Page 89 of Hellbound

The familiarity of it made Ksenia’s chest cavity feel like a gnawing, achingly cold void.

But a different feeling was present as well: the unmistakable need to cause violence.

Her teeth gritted, and she wrenched herself out of the cell. Her hands spasmodically opened and closed like claws.

Karsan and Radegast were both within reach. She could take her revenge now, for everyone whom he had hurt, and prevent him from hurting anyone in the future.

But she was surrounded by two dozen Envorsen and Bohdan as well.

“Gods forbid we ever catch your bastard prince. We’ll show him proper hospitality, just like you served Princess Ravenka and Prince Radovan,” the young soldier growled, eyes daggering at Bohdan.

Time stretched, and a hazy sheen settled over her eyes as all she could see was Karsan, removing Radegast from Radovan’s chest. A blur of iridescence ran up its silvered length as his soul, too, left his body.

She started toward Karsan, but was met with an arm before her chest.

Bohdan’s composure was heavier. A subtle slump in the line of his strong shoulders and back. His eyes focused on hers with a profound weariness as he waited for her to make her choice.

She took stock of her situation. The dead prince. The bloodied stumps of her former competitors as they sobbed in their cells. The sickened look of glee and satisfaction on Karsan’s face as the kill transfixed him and his hellbound blade with more power.

She had to play Karsan’s game a little longer before she could trap him in her own.

24

The rain struck the Maw’s blackened stone, sending the cobblestone courtyard overflowing with puddles and rushing streams.

It had become increasingly clear that every time Radegast drew blood or took life, she had an overwhelming need to do the same.

At this rate, maybe you won’t have a soul to return to. Or one you want back… Vornaya suggested softly.

Her grip was bruising around her upper arm.

She shouldered against the need to lean on Bohdan for support. He didn’t offer it, but matched his pace with hers, his arm just within reach without overextending his welcome.

He opened the carriage door for her.

What a gentleman.

Ksenia ignored Vornaya’s quip, her jaw clenched tight.

“So, how did you figure it out?”

Bohdan’s voice cut through the rain that fell in relentless sheets against the windows.

Ksenia looked back at the monolithic prison in the distance.

“He gazed at you with the weight of betrayal.”

Ksenia felt it in her bones the moment Radovan and Bohdan’s gazes struck each other. An unmistakable look: like a sibling bond, torn apart.

Her words hung in the air between them as she entered the carriage.

Bohdan followed in silence.

The door swung shut, the glass misty.

Ksenia fought the feverish bloodlust pitching higher in her mind and body.

Unbidden, Bohdan spoke. “Radovan came to Kraal, alongside Queen Ravenka. He couldn’t be considered another royal in our court, so he trained and became Envorsen.”