Page 128 of Tainted Souls
My face sours into a grimace. “Neither. Just curious about how I could become your undoing.”
“How romantic,” he says with a suspicious indulgence. “There is a concoction for that kind of finality.” He lets the words hang, the tease folded into the danger, and for a moment, I can’t tell whether he’s playing me, warning me—or both. “Bane brew.”
“Right.” My laugh is a bit too sharp to be genuine. “And why would you tell me that?”
“Because it requires an ingredient you’ll never find.”
I roll my eyes, but inside, something electric sparks to life.
Bane brew.
The name sears into my memory, each syllable a promise I intend to keep. After all this time searching for a way to destroy him, he’s handed me the method himself. He thinks I won’t have it in me, but he forgets I’ve devoted my life to finding him. I’ll find the elusive ingredient, no matter the cost.
“When you’re done plotting my death…” He reaches into his pocket and extracts an antique bronze key, holding it out to me. “For the truth about who your mother really was.”
I stare at the key, uncomprehending. “What’s it for?”
“Access,” he answers. “To her chambers. The question is, are you prepared for what you’ll find there?”
I reach for the key, but he closes his fist around it.
“This isn’t a gift,” he warns. “It’s a legacy. Once you step into it, you carry it with you, whether you want to or not.”
I still my hand midair, my heart rattling in my chest.
“I don’t need to be warned,” I say, though something in me wavers. “I just want to know the truth.”
He studies me again, that same unreadable expression cloaking him like armor. Then, finally, he places the key in my palm. It’s heavier than it looks, but far too light for what it carries. “You think knowing her will answer everything, but it won’t. It will only show you how much of her already lives in you.”
I close my fingers around the key, the metal pressing into my skin.
“Good,” I murmur, almost to myself. “Then I won’t be surprised.”
Ace rises from his seat and strides to the entry of the alcove, tucking another cigarette between his lips as he scans the room. When his eyes settle on a figure across the hall, he lifts his chin, beckoning them over with the subtle authority that seems to follow his every gesture. “Saul,” he calls, his voice carrying just far enough to reach my brother without disturbing the others.
My brother materializes in front of him with surprising speed, as if he’d been hovering nearby all along, waiting. His posture is tense as he glances between us.
“Have her change first,” Ace instructs, giving Saul a look that seems loaded with unspoken meaning. “Just in case.”
Saul nods once, understanding the silent message passing between them that excludes me entirely. He takes my elbow gently, while Ace turns away, already dismissing us both fromhis attention. I allow my brother to guide me from the dining hall, acutely aware of all the eyes following our departure.
There’s something they’re not telling me.
“Just in case of what?” I ask once we’re in the corridor, safely out of earshot.
“We’re expecting an attack,” Saul answers in a near whisper. “Could be tonight, could be next month.”
“From Cain?” I quicken my pace to keep up with Saul’s long strides. “Or Redmoore?”
“Both, eventually.” He glances at me, his expression grim. “But this would be Cain.”
I raise an eyebrow at him. “He knows I’m here? I thought this was the safest place for me right now. Irene’s words, not mine.”
“Even fortresses fall, especially when the enemy has darker things at their disposal.”
“The pendant.”
“Among others.”
