Page 219 of The Mercy of Dawn

A single patch of Reykr’s birds in flight left clinging to threads caught between the pulled-apart ribs of a gaping chest.

All bits of confirmation that she did not need.

Fear had her muscles locked, and she couldn’t pull her eyes away.

Not from the bodies, or the runes painted over the walls, or the massive five-pointed star hewn from blood in front of the bodies chained to the wall. At each point, it looked like—

Gravel crunched behind her, and Cyril didn’t have time to react.

Something cold wrapped around her throat and ripped her backward.

A torrent of pain shot down her spine as she met the stone wall and everything went dark.

Chapter 55

“Ithink now is an appropriate time for me to ask what the fuck is going on?” Lars spoke with a harsh whisper and forced smile as he leaned into Mikael's space.

Mikael tensed.

He hadn’t realized the trio of lords that had come up to their table to talk his father’s ear off had already left. He grabbed his wine glass, the dry red clinging to the sides, and cast a sidelong glance at his father. “What do you—”

“You’ve disappeared twice already, and you’ve got this look in your eyes like a lamb that’s about to go to fucking slaughter.” Lars’ voice was low, but his displeasure was palpable. “Don’t make me ask you again.”

Mikael shot back his wine.

“Cyril is in Brynnhold, by herself, trying to gather intel on our missing guards, and I—” He clenched his teeth. “I’m fucking worried.”

Lars’ eyes flared.

“You sent Cyril, alone, to—”

“I did not send her anywhere.” Mikael ground out. His father would assume he made poor decisions in spades. “I didn’t want her to go, but she found out about Ezra’s bullshit fucking decree about our resourcing, and she insisted on going.”

Surely he didn’t need to explain that nothing he or anyone else could have said would have stopped Cyril from going.

His father scrubbed his fingers across his brow, cursing quietly.

“Go,” Lars said, and Mikael blinked. “Get out of that fucking chair, get your ass to Brynnhold, and find her.”

Mikael moved faster than he was sure he ever had before.

Chapter 56

Consciousness was something Cyril wanted no part of.

The searing throb radiating from the back of her head was unlike anything she’d ever felt before. It was a sickening sort of pounding that crested to an unbearable degree every time she tried to open her eyes.

Did she…fall?

The rooftop had been slick, sure, but…her boots were built for grip.

It didn’t make sense…

Her shoulders screamed too, like when Bron used to have her hang from the apple trees behind the estate for far too damn long.

And her hands were numb and…up?

Cyril fought to swallow down the sickly, metallic tang of blood in her mouth and willed one eye to open, just a crack.