Page 151 of A Vow of Wrath and Ruin

“Yes,” the man answered, his voice thick with annoyance.

“Well, we can’t stay here long. They will come looking for her.”

“That’s the point. She’s the carrot on the end of the stick.”

“And what of your rival? You don’t think she could have gotten one of them?”

“Kita is clever and cunning. I have no doubt she’s been stalking the Lord of Lightning. Only time will tell if she gets to him before he discovers Aelia is missing.”

My blood turned to ice in my veins. I was bait for Tharan and Caiden, but how would they know where to look? The heavy weight of dread settled on me. I looked down at my hands. All my fingers were still intact. They hadn’t sent a ransom note yet. Reaching up to my ear, I felt the hole where the whisper stone had been. My stomach turned. They didn’t need to send a finger. They could use my voice to lure Tharan out. Would Erissa be that foolish? We didn’t have the exact locations of the Trinity Wells. Did she?

The sound of heavy footsteps scraped across the floor. I placed myself in the same position I had been in and closed my eyes.

The smell of salt stung my nose before the man entered the room.

“Alright, Mind Breaker. Time to wake up.” The slap of his palm stung against my cheek, and I groaned.

“Who are you? What do you want with me?” I asked, playing dumb. If I could get him to identify me as a person and not a mark, perhaps I could work my way into his good graces.

“Name’s Alwin and that’s all you need to know, Mind Breaker.”

I bit my lip. If Alwin was like any of the other barbarians I’d encountered before, he would underestimate me.

“What are you going to do with me?” I put on my best puppy-dog eyes.

He set a pitcher of water and a bucket down.

“Just sit tight.”

This wasn’t working, and with the iron searing into my skin and boiling my mind, I couldn’t waste any more time.

“Where’s my sister?”

His amber eyes flitted to the door.

“She’s too much of a coward to face me? I can’t break any minds with these iron shackles around my wrists.” I shook the manacles behind my back, and the ball of power bound in my chest twitched.It’s never done that before.

Alwin chuckled.

“I have nothing to say to you,” Baylis’s voice echoed from behind Alwin.

“Just tell me why?” My voice cracked with desperation.

“I told you why. You destroyed our kingdom. Our life. All for what? For the love of sylph, who you can never marry?” She chuckled, and I did not recognize her voice.

My heart sank. My sister was truly gone.

“And now you’ve shacked up with another one.” She clicked her tongue. Alwin moved, and her slender frame came into view.

Gone were her gowns. Now, she wore the red armor of the Highlands. Her blonde hair was braided in a crown on top of her head—an iron widow made from the remnants of my sister. Gideon had torn her down and rebuilt her from the ground up,just like he had me. Only this time, he succeeded. I was his test subject. She was his success. Or should I say, Erissa’s success?

“Gideon tricked me. Manipulated me. Just like he’s doing to you now.”

Malice flared in her gray eyes.

“Manipulated? He set me free. All my life I have been cleaning up your messes. Being the good little sister while you got to trollop around the continent playing dignitary.”

An invisible dagger seared through my heart. This was not my sister.

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