Page 73 of The Fallen Kingdom

“I assumed if we heard Aithinne fall with a splat against some rocks...”

“I should have known you were up to something when you didn’t jump first to save your own arse,” Aithinne says, sitting next to me. She shoves a hand through her dark, tangled hair. “Next cliff we come to, I’m pushing you over the edge.”

Sorcha rolls her eyes and settles down on the ground. “If you’ll excuse me, I’m going to embrace the calm, get some sleep, and not listen to either one of you idiots for the next five hours.”

I sigh and look at Aithinne. “We should probably sleep, too.”Who knows when we’ll have the opportunity again?

In the night, I wake to find Sorcha sitting by the still-active fire, staring thoughtfully into the flames. I don’t know how long I’ve been asleep, but Sorcha has dark smudges beneath her eyes that betray her fatigue. She doesn’t glance at me when I sit up and quietly settle next to her.

“You should get some more sleep,” I say. “You look exhausted.”

Sorcha raises her eyebrow. “Concerned about me, Falconer?”

“For self-preservation purposes, aye.”

Her smile is small. “I was wondering when you’d admit you only act out of selfishness, just like me.”

“That’s not true, though, is it?” I ask her softly. “You wanted Kiaran to be King. You could have claimed the thrones for yourself.”

She lifts a shoulder. “It’s not what I was born for.”

We both stare into the fire and I realize then how many questions I long to ask her. How little I know about her and Kiaran’s past. I only know what I garnered from that memory of her and Lonnrach, from the small bits of her conversations with Kiaran.

“Why do you love him?” I can’t help but ask. “If he doesn’t love you back?”

I thought Sorcha might be offended by the question. She just looks pensive, maybe a touch sad. “You wouldn’t understand.”

“Try me.”

She doesn’t respond in anger. Maybe it’s her tiredness. Maybe it’s the memories we’ve shared. Maybe it’s something else. That’s the only explanation I have for why she admits quietly, “There are some things that go beyond love. Kadamach is the only one who has never...” She looks away.

I swallow hard. “Never what?”

Her eyes lift to meet mine. “Used me.”

“And yet you forced him into that vow.” I keep my voice light, but can’t hide the hint of bitterness behind it.You still took away his choice.

“He wasn’t wrong,” she says, staring into the fire again. “I am no better than my former master. I became the very thing I hate, I admit that.”

“What does that mean?”

“Goodness doesn’t last, Falconer. If enough time has passed and enough people hurt us, we all become cruel and heartless bastards.” She stares hard at me. “So would you, if humans lived long enough.”

I press my lips together. “Aithinne’s not like that.”

Sorcha snorts. “You think Aithinne is so special because she believes humans aren’t completely useless. You might have seen her fight, but I’ve seen her in war. You believe she’s incapable of being cruel? I’ve walked through whole battlefields covered in her victims.”

I flinch and look away, toward Aithinne’s sleeping form. “She was defending those she loves.”

“Aren’t we all?” Sorcha’s tone is mocking. “We always try to play the hero first, Falconer. It makes it easier to justify the worst of our actions later.” Then, after a moment’s consideration: “Maybe I should show you.”

She seizes me in a hard grip. Her palms are at my temples, and before I can stop her, her mind connects with mine.

CHAPTER 34

I’M INa cavern illuminated by the dim light of a single lantern on the ground. The first thing I notice is how vast the cavern is, how dark and endless, with shadows thick and pressing against my skin. The second is the stench, so strong I almost stagger. Death. Decay. The iron burn of spilled blood squeezes through my lungs. I press the sleeve of my coat to my face to stifle the odor, but it doesn’t work—it’s a memory. Not real.

A silhouetted figure is sitting next to the lantern, a bucket beside her. As I approach, I notice how small she is, slight enough to be a child. She hums as she stands up, a long strand of black hair escaping the hood at the back of her dress as she takes a few steps and leans down...

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