“You almost had me fooled,” said James. “It was just a few things.…A switch in the guard schedules, something not quite right in the way they announced your death. I wasn’t sure, so I had to flush you out. I needed a fire, and this helped me choose the starting point.” He paused. “I didn’t expect it to work quite so well, so soon.”

She knew she shouldn’t have asked, but it was too late. Rage swept through her. “You killed Bella just to check if I was alive?”

“I gave you a task, and I made you a promise.” James’s face was hard as he took another step closer. “You failed at your task, and I kept my promise. You shouldn’t be surprised. Did you think I would do nothing while you led the Palace to us? Or did you think you could protect your friends by moving them to the other side of the wall? All it takes is a word from me and you’ll return tomorrow morning to find your girls dead. Killed in their sleep, if they’re lucky.”

Kyra’s knife was in her hand and out of its sheath before he finished talking. With a ragged cry, she launched herself at James, slashing wildly. There was a brief flicker of triumph on James’s face as he stepped aside, wrenching her knife arm behind her and twisting her down. She landed face-first on the ground. Two sharp kicks to the ribs knocked any remaining breath out of her. She curled onto her side, and James closed in, kicking her useless limbs out of the way as he plunged his dagger into her stomach.

She screamed, only to cut off as she choked on her own blood. The pain was unbearable, growing unimaginably worse when he twisted his knife. As she convulsed around the blade, James took her head in his arms, cradling her like a child.

“You could have gone far,” he whispered. Was that a tinge of regret in his eyes? She couldn’t see through the fog.

Suddenly, James tensed, laid her head down, and walked away, leaving Kyra gasping on the floor. She heard footsteps.

“I’m sorry for this,” James said. “This was Guild business, one of ours who betrayed us. I’ve dealt with it.”

“We would like to take her with us,” a man said.

“I can’t allow that. Even if you were able to save her, she’s a danger to us.”

“You misunderstand,” a woman’s voice interrupted. “We want the fresh body for our cats.”

There was some more discussion. Then new hands were lifting her and she cried out in pain and confusion. A pair of amber eyes looked down at her and murmured something in a strange language. All the fight left her, and Kyra lay still as the strangers carried her out of the room.