Page 166 of Stormvein
“I see.” But her voice is thinner now, stripped of its earlier confidence.
“You can’t be surprised by that.”
“I suppose I hoped there might be a trial. A chance to explain. Will I at least be allowed to speak before the sentence is carried out? After all, I kept Stonehaven safe for all this time.”
“Safe?” The word escapes me before I can stop it. “You call what you did keeping them safe?”
Lisandra’s chin lifts. “Yes. I do.”
“Tell me, Lisandra, how exactly did betraying me keep everyone safe?” My voice hardens. “How did revealing the location of Veinbloods protect anyone?”
“The Veinbloods were already being watched. I gave Sereven information he was going to discover anyway, in exchange for him believing we were weaker than we actually were.”
“And the Veinbloods who died? The families they killed for harboring them? Were their deaths part of your strategy, too?”
For the first time, real pain flickers across her face. “I couldn’t save everyone. I made impossible choices so that some could survive rather than watching all of us die.”
“You made those choices without consulting anyone. You appointed yourself judge of who lived and who died.” I step closer, letting her see the anger in my eyes. “That’s not leadership, Lisandra. That’s betrayal dressed up as martyrdom.”
“And what would you have done? With no army, no resources, no hope of rescue? Would you have led us all into glorious destruction rather than accept an uglier survival?”
“If you hadn’t betrayed me, and allowed Severen to imprison me, we would not be in this situation now.”
“You don’t know that!”
“We’ll never know, because you took that choice away from me.”
The rage builds in my chest like a living thing. The shadows around me respond to my fury, stretching toward Lisandra like grasping fingers. She takes a step back, chains rattling, but there’s nowhere for her to go.
“Zareth.”
Lisandra’s lips part, but the word blocks her voice, silencing her. Shadows coil around her throat, not quite touching yet, but close enough that she can feel their presence.
“Twenty-seven years.” My voice is deadly quiet. “Twenty-seven years in that tower. Of believing I would die there, forgotten, while my people suffered.” The shadows wrap tighter around her throat. “All becauseyoudecided my life was an acceptable sacrifice.”
She tries to speak, but the Voidcraft won’t allow it. The darkness is feeding on my rage now, growing stronger, more substantial. One word from me, and they’ll collapse her windpipe, crush the life from her as easily as snuffing out a candle.
“Sacha.” Ellie’s voice is soft, and comes with the lightest of touches on my arm. “Stop.”
The simple touch breaks through the red haze of my anger. Her power brushes against mine, offering an anchor. A way back from the edge I’m teetering on.
“She’s not worth it.”
I look at the other woman, still caught in the grip of rage, then I pull my shadows back. Lisandra sags in her chains, gulping for air.
“No, she’s not.”
This woman stood beside me when Ashenvale fell, while I was unaware that she had a hand in orchestrating my downfall. She helped train Veinwarden recruits who later died because of intelligence she provided to the enemy. She was trusted with our most sensitive information, privy to plans and safe houses and the names of those who risked everything for our cause. And for twenty-seven years, she led Stonehaven while betraying my people to Sereven.
The woman before me is both a traitor and a survivor, and I find I can’t entirely separate the two.
“Mishana.” I whisper the word to return her voice to her. “You’re certain Thornspire Keep will be his place of choice?”
“Yes.”
Possibilities unfold in my mind. Thornspire Keep is better defended than the likes of Ravencross, but not impenetrable like Blackvault. With proper planning, we might reach Sereven before he expects us.
Ellie watches me. “You’re thinking about going after him.” It’s not a question.
