Page 1 of Onyx Cage: Volume II

CHAPTER ONE

Ipretended not to hear two sets of quiet footsteps retreating in the distance. Pretended I couldn’t feel the frigid snow under my bare feet.

Pretended that all the places in me that were slowly coming back to life hadn’t just been snuffed out as surely as the torch I casually covered with snow before I made the ascent back to my rooms.

My jaw clenched, my hands forming fists at my sides as I climbed the frozen walls to my room once more. But I barely felt the ice and snow biting at my skin. It was impossible to feel anything beneath the fury washing over me in waves.

Had she considered that leaving me in a drugged state when there was at least one enemy in the vicinity could get me killed? Had she cared about that at all?

And you, Evander? Will you lead your men to the mountain?

I saw the flicker of concern in her eyes as she said those words, pictured the flash of panic just before I turned to leave her tonight.

Swinging my leg up to the balcony, I bit back a curse as it tugged at the wound on my abdomen. It was impossible to knowhow Rowan felt when she either didn’t know herself or chose to ignore those feelings, but one thing was clear: All these months later, she still pretended her actions didn’t have consequences.

It’s a good thing we’re both so good at pretending.

I stepped into my room, keeping my eyes fixed firmly on the door that led to the hall. There wasn’t time to be sidetracked by all the reminders of the girl who had just happily left me alone and drugged in my rooms.

The girl who had been willing to die for the sake of soldiers she barely knew.

The girl who had looked at me without a trace of fear.

I knowyou… You saved me.

Her words echoed in my mind as I laced up the boots I had been too worried to put on before. A bitter laugh hissed past my lips at the thought.

Wrenching open the door to the hall, I barely resisted the urge to slam it behind me as I stepped through, if for no other reason than to drown out the memories of her voice. But there wasn’t time for me to indulge in any of those feelings. I had a spy to interrogate, a father to manipulate, and an entire clan to lie to for the sake of a princess who never should have left her kingdom.

If she had stayed where she belonged, then I wouldn’t be in this mess.

Any of it.

CHAPTER TWO

Yuriy stood at the ready, shoulders squared, no trace of amusement on his youthful features for a change.

“Get your brother,” I bit out quietly. “And send word for the guards to rotate.”

It wouldn’t be suspicious. We changed their rotation often, and in doing so, the enemy never knew where they would be. And in this case, it would serve as a distraction. Enough for her to get away. To get back to wreaking havoc in her own storms-damned kingdom.

I nodded for my cousin to follow me down the hall, not quite ready to send him off yet. Not when there were so many things to be done and so few people I trusted to do them.

“I need you to fetch Pavel, too.”

As my best scout, he was uniquely suited for the task. And he had been with us at the cabins, so if the Lochlannians spotted him, at least Rowan would know to keep him unharmed. I remembered how her father had spotted me, even through the shadows I had been well hidden within, so the precaution was hardly overkill.

“Tell him to cover the tracks leading away from the stables,” I lowered my voice even further. “He will be following a smallgroup of Lochlannians, including the princess, to the tunnels. His job is to ensure they get there safely while staying out of sight.”

Yuriy’s eyes widened, but to his credit, he simply nodded.

“Then, meet me in there,” I finished up, gesturing toward the narrow servants’ door at the end of the hall.

“Of course, Van,” he said gravely, keeping silent on all the questions that were churning in his gaze.

Yuriy raced back down the hall toward his brother’s room while I continued forward. There was a chance that Taisiya – or whatever her real name was – was already gone, but I suspected that if she were going to flee, she would have done so with the king she served.

It was far more likely she was taking a chance at staying to help conceal the princess’ tracks, hoping I wouldn't have noticed the subtle sleep aid she had added to my tea once I’d woken up.