Page 155 of Bloodguard

“You don’t trust me, do you, Your Highness?”

I shake my head.

“Then let me prove it. I can kill Soro,” he offers. “Break his neck in his sleep and stuff his skull with candy for you.”

“As, um, sweet as that is, it won’t work,” I say. “You were there, Tut. I can’t play any intentional role in his death, direct or indirect. It’s one of the many provisions of our bond. And you killing him to prove your loyalty to me? Well, I’m not willing to bet my life on it.”

“Then tell me what I can give to earn your trust,” he says. “Whatever you want, you shall have it.”

I glance past him and through the open window. I may not trust this man or his motives, but that doesn’t mean an alliance with him couldn’t be useful. “There is one thing…”

chapter 54

Leith

The following evening, I ride Star back to the manor alongside Caelen and Giselle. Pega wanted to join us, but the guards ordered her back to the barracks, where we’re no longer permitted.

We cross the front lawn, my heartbeat pounding in dull, angry thuds when I catch my first sight of the manor’s charred remains. Wretched anger bordering on rage awakens within me. I haven’t slept, too focused on what could be happening to Maeve. Seeing what remains of her home doesn’t damn well help.

Death came for Jakeb and almost every member of his family.

Maeve, though—that’s a different story. She’s going to live. I don’t know how, but until my last breath I will fight for her freedom. This, I swear.

Jakeb’s final resting place is the first we reach. He and Neela disappeared, as some ancient beings do. The impression of their bodies is pressed deep into the soil, including every wrinkle of Jakeb’s long, elegant robe and the outline of Neela’s small body tucked tightly against his side.

So help me, if any peace exists in the Afterlife, I pray these friends found it together. Their grave… It’s quite a spectacle. Something I’ve never seen before and something I never want to see again.

I bow my head in gratitude. He gave me food, shelter, clothes, and kindness. It’s through him that I connected with Maeve.

How do you thank someone like him? I suppose you can’t, especially now.

Giselle, already weeping after finding her beloved father and governess, covers her mouth when she finds the first of the estrellas.

“Bethina,” she breathes. I know this one. She was so small, harmless. She even liked me. These guards are nothing but cowards.

Giselle holds her in her palm as Caelen digs a small grave, his motions stiff and harsh. Then she carefully places her down, crossing her tiny hands over her heart.

“I was always too afraid to touch them,” she says. “It’s why they preferred everyone else to me.” She sniffs. “That doesn’t mean I didn’t love them.”

“I should have been here,” is all I manage.

Giselle smooths soil over Bethina’s grave. “We all should have.”

Caelen is shaking hard with rage. I’ve never seen him quite so emotional. He looks at Giselle, then across the scorched lawn. “This shouldn’t have happened,” he says.

As twilight makes its first appearance, we take a moment to grieve.

“The numbers they sent were damn near an invading army,” Caelen says. He motions to the multitude of bloody spots. “They never stood a chance.”

Giselle can’t seem to move. Caelen places an arm around her shoulders, but she flinches out of his reach.

“Come on,” he sighs. “There are more graves to dig and more dead to mourn.”

We don’t find all the Iamonds’ estrellas—hopefully that means some escaped—and almost miss Toso entirely. I kneel in front of him, remembering how he adored Maeve and how I couldn’t blame him.

My shoulders hurt, the weight upon them unbearable. I place my hand over his soft, furry head. “Goodbye, my friend.”

It’s then that “my friend” stirs and tries to bite my finger off.

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