Looking around the room, I realized that it was full of dead bodies, and Viktor"s expression had turned to an angry scowl. We"d killed all but three of his men, and Konstantin was dealing with two of them.
The third ran at me, and I lunged at him, driving my sword through his stomach. Then Ridley shouted a warning, and before I could even think, his cage clattered to the floor mere inches from me.
I ducked out of the way just in time. I narrowly avoided getting crushed by the metal enclosure, but I dropped my sword in the commotion. The cage bounced over the bodies and crashed into the wall.
I ran over to help Ridley open the door, but as I did, his face blanched with horror.
"Bryn, watch out!" he shouted, and I whirled around just in time to see Viktor behind me, carrying a b.l.o.o.d.y sword.
SEVENTY-FIVE.
reprisal I felt the sharp point of the blade tear my clothes and pierce the tender flesh of the left side of my abdomen, just above my hip. I staggered back, my eyes scanning the floor for a nearby sword. Konstantin was busy on the other side of the room, finishing off the last of the men, so he couldn"t toss me a weapon.
Viktor sneered at me, and I spotted my swordthe handle red with blood, lying a few feet to my left, directly beside the birdcage. But before I could make a play for it, Ridley kicked open the door to the cage. He climbed out and stepped toward Viktor, blocking Viktor"s access to me.
"Enough games," Viktor growled at him. "It"s time to finish this."
He lunged at Ridley, but Ridley dodged to the side and grabbed Viktor"s arm. He twisted his wrist back, and even after Viktor dropped the sword, Ridley kept twisting until the bones in his hand and wrist finally made a loud cracking sound.
Viktor was bigger than Ridley, but he was also older and out of practice. And I knew that Ridley wouldn"t let him get the best of him again.
Viktor let out a loud pained groan, and Ridley let go of him, allowing Viktor to stand up.
"I thought you were going to finish this, old man," Ridley growled at him as Viktor staggered back away from Ridley.
"There"s still time," Viktor a.s.sured him with a sick smile.
Ridley moved toward him and kicked his feet out from under him, and Viktor fell back onto the bodies of his fallen men. He lay at an awkward angle, with his back curved up over the bodies and his head on the cold stone floor.
Ridley jumped on top of Viktor and grabbed him by his greasy hair, and he slammed his head into the floor three times. He wasn"t deadnot yet anywaybut he wasn"t really moving either.
"That was for Bryn," Ridley said as he got to his feet.
The scar that ran along my temple seemed to throb in sympathy, the one that Viktor had given me when he had bashed my head into a stone wall.
Konstantin had killed the last two men, and he stood on the other side of the room, catching his breath. With Viktor incapacitated, Ridley turned his attention to me.
"Are you okay?" he asked, his eyes darting down to where my blood was staining my shirt.
"Yeah, it"s just a flesh wound." But it did hurt far worse than I was willing to let on. Then I motioned to him. His shirt was unb.u.t.toned in the front, revealing dark bruises all over his body. "Are you okay?"
"Hey, hey," Konstantin said, interrupting us.
When we looked over at him, he tossed his sword to Ridley, who caught it easily. I turned back to see that Viktor Dlig had gotten up and was stumbling toward us. Blood streamed down the side of his face, but he"d picked up a sword and managed to wield it with his shaky left hand, the one that Ridley hadn"t broken.
Ridley stepped away from me and walked toward Viktor. Viktor tried to lunge at him, and Ridley countered by easily knocking the sword from him. Viktor stood before Ridley, with his head high, and began to laugh.
"What"s so funny?" Ridley asked.
"I should"ve killed you the second Helge brought you in," Viktor said through his laughter. "I could"ve split you in two, just like I did your idiot father."
And that was the last thing Viktor ever said, because Ridley stabbed him in the stomach. Viktor stumbled back and collapsed onto the throne. He let out a few more raspy breaths before expiring.
"And that was for my dad," Ridley said.
"He would be proud of you," I said, trying to comfort Ridley.
He turned back to face me, and I stood up as straight as I could, with my hand pressed against the wound Viktor had given me. Ridley"s eyes were dark, and he put his hand gently on my face.
"You sure you"re all right?" he asked.
"Yeah." I smiled up at him. "As long as you"re okay, I"m okay."
Konstantin took his sword back from Ridley and wiped the blood off on his shirt, then turned toward Ridley and me. "Shall we move on? There"s still plenty more enemies to take down."
SEVENTY-SIX.
chambered The fighting had moved into the main hall of the palace. As Ridley, Konstantin, and I ran down the narrow corridor from the throne room, we could already hear the clash of swords. Baltsar and Bekk were fighting alongside other Skojare and Trylle allies against twenty or so Kanin guards and Omte.
