Page 55 of Dishonor Among Thieves
“Brexia?” I heard Kiva’s voice call to me from a far, far distance.
I fought to lift my face, to open my eyes, but the ice controlled my every move. I released a tiny whimper but could say no more.
“Brex!” A small, skinny body slammed against my waist. “Stop! You’re killing her!” Kiva stood between Gini and me, her face buried in my dress. And yet the illusion in my mind was unbroken.
Kiva fumbled a shaking hand beneath my dress and a moment’s relief broke through the numbing pain.
Run, I thought, hoping that if I died at Gini’s hand, Kiva would at least stop the other children from coming to harm.
I chirped another sound, weak and poorly formed, when I heard crashing and shouts in my ears. The room began to spin, and I saw the ceiling as though I was inches from it. I knew I was starting to lose consciousness, but there was nothing I could do. This was the punishment Gini sought to inflict. I could only hope that my denying Neo would be enough to keep her from tracking him down. From going back to Omrora to punish the one she thought was my vampire lover after I’d perished.
Everything was so, so cold. I couldn’t keep my eyes open any longer. I knew if I closed them, my spirit would separate from my body and my journey to Forráheim would begin.
Mum, I thought.
I imagined I was smiling. I imagined I was warming, my limbs coming back to life as I prayed my solemn goodbyes.
I heard a screech and the sounds of running, but I was already moving, leaving this Realm. I slipped a hand beneath my skirt, marveling that I could move it, and fumbled for the embroidered fabric I’d stolen from Neo’s pillow. Gripping it in my hand, I was ready. Ready to make the slow walk alone into the misty unknown. I flared my nostrils, took a deep breath, and closed my eyes.
Collapsing on the floor of the kitchen startled me awake. I squinted one eye open, and then, in a panic, realized I was not frozen. I could move. I was still alive.
I blinked to clear away the fog and saw a puddle of blood seeping along the floor toward my face. Gini had one of my throwing knives in her belly, and Kiva had another gripped in a fist. She was crying, her shoulders shaking and her face wet with tears. Her arms were wrapped tightly around Neo’s broad shoulders.
I was too weak to lift my head from the floor, but with a grunt, I lifted the hand clutching the embroidered flowers to my chest so the keepsake wouldn’t be stained with blood. Then, I smiled and closed my eyes.
ChapterFourteen
“Idon’t think you have a problem with stealing.” The voice came through the mists of my sleep, rich and inviting. “I think you have a problem with pillows.”
I opened my eyes to the smirking, scarred lips of my husband. He was lying on his side next to me on the tiny bed in my room.
We were still in the foundling house. I was still alive. And I was still clutching the embroidered flowers in my hand.
“You have a problem with timing,” I said, groaning as I tried to roll over to face him. “I needed you about a half hour before you actually arrived. Oh, by the gods…” I squeezed my eyes against the pain. “Those illusions leave very real bruises,” I admitted. I couldn’t wait to get the filthy day dress that had been like a uniform for so many years off my body. I tapped my thigh to ensure that the breeches and leg holster were still in place underneath the dress.
We faced each other, me lying on the less painful of the two sides, while he propped himself on an elbow and watched me.
“I need to know…” I started, not sure how to even phrase the question on my heart. After everything that had happened in the house, I was certain we were all safe, but there was far more to caring for people than simply keeping them out of harm’s reach. “Neo, are the children…?”
“They are all right,” he assured me, reaching between us to stroke the hair away from my face.
“And what of Gini?” I whispered, lifting my head to fit more closely against the curve of his palm.
He nodded, his lips a thin, hard line. “Her injuries were severe. She did not make it.”
Hot tears burned my eyes, but not for the woman who’d tried to control me, then kill me. The “house mother” whose selfish demands had stolen years of my life away. I was worried for the poor young girl who’d taken my knife in her hand to protect me. And what she’d had to do to save my life.
“Where is Valkiva?” I asked, my lips trembling. “She is only twelve, Neo. She’s seen so much already.”
“Right now, she is calm. She will need support to get through this.” He nodded. “Last I checked, Flynn was putting on some sort of performance for the children. Even Kiva seemed amused.”
He swallowed hard, the knob in his throat moving as he sighed. “Would that I’d been just a few moments earlier. I would have gladly done what that poor child never should have had to.”
“I should have used my knives the moment Gini walked through that door.” I was so furious at myself. My fists tightened against my frustration, but there was nothing I could do. I was too weak to move, too sore to pace the room and scream. All I could do was live with my choices, as well as their consequences. “I was wrong,” I spat. “I’d hoped that maybe if she had me back, Gini would leave you and your family alone. All she wanted was me, so I thought… I thought if I abandoned my plan to kill her and just gave in, sacrificed myself to her…”
“And what of your freedom? Your happiness?” Neo’s lips parted. He looked like a man staring into an endless pond, unable to fathom what mysteries lie in the murky depths. “You came back here to trade your life for my household’s safety?”
I nodded. “It was a fool’s offering. I should have known better. I hesitated to take a life, and my reluctance forced someone far more vulnerable to do the job.”
