Page 97 of A Deception of Courts

“All of this deception, all of this death, because you loved a man who never loved you back.” I couldn’t hide my deranged smile. “You sad, little man.”

My words hit their mark.

Kayne lunged down, one hand free and the other gripping the dagger. There was nowhere for me to move within the narrow space. No place to hide or shield myself from his attack.

But that was never my intention.

A feral sound tore out of me as I thrust my open hand toward the blade. It was close enough to reach as Kayne swung blindly, all in the hopes of hurting me. And he did, because I allowed the edge to slice into my palm. I felt the echo of pain, but it was kept at bay by the adrenaline that turned my blood to fire.

I wrapped my fingers around the dagger and squeezed. The momentum caught Kayne off guard as he leaned himself into my hole. I reached up with my spare hand and smashed my closed knuckles into Kayne’s shattered nose. It popped again beneath the impact. The weak bone breaking easier than before. Kayne reeled back, scrambling away from my now-open cell. I didn’t make the mistake my last attack had on him, this time, I left more than a bruise.

The dagger slipped out of his grasp, falling to the muddied puddle beneath my feet, just out of reach from both of us.

If he wanted to hurt me, he’d have to get me out, or come in. Either way, I liked my odds.

“Duncan was never yours,” Kayne screamed down at me. He was like a child, gripped in the thralls of a tantrum. “He was mine, and I waited patiently for years, knowing that one day Duncan would see me in the light I wished. Then you came and trapped him in your web. It is my duty to free him. To protect him from your kind, just as we vowed in our oaths to the Hand.”

I squared my jaw, teeth grinding across one another until the bones in my face ached.

“Free him, then,” I begged, preparing myself for my next move. Kayne needed to act fast because the feeling in my hand faded. The pain was demanding to let itself known. “Get it over with, Kayne. Do what you have to, just break this fucking spell. I’m waiting.”

Something caught Kayne’s attention out of my view. He smiled, lips curled upward as blood oozed down his face, smudging across his skin until it looked like he wore a mask obscuring his nose, mouth and chin.

My breathing hitched as he moved out of my line of sight, toward what had caught his attention. I hardly had a moment to steady myself before he slunk back into view, a torch of burning fire gripped in his hand.

The glow of furious flames reflected off his sinister expression. I saw his intention gilded in his eyes. He lifted the torch away from him and held it horizontally over the entrance to my narrow dungeon.

“Aldrick may punish me, but at least I will be known for being the one who killed the Icethorn King. Tell me, Robin, will you burn, or will you melt?”

I winced as the fire dripped from the oil-sodden tip of the torch. Burning ash fell upon my shoulders like snow, hissing upon impact.

“Come on, then,” I shouted, panicking but refusing to let him see. My sliced palm slapped against the brick wall as I tried to scramble up toward the exit. My feet slipped across the smoothed stone, my weak fingers unable to grasp anything. I’d rather fight in my last moments than stand still and wait for the fire to consume me. “I die knowing you will suffer. And in the next life, I’ll find you and make you pay tenfold for everything you’ve done.”

Biting down on my lip, I refused to snivel for Kayne to spare me. Steeling myself, I stopped my clambering and tried to control my breathing.

“I’ve often wondered what it would sound like to hear you scream for me.”

I let the smile creep across my face. “I’m surprised you haven’t heard it before, every time Duncan fucked me.”

Kayne faltered, hissing spit through clenched teeth as he stabbed the burning torch toward me. Heat licked over my skin, and I thought it was going to be the end. But then he withdrew.

“Indulge me for a moment, Robin,” Kayne forced out. “If you survive this, will Duncan love you when that face is a ruined mess? When your skin is a map of scars that rivals the constellation of marks across your lover’s skin? Would Duncan wish to bed you, or will he finally have space for another?”

I wouldn’t entertain him with the reply he wanted. Instead, I spoke with calm clarity, which mirrored the rush of serenity that cooled my body and numbed my panic and pain. “It may not have been enough for you, but Duncan did love you, Kayne. As a brother. Do not punish him because it was not what you demanded of him. That was never his fault. It wasyours.”

“No.” Kayne’s lip curled upward, exposing his blood-stained teeth. “This is all because of you–”

The fire winked out as though it was a candle blown out by an unseen wind. Kayne looked down to the smoke-curling tip, surprise working across his face.

“He is all yours,” the unseen, deep voice said. The baritone voice warmed my skin, tickling across my consciousness until it conjured an image of a man, half gryvern and half fey. “Duncan.”

Hearing Erix shocked me, but knowing he spoke directly to another person I couldn’t see had the power to sharpen every one of my senses.

Kayne thrust the splinter of wood outward as though it was a sword made from deadly metal. He gripped it in both hands, pointing it before him.

“Robin was right.” Another voice joined the fray, one I expected. Duncan. “I did love you.”

“Duncan, please hear me out,” Kayne pleaded, eyes filling immediately with tears. “This isn’t you! Aldrick has told me… he has said this will break the fey’s sway on you. I can help you. Once Duwar is free, you will be shown the light again–”

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