s warning breaks through my thoughts like a siren. “You’re playing a dangerous game. Atlas will pop a blood vessel when he sees the state she’s left you in.”

He’s right. Again. But I can’t ignore this pull towards Leni, this inexplicable need to keep her safe. “She needs help.”

“The entire realm needs help. Why her?”

“She remembers me.”

Glued to our interlocked fingers, Lev’s hazel eyes are sad. He rubs his forehead. “It’s enough for me,” he whispers. “But you have thirty minutes to come up with a more compelling reason for the others.”

I have it. Painted across her shirt. I’m just not sure I want to admit it.

If she killed the king, I won’t be able to shield her from anyone—myself included.

I hold her through the landing, let her squeeze as the wheels glide onto the tarmac. Lev scolds me with silence.

I can’t let go. Won’t, now that she’s finally stopped trembling and her breathing has slowed, yet her grip has only gotten tighter.

Does she recognize me? Even in her sleep? Is that possible?

Lev unbuckles with the seatbelt sign, and when he talks, his sincerity is at odds with the grind of his thumb into my barely healed shoulder. “Regardless of what you tell Atlas.” He pushes down and searing pain bolts down my arm to lick fire at my fingertips. “You need to hold it together. Or she won’t need a knife to kill you.”

13

Leni

Royal Residence of Her Majesty Queen Vinia, Proctoress of Creatures, She of the Mortal Realm, the Hope of Hope

Out here, a fire can rage for weeks. Fueled by brittle branches and dry winds.

Nowhere to hide in the desert. It’s an exposed stage, which is why King Kadmos chose to build here, on the ledge of a desolate mountain.

The only colors reside in his consort, Queen Vinia’s precious orchard.

The sound of crying slips between the white and pink apple blossoms. Growing louder and wetter.

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