Page 65 of Last Rites

Was I sinking or rising? There was dark as far as I could see no matter which direction I swam, and I was so, so tired, but I’d forgotten how to sleep without him. I relied on him too much, and now I was at a loss as to how I could possibly move forward.

I fretted about him constantly, and not just because he was offering himself up to the god who may well have been the cause of all suffering in the world. He spent his days outside the safety of Ashpoint’s walls felling trees, or across town at the lumber mill with people whose loyalty I didn’t trust. Penny worried about wolves and falling logs, but I worried about the Death Watch and ceremonial knives. About how easy it would be for them to catch him alone, and how quickly they could take him from me.

On the seventh day of my confinement, the whole of the Death Watch assembled in Merrick’s office as the sun was setting outside. For the first time in a week, Merrick closed the door. He didn’t leave me unattended, though; outside, he left the guard that accompanied the Sentinels with explicit instructions to ensure I didn’t go anywhere.

I couldn’t hear what was said in the Right Hand’s office, but the meeting didn’t last long. Less than five minutes later, the door reopened, and the Sentinels filtered out while three messengers ascended the stairs and promptly took up the space the Death Watch had vacated in front of Merrick’s desk.

The door guard and most of the Sentinels disappeared down the stairs, but Violette lingered. She sauntered into my office wearing a grin like a shark, and dogged me as I moved to sit behind my desk.

“The seventh Oath has been set,” she said. There was an edge of vindictive glee to her voice that made my hair stand on end. “Everyone leaves tomorrow. Would you like to know what it is?”

“I imagine I’ll find out soon enough.”

My attempt to sound unbothered fell flat, and her grin turned sinister.

“The task is to burn down an entire town.” She perched on the edge of my desk and leaned on her hands to bring her face uncomfortably close to mine. “We’ve selected Forstford for the honor.”

My stomach dropped, and there was no way she missed my jerk of surprise.

“Wasn’t that your new hometown?” she asked, as if she didn’t already know. “Settled there under your mother’s name like nobody would ever find you.” She clicked her tongue. “You should have known better. We always knew where to find you if you ever decided to cause us trouble.”

My heart hammered against my ribs, and the overwhelming sensation of the floor tilting beneath my chair accompanied a wave of dizziness that swept over me. It was all I could do to measure my breaths and smother the instinct to gulp down a lungful of air.

Violette watched me, her expression predatory, and waited for me to mount some defense that I didn’t have the energy for.

When I finally found the words, my voice came out barely above a whisper. “It’s a backwater hamlet. Shouldn’t we be focusing on somewhere more significant?”

“Oh, but it is significant!” She reached up and tapped the tip of my nose with a finger, giggling when it made me jump. “It’s significant to you. Why do you think we chose it? Besides, you live here now. Coming here and completing your Oaths is about cutting ties with your old life, so trim it away like the dead flesh it is. Prove you’re as dedicated to Eeus as you’ve always pretended to be. It’s the only way you’ll have any hope of saving your Pretty Penny.”

I wasn’t sure there was any way to save Penny anymore.

When I didn’t respond, she leaned in even closer. We were almost nose to nose. Her brows drew down low over her eyes, and her smirk gave way to a scowl.

“I see it now, you know. Your loyalties have always been divided. You’ve never been a true follower, always saying the right things so you could avoid notice for being the rebellious snake in our midst. And to think I ever thought I might love you.”

“I told you that you were dismissed, Violette.”

Merrick’s cold voice from the hall startled us both. Violette whipped around to face him where he leaned against the doorframe, and she pushed up off the desk.

“Go home,” he ordered.

She sneered at him and stalked past, her footsteps echoing on the stairs as she descended.

Exhaustion chased away my panic and left me feeling numb and hollow. But with Merrick there watching me crumble with no small amount of satisfaction on his face, I knew there was still one last way I had to hurt him. One last tiny act of vengeance before it was too late.

“Have either of you ever actually loved each other?” I asked. “Penny used to think it was sad, but I think it’s fitting since I doubt there’s a whole heart between the two of you.”

Merrick covered his surprise with a scoff. “What does love have to do with anything?”

It was about the answer I expected. I’d known from the beginning that a man like Merrick tied himself to someone else only for power, not affection. Still, that didn’t mean his pride couldn’t be wounded by pointing out that she hated him as much as he hated her.

“Violette loathes you.”

“And what does that matter?” His chuckle sounded forced. “I don’t need her to love me. Besides, my fondness for her went only as far as her ability to put me in close proximity to her brother.”

I propped an elbow on the edge of the desk and leaned in. “So now that Levitt’s gone, I suppose you’ll leave her? Since she’s past her usefulness?”

“Her name still carries weight here,” he replied with a sneer. “She might be useful yet.”