Page 177 of A Vow of Blood and Tears

I stared at him in horror, and Hakkon tilted a smile towards me. “Go on now, woman. Unless you wish to be buried under the earth, your bones gnawed and forgotten.”

I started to walk, my leash dragging with every step, making a hissing sound… I looked down, and then up at Hakkon, towering in the passage behind me, his hands empty.

He held his hands up, showing me his palms. “What use is your leash? There’s nowhere to run. Have your freedom, little one.”

That was true, but nonetheless… I didn’t trust even a selfish gesture of kindness from an enemy.

First he would drop the leash, then he would offer me a gift, and with each step, if I accepted, he would be prying the door open further and further, making me susceptible to his generosity. Making megratefulfor his kindness, until I could no longer think of him as an enemy or a captor.

I pointed at him, telling him,I know what you’re doing. I won’t trust you, not for a single heartbeat, just because you don’t leash me like a dog.

Hakkon’s grin was a slice of icy white in the shadows. He pulled a knife, and even as I backed up, meaning to run, he knelt and grabbed my leg, pushing my skirt up to my knee.

His hands were warm and rough, callused as only the hands of a soldier or laborer could be. Hakkon sliced through the knot of the tether and tossed it aside, and though I expected something worse, he simply released me, smoothing my skirt as it fell back into place.

I stared up at him, debating fighting to take the knife, but he’d gut me like a pig before I could lay a finger on him; there was nowhere to run in either direction. He was dead right about that.

Hakkon shook his head solemnly, resheathing the blade. “You may not speak aloud, redling, but I see those thoughts in your eyes. It’s a wise choice to back down; when the wolf cannot win, he turns back and lives to fight another day with the pack.”

I sneered and signed,the wolf cannot win against the fiend. If Bane came for you, you’d all be dead.

“Not this time. I have planned for years. When he comes, I will finally destroy my oldest and most beloved enemy.” He grinned even wider, because I couldn’t keep the shock from my face. “Oh, yes, I understand you. The wise man understands the language of his foes.”

Miro has already ruined your plans. Bane doesn’t know where I am. He won’t come for me.

There was a deep, groaning rumble behind us, and I flinched as the sound of several tons of earth collapsing echoed through the tunnel.

Now there was truly no way but forward. I kept one hand on the wall to guide myself forward blindly.

“That soft little boy can’t stand in the way of destiny. All I must do is send one of my wolves to the Rift, a lock of your hair in his mouth, your blood on his teeth… and Bane will come.”

A shiver ran down my spine. It was all too plausible, and the last thing I wanted.

To keep myself from spiraling into despair, I focused on a little detail that had disturbed me.

What do you mean by ‘beloved’?I asked suspiciously, signing broadly as I walked; Hakkon’s brown eyes gleamed yellow in the pitch-black darkness of the tunnels; I knew he could see me clearly.You despise him, you’ve hunted him for years.

“Of course, but every man needs his one great adversary, the foe who forces him to become better, faster, stronger. I have always respected your husband deeply. How could I not?” Hakkon chuckled, a warm, inviting sound. How could a warg sound so… human? “He forced me to acknowledge my weaknesses, to shore them up against the might of his storm. Wargyr was the one who forged me, but Bane… herefinedme.”

Instead of answering, I clenched my fists, letting my nails dig into my palms as I walked. The pain cleared my head, kept me sharp.

I was exhausted from the past day, not only from the poison Miro had used, but from riding nonstop, from the terror of riding under the mountains. At times my eyes had drifted closed while on the horse, and only the fear of falling off and breaking my neck had kept me awake then.

Now I was running on nothing, and there was no end to the tunnel. The coolness of the air, the pain in my hands, Hakkon’s footsteps just behind me: those things kept me awake and alert for now.

And by the Light… it was a walk.

One foot in front of the other. One step, one more, and yet another.

But I didn’t falter more than once. The first time I stumbled, leaning against the wall as my body tried to overtake my mind and drag me into a waking half-sleep, Hakkon touched my shoulder. The sort of caress that made me think there were other things on his mind, and I startled upright, suddenly wide awake again.

“I’ll carry you, redling, if you’d rather sleep.”

I cut a narrow look at him, unsure if I was looking in his direction at all, and kept walking, trying to maintain a distance between us and failing. He was always one step behind.

The second time I felt my feet dragging, like I was tugging bricks behind me, eyelids heavy, I decided to speak again.

Why are you still trying to invade us?I asked.The war is over. King Radomil has given up on Veladari land. Why keep trying when you know the fiends will drive you out?

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