Before we left the throne room, I"d torn off a strip from the white curtains and tied it around my waist, putting pressure on my wound to stop the blood loss. That helped some, but I could still feel myself moving more slowly than I should have. But I pushed myself on, refusing to quit or fail now, not when we were so close to defeating Mina.
Ridley had grabbed a sword, and when we reached the main hall, he joined the fight without missing a beat. Nothing that Viktor or Mina had done to him slowed him down, and I wished I had the time to admire that about him. Or admire anything about him. I wanted to relish the fact that he was safe and alive again, but an Omte soldier was trying to stab me.
I started fighting beside Ridley, but from the corner of my eye, I saw Konstantin running. He raced down the hallway toward the private quarters. I dodged the attack from the Omte soldier, and then I took off after Konstantin, running as fast as I could to catch up to him.
So far, the private wing looked untouched. The pearlescent tile wasn"t stained with blood. The ivory drywall covering the stone had no holes or dents. None of the furniture was broken and none of the paintings were torn.
Konstantin had stopped where the hallway T"d, looking in both directions, and that"s when I reached him.
"Where are you going?"
"To find Mina." He looked down at me. "I should finish this on my own. You don"t need to come with me."
"Of course I"m coming with you," I insisted. "I want her dead just as badly as you do, and you don"t know what she"s up to."
"Yes, I do. She knows she"s losing now, and she"s going to make an escape." He turned to the hallway to the left, jogging ahead, and I went after him. "She"s in her room, gathering everything she needs to start over."
The Queen"s chambers were in the top of the tower on the south side of the palace. On the stairwell just outside the landing were two dead Hogdragen soldiers, both with their throats slit. These were the first bodies we"d seen in the private wing so far.
"She killed them," Konstantin whispered. "They served their purpose, and she didn"t want them taking her jewels."
He crept quietly across the landing, leading the way, and slowly pushed open the door. I peered in over his shoulder, and the room looked empty. Everything was in orderthe satin bedding on the four-post bed was made, the lush white rugs were unruffled, and the sheer curtains were undisturbed over the windows.
I was about to ask if she was still here when I saw a small white rabbit hop across the floor. It was Vita, Mina"s pet rabbit, and on every trip she"d ever gone on, she"d taken it with her. As far as I could tell, Vita seemed to be the only thing Mina really cared about. The rabbit scampered under the bed at the sight of Konstantin and me, hiding from us.
Then I heard a sound, reminding me almost of rain on a windshield, coming from the dressing room off the bedroom.
"She keeps her private safe in there," Konstantin whispered and pushed the door open farther. He crept into the room with his sword drawn, watching the half-open door to her dressing room warily.
I followed him inside, and he motioned for me to go toward a large armoire near one of the windows. It been painted white, but it was made out of wood, with an old legend carved into it with picturesOdin gifting the Kanin people with the Gotland rabbits.
Konstantin came up beside me and quietly opened the armoire doors. From the dressing room, we could hear Mina softly singing an old Kanin war song to herself, and I heard the tinkling gla.s.s sound of jewelry and gemstones colliding with each other as she loaded up a bag.
"Get in," Konstantin whispered, his voice so soft it was almost inaudible.
I did as he commanded, stepping up into the armoire, thinking that he meant for us to hide in here until Mina came out of the dressing room. If she was packing up all her riches and planning to make a break from a kingdom at war, she had to have a weapon on her, and clearly she knew how to use a dagger, given that she"d left two guards dead on the steps.
The armoire was large enough that I could stand up in it, and with the lift at the bottom, it made me as tall as Konstantin. He looked at me for a moment, his eyes studying me.
Normally his eyes were cool like steel, even when he was vulnerable, but now there was a strange smokiness to them, masking his thoughts. His hair fell across his forehead, and I wanted to ask him what was going on, but he suddenly grabbed me. He put an arm around my waist, his hand strong and demanding on my back, and pulled me closer to him. Without waiting for my reaction, he kissed me roughly on the mouth.
His mouth was cold, but heat rushed through me anyway. Under his insistent desire, I felt something tender and pa.s.sionate. I wasn"t sure if I should embrace him or push him, and parts of me wanted to do both.
When he stopped kissing me, he kept his arm around my waist, and his eyes were filled with a yearning so strong, it took my breath away. Then he stepped back, and I still felt his touch lingering on my lips.
"I"m sorry, white rabbit," he whispered, and shut the doors. I heard a soft clicking sound, and I realized too late that he"d locked me inside the armoire. "I want you safe this time."
SEVENTY-SEVEN.
white rabbit "Konstantin," I hissed but didn"t say more. I wanted to break down the doors and jump out, but I couldn"t. Not if I didn"t want to risk giving away his position.
