Brader thought he’d left Merina sleeping, but when he returned to the bedchamber he found her trembling beside the bed, clutching a dagger to her breast. A real one, not a stage prop. Tears were streaming down her cheeks but she looked like fury itself.

He tried to approach her, fearing she’d harm herself, but she shrank back from his touch and raised the knife. “You monsters!”

Brader’s heart lurched in his chest. “Keep your voice down!”

“I followed you, Brader. I listened through the door and heard what he said. Do you think I’m a fool? All these years together, and you looking the same as the day we married. And all the secrets! You and he slipping out when you thought I wasn’t looking, and all the times whispering behind locked doors with your ‘cousin.’ Or is that a lie, too?”

“No. That much is the truth.”

“I thought—Maker’s Mercy, I even hoped you were just lovers, but it’s worse than that. All the times children began to die when we stayed too long in a town. I tried not to think about it, told myself I was seeing something that wasn’t there, but it’s true, isn’t it? What are you?”

“There’s no name for it, as far as I know.”

“You—you eat children’s souls? It’s monstrous!”

“Maker’s Mercy, keep your voice down!”

“Why? Will you eat my soul, too?”

“No, but he will. And the children’s.”

Her eyes widened in horror. “And you’d let him!”

“He’s had a hold on me, through you, all these years. But after tonight he’ll be gone. He’ll give me what I need to protect you, but only if I help him leave the city. I’ll be free of him, and we’ll all be safe.”

She held the knife out in front of her and hissed, “Safe? I never want to see you again! If you ever come near my children, I’ll tell them exactly what their papa does, and I’ll put this knife through your black heart! Get whatever you need and get out!”

Her voice was rising dangerously again. He dressed and packed quickly and buckled on his sword. Then, heart breaking, he turned to her one last time, but the hatred in her eyes sealed his throat.

She pointed to the door. “Don’t come back. If he kills us, our blood is on your hands.”

He knew it was the truth. Shouldering his pack, he went back to Atre.

As he always did.

Chapter 44 - Luck in the Shadows

ALEC almost missed the shadowy figure slipping around the corner of the house. It wasn’t tall enough to be Brader. He smiled a thin hunter’s smile. Atre; even better.