Fear slowly filled her eyes. She staggered back a step. “I can’t stay here. He’s angry with me.”

“He’s still riding the killing edge,” Andulvar said. “There’s no room in him yet for something as small as anger. Not when the rage only needs a spark to rekindle and look for another killing field.”

She shrank away from him.

“Why don’t you go back to Hayll and spend a few more days with your family? Right now, there’s nothing you can do to help him.”

As she glanced up the stairs, her face turned a sickly gray. “Yes. I need—I don’t feel well.”

He watched her stumble out of the room. Then he went to the window and pulled back the curtains enough to watch her run to the Coach that was still waiting for her.

Stupid aristo bitch. He wondered if Saetan had sensed the Coach and realized Hekatah hadn’t intended to stay. He wondered if Saetan cared. At least she was gone for a few more days and wouldn’t stir things up.

I can’t help you, SaDiablo, Andulvar thought as he let the curtain fall back into place. She shattered the moment when I might have made a difference. But I can give you two reasons to step away from the killing edge . . . and come all the way back from the Twisted Kingdom.

Chapter 16

16

As he stared at the charred, broken remains of a tangled web, Saetan felt Andulvar’s wary presence as the Eyrien entered the short corridor that led to this hidden workroom.

“The boys?” he asked when Andulvar stepped into the room.

“Upstairs in their playroom.”

“The baby kept crying,” Saetan said softly, keeping his eyes focused on the web. “Screams of pain. Shrieks of terror. He kept crying. When I made the pain go away, the terror go away . . . When the reason for those things ceased to exist, he stopped crying.” He closed his eyes. He still felt hollowed out, knew he was still too close to the border of the Twisted Kingdom. But he had to ask. “They don’t exist, do they? Zuulaman doesn’t exist anymore.”

“No,” Andulvar said. “They don’t exist anymore. Everything they were is gone.”

He felt the weight of what he had done settle on his shoulders and knew he would feel that burden for the rest of his life. He was a strong man. He would carry that weight. But nothing would be the same because of it. He would never be the same because of it.

He turned and looked at Andulvar, noting how the Eyrien tensed and had to fight to keep from taking a step back.

“Are you afraid of me, Andulvar?”

A long pause. “Yes. I’m afraid of you.” Another pause. “I’m still your friend. We’ve been friends too long for it to be otherwise. But what happened to Zuulaman has changed things. I need . . . some time.”