Page 3 of A Thief to Die For

‘Hold your knife to her neck.’ Atlas stands, his long overcoat skirting his feet as he steps down from his stage, wandering closer.

‘What?’ My breath comes faster.

‘No, I –’ Agatha objects. ‘I’m sorry, Father.’

‘Marian,’ he snaps, then speaks slowly, his voice carrying a threat. ‘Hold your knife to Agatha’s neck. Let’s do a demonstration about what actually matters in this world.’

My blood pounds through me. Slowly, I draw the hunting knife strapped to my thigh and step behind my sister, letting the blade float six inches from her voice box.

‘To her skin,’ Atlas clarifies.

Countless times I’ve been in Agatha’s position, either in training as a guard, or in dangerous situations with raiders. Vagabonds. But this is different. It’s not about preparation or defence. This is Agatha’s punishment and blood is about to be shed.

Refuse.

I grind my teeth, knowing that if I tell him to go to hell, I’ll be the one stuck there. Either Coatl will be unleashed on us, like the time I suffered a humiliating choke out after lying about Agatha attending guardsman training. Or this escalates to her getting a full-on beating, like the one she got after running away. And that I cannot watch again.

Do it. You have no choice.

‘Coatl, show Marian what I mean.’

‘No,’ I shout, swinging my knife towards Coatl as he takes a step closer. He stops, his eyes flaring with indignation. ‘I’ll do it.’

Agatha’s trembling as I return the knife to her neck, this time pressing the razor-sharp blade to her skin.

‘Now, get out of that,’ Atlas commands Agatha. ‘Show me you can protect yourself.’

Come on. A half-dozen moves flip through my mind, and I mentally urge her to pick one. But she’s out of practice. Slow.

Finally, she grabs my forearm. Good. Now go for my thumb or press back into me. For a split second, it looks like she’ll go for a viper’s fang, a pressure point I’m positive she’s never successfully attempted, but I have no problem faking.

Instead, she raises her elbow. I see what’s coming from a mile away. My lips tighten as I force myself to take the blow. Sharp pain slams into my mouth and teeth, followed by the coppery tang of blood.

The Commander scowls. ‘You’re trying to humiliate me?’

‘No,’ we both say in unison.

‘This is about proving how pathetic and utterly useless Agatha is. But I’ll give you one more chance.’

My eyes close. Stop calling her that.

Blood drips down my chin, and I spit on to the floor.

‘Just do it,’ Agatha mutters.

I step back behind her, then place the knife against her throat. Once again, she reaches for my forearm, only faster this time. But she’ll never be faster than me. A seething anger settles in my bones as I snap into action, removing the knife from Agatha’s artery and hip-checking her, throwing her down. Her back collides with the floor in a thunderous slam. Then in one swift motion, I drop to my knee, arcing my knife through the air, stopping just above her heart.

My sister gasps heavily for air.

I meet Atlas’s eyes, my face nothing but blank.

He smiles, absolutely delighted. ‘See, Agatha! That’s how it’s done. Now cut the nonsense. Train, and stop wasting my resources on useless hobbies.’

My shoulders drop an inch now that the trial is over.

I hold out my hand to help Agatha up, but she slaps it away and runs from the room.

Atlas is still seated on his throne when Coatl stops muttering in his ear to turn and glare at my tapping foot.