Page 77 of Between Smoke and Shadow

My entire body clenches and red flashes behind my eyes. There’s a good chance my fingers are sparking right now, but there’s no time to hide them. If there was any doubt in Tora’s mind, I’ve all but confirmed it.

“I see the way you look at her,” she whispers. “Honestly, I’m surprised I didn’t notice it before.”

I don’t move a single muscle in my body. I have no idea when Tora would have even seen us together, but I don’t say that. I face away from her, desperate to hide my expression.

“It’s so obvious now,” she continues, voice still low. “Every time I thought you were drooling over Viana Llroy, and all along, it was the sickly little handmaiden.”

I see nothing but red, and I’m too afraid to speak. Anything I say will give me away, and if I try to move, I’m afraid of what I’lldo. I would never hurt Tora, but the thought of her unraveling everything, of getting Rune killed… I suck in a breath, and it sounds wet. I realize I’m crying.

“This isn’t just someone below your rank, Harrick,” Tora says. She speaks as if I don’t know that, like I haven’t realized the potential consequences of loving Rune Ealde. “She’s acriminal. When the Architect finds out, he’s going to kill her. He’ll rip her apart and make you watch.”

I finally turn. My body is in front of hers before I’ve fully decided to move. I dig my hand against the doorframe to Tora’s left, squeezing the metal so hard I swear it flexes. She gasps, mouth falling slack as I corner her.

“You cannot tell,” I say through gritted teeth. “Tora, I swear—I will do anything you ask of me. Relinquish the throne. Demand the Architect give it to you. Kill your enemies until the end of time. But you cannot tell.”

I’m breathing so hard I might pass out. Tora doesn’t respond, and I can’t read her expression. The red of my vision is too hazy and my mind is shattered glass, each thought too broken to put back together.

“Tora. Do you understand? If you tell anyone, they’ll kill her—and I can’t let that happen. Iwon’t.”

“Breathe,” Tora says, glancing out the doorway. I follow her gaze, just long enough to confirm we’re still alone. There’s a curious look on her face when she turns back to me. “You know I wouldn’t.”

“Sorry,” I say, forcing myself to relax. “You’re right. I’m sorry. It’s just?—”

“It’s okay. You protect the people you love, Harrick,” she says. “That’s why I’m here actually. I overheard Malek talking about her. I didn’t tell him anything. Iswearit. I don’t even think he knows about you two, though I wouldn’t be entirely surprised if?—”

“What did he say.” It comes out, not as a question, but as a demand. My magic pulses, hot and electric, until I’m sick with it.

“The thing he did to that other servant. The redhead?—”

I surge past Tora, running before I’ve even hit the corridor. She calls my name, but I don’t stop. My head pulses and I’m dizzy, imagining every fucking thing he could do to her. Plant evidence, have her thrown in a cell, have her murdered right where she’s standing. No time for an explanation, a defense. No time for me to kill everyone within five hundred feet of her.

I don’t stop moving until I reach the lift at the end of the hallway. I smash my hand against the panel. One. Two. Three. It’s taking too long, the soft whir sounding twenty floors away.

Rune should be in her room, but what if she isn’t? What if she crosses paths with him?—

Tora reaches me just as I strike the panel for a fourth time. She grabs my arm, not rough but not timid either.

“Harrick. Calm yourself,” she says, sounding strangely like our mother. “If Malek knows you care, he’ll only want to hurt her more. You can’t admit anything.”

“You suggest I ignore this?” I ask, smacking my hand against the panel again.

“I didn’t say anything like that,” she says. Even though I’m not looking at her, I know exactly the cross expression she’s wearing. She tightens her hold on my elbow. “If you want to protect Rune—not just now but forever—you know what you need to do.”

I look at her expectantly.

“You need to win, Harrick,” she says. “If you want Rune to live, youhaveto win.”

I don’t see her.With the spotlight over the fighting dome, I can’t see much of anything. The Architect, Mother, and Tora are off to my left, highlighted on their thrones. Rune isn’t here. Now that she’s not serving Viana, she doesn’t have an excuse to come. I wanted Tora to bring her, but of course that was a stupid idea.

Even without Rune here, she’s still the one I’m thinking about as I pace the length of the arena. The announcer is still introducing Malek, and I can see him sneering from beyond the glass enclosure. I don’t let it get to me.

It all ends tonight.

This duel might not be intended as a fight to the death, but no one will be surprised if it ends that way.

They’ll only be surprised that I’m the one left standing.

I remain motionless on my side of the arena as Malek enters. Like last time, he’s working the crowd, a deceptively charming grin on his face. I stare at him, letting every horrible thing about him fill my mind.

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