Page 74 of Kingdom of the Two Moons

“You’ve never heard, I see. Interesting. Caryan stayed there for two years. He brought back every single man and woman who fell that night at the slaughter in Avandal. Avandal suffered no losses because the angel brought them all back. That is why it took the angel two years to recover—because he spent so much of his energy bringing back all those souls.”

Blair stares at him, her eyes wide. Caryan didwhatin Avandal? Of course, she hadn’t heard because she’d been too busy sleeping and hiding from the world.

She doesn’t want to ponder what it means, though, that a lot ofcursedcreatures are now running free in Avandal, stronger and more vicious than they were back then. How could the witches not know about this?

The blacksmith says, “You have a good heart, Blair, no matter what they say about you. About the witches. You have a good heart.”

She brings the blade to his throat so quickly all he can do is blink. She steps out of the bathtub, keeping the point of the blade at his throat, watching him retreat with every step she takes forward like a shadow dance, until his broad shoulders hit the wall.

She sneers when she spots fear in his face for the first time.

“Don’t ever make such ridiculous assumptions again, friend of Avandal. I would also strongly advise that you never breathe a word to anyone about that night, or I might come back and cut you into tiny slices before I eat you for dinner to prove to you how good my heart truly is.”

“I would never breathe a word to anyone, Blair Alaric. But I do wish you to come back one day.”

She narrows her eyes. “You’re a fool.”

With that, she lowers the blade, only to lash out with her clawed hand, cutting his abdomen before licking his blood. She keeps looking in his eyes the entire time, the slashes on his skin gaping wide open, as if a wild animal has attacked him.Good energy.She almost spits it out because it tastes so disgusting on her tongue.

“Don’t you see what your true nature is, Blair? Why you like the taste of rotten souls somuch but shun the good ones?”

She hisses at him, her claws around his broad throat, her lips only inches from his.

She allows her powers to stir, to flare up in her like golden, deadly curls of wildfire. Let it gnaw at his skin like aurum frost, like tiny hellhounds, ready to rip into skin and tear him apart. Let it shine through her amber eyes.

To his credit, he doesn’t budge. Makes no move to fight until she lets go of him. She turns on her heels, grabbing her clothes from where they fell to the floor and starts to don her riding leathers and, at last, her dried red cloak.

He’s still standing there, watching her every move, when she eventually turns to him. “Never push me again, blacksmith.”

With this, she sheathes the two new swords in the scabbard on her back and walks to the door. She reaches for the doorknob but pauses, turning to him one last time.

I shouldn’t care. I should just walk out and forget about it.

To fucking hell with it.

“What utter fools you fae are. You have no idea what you have brought upon Avandal, accepting the curse.”

“Caryan offered help in the darkest hours. Without him, Avandal wouldn’t have recovered. It was an act of altruism.”

That is not like Caryan.

She throws her head back and laughs. A vicious sound. “An act of altruism? Can you hear yourself? Have fun waking up one day and finding out how terribly wrong you’ve all been. You know Caryan can control the creatures he brought back—his spawns, right? He and his high lord lapdogs. All he has to do is give them the command to shred their own people apart with their teeth… and they will. He has no mercy, the same way I have no mercy.”

The blacksmith’s face doesn’t falter as he says, “Maybe. And maybe he will never do so, Blair. I guess all we can do is wait and find out.”

“Naivety’s a fool’s blessing. Thanks for the fucks,” she says, opening the door and disappearing into the night. The bad taste in her mouth lingers.

22

Melody

Someone is watching me.Hungry predator eyes.

I jerk awake. Two gleaming red marbles watch me from the corner of the room. Sanguine gems, streaks of blue and gold leaking into them.

I sit up straight, staring at the sentinel, the outline of a man in the shadows. But when I fumble for the light next to my bed and switch it on a moment later, the figure is gone.

Outside there’s the faintest sound of heavy wings soaring in the skies.

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