Mia made a sound in the back of her throat and leaned in, pressing her forehead against his. “I’ve got you,” she whispered, taking his words from earlier. “I’m here and I won’t let go.” She pressed a kiss to his brow and that simple action wrecked his fragile hold.
Mia held him as he shattered.
Chapter 42
Clare
The snap of the crossbow rang in Clare’s ears, mingling with her staggered heartbeat. After everything she had survived, Gavril was going to kill her.
Bennick shoved her, both of them falling. Pain flared as Clare hit the stone floor on her back and the air was knocked from her lungs. Bennick caught his own weight instead of crushing her, his hands and knees caging her in, their faces a breath apart.
The bolt Gavril had shot streaked harmlessly over them and struck the wall.
“Seize him!” Newlan roared.
Clare’s body shook. The sounds of a struggle competed with the heartbeat thudding in her ears. Bennick pressed a palm against her cheek, concern carved in his face as he forced her to meet his gaze. “Clare?” He breathed her name so softly, even she barely heard him.
Her eyes brimmed with tears. Gavril had tried to kill her.Shock, fear, denial—it swam inside her, a storm that stole her voice. If Bennick hadn’t been beside her, that bolt would be buried in her heart.
A muscle pulsed along Bennick’s jaw. His fingers brushed over her skin, a fleeting touch before he pushed to a crouch and pulled them both to their feet. They walked to where Newlan stood, glaring down at Gavril. The scarred man had been forced to kneel, a palace guard gripping each shoulder.
“YouattemptedtokillPrincess Serene.”Newlan’s voice vibrated with menace.
Gavril sneered, the hatred on his face completely transforming him from the quiet guard Clare had known. “I only regret that I failed.”
Clare strangled Bennick’s fingers. “Why?” she whispered.
Gavril’s narrowed eyes cut to her, animosity shooting from him. “There can be no peace with Mortise.”
“It was you all along.” Shock thrummed in Bennick’s voice. “You wanted to frame Mortise for Serene’s death. You’re the one who planted the Night Sigh. The Ogai spiders. The poisoned necklace, the attack in her room . . . It was you at the orphanage too, wasn’t it?”
Gavril ground his teeth. “I tried to keep you out of it, Bennick.”
“I trusted you!” Bennick snapped.
He bit out a snarl, his rippled scars tensing. “I couldn’t let the peace happen!”
“Your actions harmed innocents. People are dead because of you!”
“I had to do something!” Gavril’s attention shifted to the king. “You stationed me on the border. You told me to protect Devendra from Mortise and I lost my wife and my daughter.” His voice broke, but he plunged on. “Mortise took everything from me. And now you tell me to embrace them as an ally?” His lip curled, tugging at his scarred cheek. “I served you and you betrayed me. You deserve to lose your own daughter.” He spat at Newlan’s feet.
The king’s face twisted. “You are guilty of treason. Attempted murder of a royal body. Dissent and warmongering. You will be executed at first light.”
“No.” Amil Havim shoved past Clare. He glared at Gavril with shaking hands, his bearded face tight. “You’re the reason my father is dead. You’ll pay for his blood with your own.” He jerked a dagger from his belt.
Clare gasped.
Bennick lunged, but Amil had already shoved the blade into Gavril’s heart.
Gavril went rigid. His lips parted and blood dripped from his mouth. He tried to speak, but failed.
Amil planted a boot against Gavril’s front and jerked his blade free. The guard collapsed, slumped on his side, fingers twitching once before he went still. The light fled his eyes. His face was tipped so the torchlight danced across his horrible burns, and that image would be with Clare forever. Her hands clamped over her mouth. Bile scorched her throat and tears bloomed behind her eyes. Gavril was dead. No chance for last words with his father. Nothing.
He was a man tormented by grief. He had killed. He’d nearly killed Clare several times, but . . . he’d saved her, too. And he hadn’t deserved to die on the floor, murdered in a fit of rage.
Amil gripped the bloody dagger and turned to King Newlan, his voice terrifyingly level. “In the morning I ride for Mortise.”
Newlan’s hands fisted slowly at his sides. “The treaty?”
Amil’s eyes flashed, his mouth a hard line. “Our emissary is dead, murdered by one of your men. Mortise was accused of the crimes of your people. That’s what I’ll tell the serjah. We’ll see what he decides.” He turned on his heel and strode from the room, Mortisian guards carrying the emissary’s body behind him.
King Newlan’s shoulders tensed as he glared at the dead man near his feet. If Gavril wasn’t already lying in a pool of his own blood, Newlan would have killed him again. There was nothing the king wanted more than this alliance, and Gavril might have ruined it. “Remove this filth,” he hissed. “There will be no burial. His body will feed the crows.”
Clare turned her head aside when Gavril was dragged away. She didn’t want to see it. Didn’t want to face it. She wanted to hide in some corner until the world stopped spinning.
But the horror of tonight wasn’t done.
Newlan rounded on the huddled entertainers. “You were hired by that traitor to kill Princess Serene. Your goal was to destroy the peace with Mortise.”
“No,” the gray-haired man pleaded. “Your Majesty, it wasn’t us. Please, I beg a fair trial for me and my troupe.”
Newlan’s lips pulled back in a silent snarl. “Kill them.”
Mothers howled and fathers cried for mercy. Childrenscreamed and clutched their parents as the soldiers stepped forward, wielding their swords.
“No!” Clare moved so quickly Bennick could only curse, his hand snatching nothing but air as she darted into
