Page 75 of This Dark Descent
Before she could think too deeply about it, Mikira seized a stick and pried it between the metal and the corpse’s flesh. It took some maneuvering, but she finally dug a thick silver ring free, and froze.
Set at the top was a hawk’s wing formed of hematite and diamond. Black and silver.
Damien’s missing ring.
She’d suspected Damien had made a fake ring rather than commission a new one to hide the fact that he’d lost it but hadn’t known why. Now she wished she didn’t. Damien must have lost it in the struggle.
“Rezek,” she breathed, remembering his delight at learning of the missing ring. Was he involved with this somehow, or was this the exact kind of potential outcome that had made that information valuable to him?
She stared at the ring cupped in her palm. What was she supposed to do? She needed Damien. His sponsorship was the only thing keeping her in the Illinir. Without him, she couldn’t help her family. And now with Ailene’s leg, they’d need money for medicine and doctors, more than Iri’s sale could cover. But with the winnings from the Illinir, they’d be fine.
If she gave the ring back to him, there would be no proof he’d ever been involved. Only her.
He killed someone.
Some part of her had always known who Damien was, but she’d buried that part beneath her desperate need for his help. Then she’d gotten to know him over the last couple months, seen the way he helped his community, the way people looked at him like a savior, and she’d thought maybe he was okay. Maybe she hadn’t bound herself to a monster.
But now—now she wasn’t so sure.
“You don’t know the full story,” she told herself, even as she stared down at the bloated face of the corpse. If Damien hadn’t killed him, why hide the loss of his ring? She couldn’t ignore Talyana’s warning about the sergeant investigating him, nor how familiar the man looked. Had she seen him at Adair Manor before?
Mikira squeezed her eyes shut. If she won the Illinir, her prize money would be funneled through Damien. If he was arrested, would his funds be frozen? What if he discovered it was she who told? He could pull his sponsorship for a partial return of his money, but would he with so much riding on her winning?
Her eyes snapped open. Damien Adair did not take kindly to betrayal. She’d be lucky if all he did was withhold the money.
What would her father do?
He’d never stand in the way of the law, but he had always beenunyielding, and her family had suffered for it more than once. It was her trust in the law, in what was right, that had lost them Lochlyn. But her father had also been a fierce and loyal man once. He would never have betrayed someone who’d done so much for him.
Mikira’s fist closed over the ring. “I’m sorry,” she said to the body at her feet. Then she placed her boot against its ribs and pushed, releasing it back into the roaring river.
CHAPTER 26
ARIELLE
ARI HAD NOidea where she was.
One moment, she’d been asleep in her room at Adair Manor, having retired early when the others went to the Ruthar ball. The next she’d woken to morning light and cold cobblestone beneath her bare feet.
A horn startled her, and she stepped onto the sidewalk as a motorcar revved its engine, flying past. Her heart kept skittering long after it’d gone, the small side street now empty and quiet.
There had to be a logical explanation for this. Was she dreaming? No, she could tell she was awake. Then how had she gotten here?
She looked down at herself and stilled. Her nightgown had specks of red on it.
Unease wedged beneath her ribs as she gently pulled the gown up to inspect the stain, though she already knew what she would find.
Blood.
She stared at the nightgown and at the fingers that held it. Her nails were crusted dark with blood.
“Ma’am?” asked a voice.
She whirled. The man behind her recoiled a step. He wore a dark blue uniform and clasped a bundle of posters in one hand. A military recruiter.Just a recruiter. She forced herself to calm down, seizing control of her emotions and wrenching them into compliance.
“Are you…” He trailed off as he saw the blood.
“I was attacked.” Her throat scratched like she’d been screaming. “I ran, but now I don’t know where I am.”
