“I’ll go with you, then. Let’s take him out for good.”

But she shook her head. “I want to fight him myself.”

He opened his mouth, about to protest. But then he took in the determined expression on her face and pulled her into a tight hug instead. She wrapped her arms around his back, and for a second, she wanted to stay here—safe from the threats, with someone she could always trust.

“I’ve always known you could take him on,” he said in such a nonchalant voice that she knew he meant every word. “But I’m still allowed to worry about you. Where will you look for him?”

“I think he’ll be on the balcony above the ballroom,” she said, pulling away. “If he’s going to shoot her, that would be the best vantage point.”

They set off then, and in moments they reached the staircase that Ryuu had told them about. Two floors down, a landing extended to the left and the hall ahead disappeared into shadows. Aina waved to Teo, and they split up. She took that direction, wondering how much time was left, while Teo continued down the stairs to the ballroom itself.

As she traversed the hall, dimly lit with yellow light bulbs hanging from the ceiling every few feet, she couldn’t deny her fear at heading on alone. She’d done everything on this mission with Teo, and telling him to go on and leave this to her made the task ahead even more daunting.

Touching the hilts of her knives for reassurance, she took deep breaths to gather as much energy as possible.

She’d need all she could to fight the Blood King.

She ran down the hall now, afraid that if she paused for even a moment, she might hear his voice telling her she needed him, that it was stupid to think she was anything more than his weapon. But she was done thinking what he told her to think.

He’d taken almost everything from her, but she still had her knives, and she knew how to use them.

She picked up the pace, running down the hall, accompanied only by the sound of rain lashing the outside walls of the Tower to her right.

Halfway down the hall, a figure stepped out of an alcove directly in her path. Aina skidded to a stop.

It was Tannis, her gold eyes shining like beacons in the dark hall.

43

Aina flung up her knife arm by instinct, almost slashing through Tannis’s throat, but she stopped at the last moment. Tannis watched her with a raised eyebrow. Neither of her hands had flicked to weapons.

In the dim light of the empty hall, they stared each other down, inches apart, waiting for the other’s next move. The only sound other than the rain was their steady breathing.

Killing Tannis was what Kohl would want her to do. Spark more enmity between his Blades, so one of them would take out the other and he would own the survivor.