"Wait a minute," Spangler said. "Sit down. Take it easy. You've got a lot of time - now. You're not rushing things anymore. From now on, move a little slower. What's a fellow like you interested in?"
Sayfa 150
’Wait. Didn’t you say it was your dream to become a coffee-brewing maestro?’
‘Once the dream is fulfilled, it becomes reality. It’s the dreaming that I like. So I got what I wanted.’
The Secret Weapon
“Raphael,” I say weakly. “There’s a secret—”
One of the goons hits me, a sudden punch into my stomach, and my
breath whooshes out. I feel like I’m suffocating.
I glance up. Raphael unsheathes his sword, his eyes lit with silver, but
Wrythe already has a dagger pressed to my throat. The knife edges into my
skin.
“Step any closer, and she dies,” he tells Raphael.
“This is over, Wrythe,” Raphael says evenly. “Let her go.”
Wrythe pauses for a few seconds. “I am merely doing my job,
protecting my people from a dangerous traitor.”
“Nia is an Avalon Steel Knight. She’s done more for our cause than any
of you—”
“Enough!” Wrythe raises his voice, his knife digging into my throat.
“You want to do this here? Very well. Let’s talk about your precious Avalon
Steel Knight. Where’s Tarquin?”
“Right here.” He steps up beside me and shoots me a disdainful look.
Wrythe eases the knife from my throat but presses it against my back,
just next to my spine. “You’ll have your chance to talk here, mongrel,” he
hisses in my ear, “but if you attempt to interrupt me before I have my say, I
will ram my knife through your ribs so fast, you won’t get a single syllable
out.”
Hatred roils through my veins. I’ll wait for my chance, and then I’ll tell
Raphael and the rest everything. I’ll risk a stabbing to get the truth out.
And then Tarquin turns and reaches his arm back to bring another
woman forward, and my heart sinks.
Mom.
She looks put together, for once. Her hair is dyed blonde, her makeup is
perfect. Someone’s been looking after her.
I have no idea what she’s doing here, but I know it’s not good.
“Let her go,” I blurt. “She’s got nothing to do with this.”
Gods What the Hell Happened?
“Nia?”
I exhale, and relief washes over me as I recognize the voice. “Serana.”
“She was right.” Serena smiles at me in the moonlight. “Looks like
Venus in Aquarius took precedence over the sparrows.”
I stare at her. “Venus what?”
“What?” She frowns. “Sorry. Tana’s omens indicated you would return
tonight, but Tana wasn’t certain which way you’d come. The birds said one
thing, the stars another. According to the flight pattern of the birds, it
seemed you might be coming from the docks and Magpie Lane. The stars
indicated you’d show up at Nimuë’s Tower, as usual. That’s the Venus
thing. There was also some kind of quintush. Or is it quintile? That was a
good omen, but the cards were a real mess. One reading foretold you got
killed by a large salmon.”
“This is a lot of information.”
“I know, I’m just…I’m really glad to see you.” Her voice cracks. “You
look like shit, though.” She flings herself at me and wraps me in a tight hug.
Second hug this evening. The solidity of it is the only thing that feels
real and normal.
“Why are you lurking in the shadows outside the tower?” I ask, pulling
away at last.
“I told you. Tana said you were coming. Darius went to wait for you by
the docks, just in case.”
“In case of what, exactly?”
Her expression darkens. “Because I can’t let you go across the
courtyard. The Iron Legion will be patrolling there. We have to take a secret
way.”
A chill ripples over me. “They’ll arrest me?”
She slides her arm into mine and leads me away from the courtyard.
“Whatever you’re imagining, it’s probably worse. Let’s go.” She takes a
few steps, then shoots me a quizzical expression. “I have to ask. Why are
All of the Truth
His eyes lock on me, cold and certain. “You’re not getting away, not
without answering my questions. I recognize the feel of your mind, but I
can’t read your thoughts. I’m not a telepath. So, you’re going to do
something new for you and actually tell me the truth.”
I take a step back, eyeing Talan warily. My fingers twitch, and my legs
are still shaking, giving me away. My whole body is charged with panic and
something more corrosive. Heartbreak, maybe.
Months of deception have made lying second nature, and my mind
offers up a whole garden of falsehoods, pretty little blossoms of deceit
waiting to be plucked. Should I offer him another rotten bloom while I hide
a knife behind my back?
The question is which lie to pick…
Am I a scared farm girl blackmailed by enemies? An agent conspiring
with Fey nobles to put him on the throne? Am I a wide-eyed innocent, a
blank slate? An idiot?
Maybe a politician’s trick—I could just lie, lie, lie, flood him with lies
until he’s too exhausted to bother with the truth.
But the lies feel brittle now, dried roses ready to crumble at the slightest
touch. I can’t bring myself to lie again. And Talan won’t fall for it anymore.
So, I say nothing, because that’s all I’ve got left—silence.
The wind toys with Talan’s hair, lifting dark strands. “I’ve been inside
your mind before.” His voice is cold as midwinter frost. “Isn’t that right,
little telepath?”
I nod, just once.
My mind churns wildly like a raging storm.
He knows I stole from him. He just doesn’t know why.
He steps closer, slowly, like he has all the time in the world to destroy
me. All the warmth leeches from the air around us. In my thin nightgown, I
shiver.
“And why did you steal that map from me?”
A Father
This moment has been long coming, and he has no more leverage on
me. Surely he understands that. In fact, I’m surprised he didn’t trick me into
another Hemlock Oath. It seems out of character for him not to demand a
pledge to fulfill my bargain. I swore not to tell anyone about him. I never
promised I’d do what he wanted beyond that.
His golden eyes shine in the torchlight, mournful.
Something catches the corner of my eye. The flickering candles, the
moonlight gleaming over the crystal goblets on the table. As my gaze
sweeps over the old banquet, I feel like my chest is cracking open. This man
has been waiting centuries for the party he planned with his mother. And
right now, I’m reminded of a little boy waiting at a birthday table for a party
no one attended. Somewhere deep down, I sense how much he misses his
mom. This was something he planned for her.
Fuck.
And more than that, he saved my life, and probably my friends’ lives.
He got Raphael back.
And really…he’s a better parent than Mom.
My eyes mist over. “Mordred, I don’t think I can help you do what you
want to do.”
He raises an eyebrow in surprise. “Oh?”
“Humans need Avalon Tower right now. If you destroy it, humanity is
doomed.”
His gaze narrows. “Then why are you telling me this, Nia? Have I
taught you nothing? Why would you show your hand so clearly? You didn’t
even try to kill me.”
“I thought about it.”
He shrugs. “Well, that’s something.”
“You knew I was going to break my deal with you, didn’t you?”
“Of course I did. What I didn’t expect is for you to tell me that you are
breaking the deal. That’s something only a stupid person would do.”