Page 176

“Fine,” Viktor was snarling. “Do it. Stop the dragon. Keep it alive. Then find the girl and bring her to me. This cannot happen.”

My heart was pounding—could he sense me listening? He was too distracted to care. Lunaya was missing. Molindra was attacking the manor. I tried to control the feeling of giddiness shooting through me.

“Where are you going?” It was Elowyn’s voice again.

“You dare to question me?” Viktor hissed. “I go to check on the other animal.”

My body went cold. Did he mean Nyxaris? No, if he had my dragon I would know. Viktor would have told me—would have delighted in telling me.

The thought had hardly formed when Viktor’s attention swung back to me with the speed of a serpent’s strike. Pain ripped through the bond so violently I screamed. I fell sideways off the chair—not intentionally but because the tearing in my chest felt like a chain had been grabbed and yanked, flaying me from the inside out.

Please, I thought, please.

You dare to pry into my mind? Soon your dragon will be here. I will make him watch as I tear the clothes from your body. You will know true pain then, true suffering, as I take great pleasure in you as your dragon stands witness. Will that not be a glorious day, my Florence?

I whimpered—and I knew he heard. Then he was gone. It was quiet again, save for the sound of my own gasping breath.

Chapter 57

LUNAYA

Lunaya moved quietly along the dark corridor, one hand touching the wall, the other gripping Persis’s wrist. Somewhere across the house, boots thundered against floorboards and men shouted to one another in loud, frightened voices. Above their heads, a door slammed hard enough to shake dust from a pair of the tall closed velvet curtains they were passing. She felt Persis jump.

“Shhh.”

Persis was breathing hard, but he didn’t say a word. Then she stumbled. Despite herself, she cried out, reaching a hand up to her neck as a pulse of pain tore through her.

“Lunaya!” Persis whimpered. “What is it?”

“I’m fine,” she forced herself to whisper. But the boy was already pressed up against her side, his shoulder nudging her ribs as he tried to take some of her weight, wrapping his slender arm around her waist. She shivered, hating that he had to help her.

“Your face looks—” The boy stopped himself.

“I’m fine,” she whispered again. But she already knew what he’d been about to say. The black veins were spreading; they spiraled up her neck. A few had crept up to her face, crossing one cheek. She could feel them beneath her skin, at once hot and cold. These past few days, sunlight had started to hurt. She’d become grateful for all the clouds and fog.

“You’re not fine,” Persis hissed stubbornly. “What’s happening to you?”

She forced a small smile. “We have to keep moving. Come on.”

They slipped down the hall and turned into a narrower passage used only by the servants. When they reached the end, Lunaya stopped. A door stood in front of them. She knew it led to the outer yard. The servants used to come in this way—back when they’d had homes to return to at night. Now most lived at the manor and rarely left its walls.

She hesitated, her hand poised above the latch. There was more shouting coming from behind them now. More tramping footsteps. She drew a careful breath, then pressed the latch. The door opened inward.

Outside, a man stood, waiting just beyond the threshold. He was tall and wore a hooded cloak pulled up to cover his hair and most of his face. But she knew he was highblood.

“Hurry,” she whispered. He stepped quickly inside. “Catherine may sense what I’ve done,” she said quietly. “She may be coming.”

Lunaya knew her defiance was hurting Molindra just as much as it was hurting her. She also knew both of them were past the point of caring. Just a little longer. They just needed to hang on a little longer.

The man nodded. “Who’s the boy?”

Persis made a small, frightened sound. Lunaya understood; this man frightened her, too. She had let something dangerous inside the manor. After this, nothing would be the same.

“His name is Persis. He’s Regan Pansera’s brother.” Lunaya hesitated, then added, “He’s going to help us with the fluffin. She trusts him.”

The man’s eyes widened slightly, as if he recognized the name. Then he nodded. “Take me to her,” he said.

Chapter 58