Page 85 of The Veil of Blood and Magic

My eyebrows raise. I’m not used to hearing such an open discussion about the likes and dislikes of the Collector, but I immediately decide I like Corshna.

The drifters behind Corshna chime in, their voices rising with each rebuttal from Dornite’s side.

Ah, so this was the brawl when we walked in. They’d merely paused the physical portion of it.

“It doesn’t matter what I would want!” Dornite fires back at something a male drifter says. “What matters is whatis. Thanks to the Collector’s nearly unkillable shifted form and his extensivearmies, he’s irradicated species in single blows or driven them into submission or absolute hiding. There is no going up against him.”

“If there are more who believe in change than there are who cower from it, thenyes, there is a chance.”

“You’re living in a fairy tale,” he says, shaking his head. “You would have us all burn in the palace pyres while chasing it down.”

“I would have us fight,” she snaps, and half the room sounds their agreement. “I would have us stand up for those who can’t. Stand up for a world where we’re not ordered around like dogs fetching bones. A world where any creature can be their true self in the open without fear of ridicule.”

Dornite and his side gape at her. “You would die. The Collector, his son, and his Treasure are a trio with insurmountable powers.”

“Coward.”

“I don’t play games I can’t win. And The Collector is an unstoppable piece in a losing game.”

“What if he wasn’t on the game board?” I ask before I can stop myself.

Zev snaps his gaze to me so quickly I swear Ifeelit like a physical blow.

I ignore his warning stare.

The drifters go silent, turning to look at me curiously.

Dornite is the first to laugh, followed by those on his side. “That’s never going to happen,” he says. “No one ever gets close to him save for his Treasure, the fucking sadistic prince, or his Collected.” He looks me up and down, tilting his head. “Who the fuck are you anyway?”

“Livana,” I say, looking to Corshna. Something like hope fills my chest, stretching in a way that is unfamiliar. The idea thatthere are good, strong, capable beings who want change as much as I do makes me hope for a future beyond my mission.

After I take out the Collector, there could be a movement to change things for the better, even if I’m apprehended and executed in the process.

“Well, Livana,” Dornite drags out my name. “You’re as fucking mad as her.” He jabs his thumb toward Corshna.

I offer a smile to Corshna and she returns it.

“What do you have in mind?” Corshna asks.

Zev’s hand flexes into a fist on the table, but I ignore his look of shock.

“Hypothetically,” I say as Jagger returns to the table, setting down plates of food and drinks and looking terribly out of the loop. “What if one of hisCollecteddid the job?”

Corshna’s shoulders drop, and Dornite laughs again. “That would be wonderful,” she says, shaking her head. “But that hasn’t happened. He breaks who he collects. There’s no way any of them would turn against him.”

“But if one did?” I ask. “What would happen next? What would your next move be?”

She considers, her blue eyes churning. “There are circles,” she says. “That may or may not be organizing even as we speak. Those circles move the second they got wind of the Collector’s death. They would have to take out the Treasure and the prince at the same time, then the guards who refuse to switch their loyalties. There would need to be a vote on who would take the Collector’s place…” Her voice trails off. “All hypothetical.”

“Of course,” I say, that hope growing more and more. I can see her plans, see the passion behind them. She wants it. And there are more like her. If there were enough of us…

“Why?” Corshna asks. “Do you somehow have contact with a Collected?”

“No,” I answer, and Dornite waves his hand to me likesee, never going to happen. “But who says I can’t allow myself to be Collected?” I let my fangs punch out, baring them. There are a few gasps, but Corshna is downright giddy.

Zev and Jagger look up at me with equal shock and then realization, as if finally the pieces are clicking into place. Why I let the keep me, why I didn’t fight their capture harder. I feel a jab of remorse at keeping this from them after everything we’ve been through, but I have to swallow it down. I can’t apologize now with half the room staring at me.

“You’re serious?” she asks, then glances down to where Zev still sits, glowering as he tears into the food Jagger brought us. “This is your bounty?”

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