Page 147 of The Ashes and the Star-Cursed King

Good, Vincent said.They deserve it.

The last man, the one who had been handling the chains, lunged for me. I lowered the Taker of Hearts and let it slice through his leg, sending him stumbling, howling, to the ground.

I didn’t let him fall fully. Hoisted him up, even though distantly, I recognized my muscles burned. Pressed him to the wall.

The last onehere. The last one between me and Raihn. But I wasn’t fucking done. I was hungry. I wasangry.

“Simon,” I snarled. “Septimus. Where are they?”

The man spat at me and tried to swing at me. He hit something, I wasn’t sure what.

Fine. If he didn’t want to talk, he didn’t want to talk. Like he’d be important enough to know that information, anyway.

I skewered him and tossed him from the balcony.

I whirled around, ready for the next attacker. But instead of battle cries or gasps of pain or clattering steel, I heard only my own pounding heartbeat.

And—

“Hell of an entrance, princess.”

The voice was hollow and hoarse.

I blinked the red from my eyes. The haze of my blood rage fell away, a sudden cold enveloping me at the sight.

Raihn.

Raihn strung up with silver chains against the wall of the castle. His wings were out and nailed through, blood clumping in the elegant feathers. Blood spattered his face and smeared his once-fine clothing. His hair was free around his face, clinging to his skin.

He’d fought like hell. One look at him told me that. Drugged or no.

I crashed back to the earth with staggering force. Suddenly, looking at Raihn like this, I did not feel powerful, despite the trail of bodies I’d left in my wake or the sword in my hand or the Nightfire at my fingertips. I did not feel powerful at all.

He gave me a weak, lopsided smile.

“I can’t possibly lookthatbad.”

I sheathed the blade at my side and strode across the balcony. Up close he looked even worse—some of the chains were screwed right through his skin.

I swore under my breath.

They were going to let him burn. Let the dawn kill him, slowly, right in front of all of Sivrinaj. The most humiliating way for a vampire to die. In Simon’s mind, he wasn’t even worthy of a real execution. Executions were for threats.

“Cairis,” Raihn rasped. “It was Cairis. The traitor. Can you fucking believe that?”

Then he laughed, like something about this was hysterically funny.

“Don’t do that,” I snapped.

I heard voices in the distance. Many of them.

Shit.

My attack wasn’t exactly subtle. They’d be coming for me. Coming for Raihn.

He heard it too, his head tilted towards the noise. Then back to me.

“This is going to hurt,” I muttered. I didn’t have time to be gentle. I yanked the first chain free from his wrist, a fresh spurt of blood dribbling down his arm.

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