Page 34 of The Blood Traitor

Kiva gaped at the maid. “You gave mepoison?”

“It’s mostly men who it kills,” Brynn said breezily. “Your odds are good.”

But Kiva barely heard her, because she belatedly processed what else Brynn had said, and all but shrieked, “Did you say a fewhours?”

Brynn pried the tumbler from Kiva’s dread-stiffened fingers. “I did. And unfortunately for you, I need to be somewhere else right now, but I don’t trust that you won’t do something foolish while I’m gone — like try to flee. So this will actually work out well, since you can sleep off the Serpent’s Kiss without ever feeling its effects.”

There was so much to what Brynn had said that both stunned and alarmed Kiva, but she couldn’t say anything — because she couldn’tbreathe.

No matter how hard she tried to inhale, it was as if her body had forgotten how to process oxygen. And it wasn’t just breathing that she was suddenly incapable of doing — she also couldn’tmove, her limbs unresponsive, like something heavy was pressing her to the bed, refusing to let her up.

“I’ll be back as soon as I can,” Brynn said, her voice gentle, even as Kiva looked at her with wide, terrified eyes. “Everything will be all right, Kiva. Trust me.”

And then, starved for air, Kiva’s vision blackened and she succumbed to unconsciousness.

Chapter Nine

“Wake up, Kiva. We need to go.”

A hand was shaking Kiva, and she roused slowly, her mind fuzzy. It took her a moment to remember why she was lying on her stomach, why she’d even fallen asleep to begin with — no, notasleep. She’d been knocked unconscious by Brynn, the elemental anomaly who had not just earth magic, but air magic as well.

Brynn, who was now standing over Kiva, her hands raised in apology. “I can explain.”

Kiva didn’t give her the chance. Heedless to her wounds, she rolled off the bed and tackled the maid to the floor. Moonlight was leaking in from the open curtains, indicating that she’d slept for almost theentire day. Brynn had stolen a massive chunk of what little time Kiva had to escape Blackmount. Her wedding wastomorrow. She needed to leaveright now. And as much as she liked the maid — poisoning and forced sleep aside — she couldn’t allow Brynn to keep her from her freedom.

“What — are — you —doing?” the maid grunted as Kiva used her own body weight to keep her pressed to the carpet. She was grateful the milkmist was still numbing her shoulder, but she would have preferred the excruciating pain to having lost the last fewhours.

Kiva didn’t answer, busy searching for something she could use to knock Brynn out. But the maid quickly flipped them over, the move effortless enough to stun Kiva, before she began to wrestle anew.

“Would youstop,” Brynn said, exasperated. “You’ll aggravate your wounds.”

Kiva didn’t care. She struggled even more violently, and Brynn,seeing the damage it was causing, let her go and jumped to her feet. Kiva did the same — and then launched herself straight at the maid again.

In a second effortless movement, Brynn shifted her body to the side and grabbed Kiva’s good arm, tugging her off balance and spinning her around. The next thing Kiva knew, both her hands were trapped behind her back, the maid standing behind her and ordering, “Kiva,stop it. I’m trying tohelpyou.”

“Let mego,Brynn!”

“My name isn’t Brynn — it’s Ashlyn. And if you want any chance of escaping tonight, you need tolistento me.”

Kiva stilled — not just at the maid’s words or her sudden lack of Mirravish accent, but at hername.“Ashlyn?” she croaked in disbelief. “As in, AshlynVallen—”

“Shhhh!” the maid — who was definitelynota maid — hissed. “Do you want to get us both killed?”

The next second, Kiva’s hands were released, and she turned around slowly to look at the young woman standing before her — the general of Evalon’s armies. Her hair was so much fairer than the gold of her brother, and her eyes so much paler than his cobalt blue, but now that Kiva knew to look for it, there was the slightest hint of Caldon in her features, and especially in the way she stood, tall and proud and utterly in control of her own body.

“What are youdoinghere?” Kiva breathed. “Why are you amaid?”

“We need to leave while we still can,” Ashlyn said, striding over to a chair and collecting a wad of dark material, thrusting it into Kiva’s hands. “Put this on while I give you some quick answers, and then we need to move.”

Kiva looked down to find herself holding a maid’s outfit identical to what Ashlyn wore: a black dress that laced up at the chest, paired with a blood-red apron. At Ashlyn’s urging, she began to take off her gown and replace it with the new clothes, all while the princess spoke.

“I’ve been here for three months, spying on Navok,” Ashlyn explained, tying the apron around Kiva’s waist. “I was planning to leave a few weeks ago, as soon as word reached me about what happened with your sister and Mirryn in Vallenia, but then I heard Navok laugh about how they’d secreted you back to Zalindov, and that he intended to retrieve you and bind you to him, and I knew I had to stay. I’ve been keeping tabs on you ever since your Trial by Ordeal — I know who you are, and I also know how much you mean to Jaren and Caldon.” She flicked the amulet now hiding beneath Kiva’s clothes, the move implicit. “They’d never forgive me if I left you to be married against your will.”

Kiva swallowed, then said, hoarsely, “I’m not sure about that. Things didn’t... end well. Especially with Jaren.”

Ashlyn’s lips pressed together. “I heard about that, too. And that’s something you’ll have to figure out with him. But I know my cousin, and he’d be horrified if you were forced to wed Navok. So we need to go, right now.” She indicated Kiva’s shoulder. “Does it hurt?”

“Hardly at all,” Kiva said. “The milkmist hasn’t worn off yet.”

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