Through in the gap between the doors of the armoire, I watched Konstantin back away. He"d trapped me, knowing that I wouldn"t try to break out because it would mean risking his life.
Then, slowly, as he stepped back, I saw his skin begin to change. Going from its normal deep tan to blend in with the stark white of the Queen"s chambers. He slipped off his shirt, kicking it underneath the bed, and stood against the wall beside the four-post bed.
His daggers remained tucked in the back of his pants, and he stood so that from his waist down, he was mostly hidden behind the abundance of linens on the bed. He"d almost disappeared completely.
Mina came out of the dressing room a few moments later, dragging a large suitcase across the floor with great difficulty. All her gemstones must"ve weighed it down quite a bit. Still in "mourning" over Evert"s death, she wore a long black gown.
The satin of the bottom of the gown clung to the curves of her hips before flaring out around her feet. The top of her bodice went up to her throat, but it was made of a thin, open lace so that her b.r.e.a.s.t.s were almost entirely visible through the fabric. The sleeves went down over her hands, ending in a long point. Since the openness of the dress could provide no warmth, she wore a black fur stole around her shoulders, and its effect reminded me almost of glamorous, oversized epaulets.
"Vita, darling," Mina said, calling to her pet rabbit, and I noted that her British accent had grown even stronger since the last time I"d heard her speak. She"d completely devolved into the character she"d created for herself. "It"s time for us to go."
Leaving her bag, she began looking around for the rabbit. She put one hand on the bed, and I noticed that even her nail polish was black, as she leaned down to look underneath the bed. With her back to him, Konstantin started moving slowly toward her.
"Vita," Mina cooed to the rabbit. "Come here, love."
Konstantin pulled the dagger from his pants, and his skin began to shift back to its normal flesh tone. I held my breath, watching through the crack, as he came up behind her.
"I know you"re there," Mina said, her voice sharper than it had been when she"d been speaking to Vita. "And I know that you"re not going to kill me."
She stood up and turned around to face him, a smile playing on her lips. He glared down at her, his expression hardening as he seethed, and she began to laugh.
"You can"t kill me, Konstantin. You love me too much."
He grabbed her and whirled her around, pulling her roughly against him so her back was pressed to his chest, and he held the dagger to her throat. The lace of her dress covered her throat, forming a choker-like feature, and his blade sliced through it. He didn"t kill her, but he held the dagger hard enough to draw the faintest bit of blood.
"Please, Konstantin," Mina begged, sounding frightened. "You don"t need to do this. Not after all we"ve been through. This is the moment we"ve been plotting for all these years. I have the riches! We can finally run off and be free together, just like you always wanted."
"You"ve been plotting," he corrected her, speaking into her ear like an angry lover. "I was only ever just doing your bidding."
"Konstantin, please. Don"t be like this." She softened, trying to sound as gentle as she had when she"d spoken to her rabbit. "We"ve shared so much, and I don"t know why you"ve taken such a turn. But I forgive you. I still want to be with you, even after all you"ve done. I still love you."
"After all I"ve done?" Konstantin growled, and then he threw her to the floor. She sat on the white rug looking up at him, and somehow managed to have tears in her eyes. "You are an evil, ruthless b.i.t.c.h, Mina. Don"t act like I"m the one in the wrong here."
"Look, Konstantin, I know we"ve had our differences, and that you haven"t always approved of the way I"ve taken care of things," Mina said. "But I just did what needed to be done. But that doesn"t mean that I didn"t love you. That I don"t still."
She reached out, meaning to touch his pant leg, and he stepped back from her.
"I should"ve killed you years ago," he said harshly. "But I was too blinded by my own foolish love, and I hate myself for the parts of it that still linger on. The parts of my heart that I gave to you that I can never get back."
"Konstantin," she pleaded with him.
He inhaled sharply through his nose, and he turned away, trying to hide the emotions on his face. It was just the slightest bit of vulnerability, but that was all Mina needed. His back was half to her, and she could see the dagger holstered in the back of his pants.
With steathy fast reflexes, she moved, grabbing the dagger before I could even shout Konstantin"s name. He started to turn toward her, but it was already too late. She stabbed him in the left side, digging the dagger right into his heart.
Konstantin didn"t even try to fight back. He let his other dagger fall from his hand and stumbled back until he hit the wall, then slid down and sat slumped on the floor.
SEVENTY-EIGHT.
gutted "You think you couldn"t kill me because you loved me?" Mina sneered at him. "It was because you were weak. That"s why I never loved you. You were always a weak, stupid boy."
I pounded on the armoire doors, and Mina turned back to look at me. She c.o.c.ked her head, realizing that she wasn"t alone, and picked up the dagger Konstantin had dropped on the floor. I hit the doors again, harder this time, and they flew open.