Raven Girl

Chapter 38

Nadine curled up in the dungeon cell, listening to the sound of her own ragged breathing. It was dark and filthy, and she didn't recognise it. It wasn't the prison she'd been sent to when Kostin had first captured her. Her ears strained to catch any sound of the others, but there was nothing. The silence pressed in on her.

"Doesn't this remind you of old times?" a voice drawled.

Nadine turned her head towards it and hissed. "Get away from me."

A dim light revealed Kostin, leaned against the wall on the other side of the bars.

"Where's Ares?"

"Who? Your dragon? You named it?" He chuckled. "How sweet. Don't worry, we are going to take care of it soon." He's still alive, Nadine thought, feeling dizzy with relief and terror. "Anyway, I came to tell you something important."

"I don't want to listen to anything you have to say."

"Oh, but you will want to hear this. When you step out of this cell, you are going to have a chance to fight to save yourself, because who doesn't love a good show?" His voice slithered through the darkness like a snake between rocks. "Don't you want to know how Elias Karim got those bruises?"

"He tried to escape." The knowing sound in Kostin's tone sent a shiver down her back.

"Yes, he did. Actually, he did the same as you when you tried to escape, all those months ago. He got as far as you did. As far as Gavriil."

Nadine felt a tremor of foreboding. "What?"

"Don't you want to know what happened to your dear brother, Nadine?"

In a flash, Nadine was on her feet, gripping the bars. "You – you killed him." Her worst nightmares had come true.

"Oh, no. I didn't kill him."

"You're a liar – you did, even after – he's innocent!"

"I can't believe you put your trust in the assassin," Kostin crooned. "Did you tell him about your brother, Nadine?"

Nadine felt herself begin to shake.

"My city guards found Elias in your home, covered in the blood of your brother. He escaped to kill him."

The world tunnelled. Nadine's legs would no longer support herself. Elias's bruised face flashed in her mind – and the kiss that came after it...

"It's a pity, really, because you two seemed so close."

"You're lying."

"Why didn't he explain his escape to you, Nadine? You asked him, didn't you? And he didn't give you a proper answer?"

No. He'd kissed her instead. To... to distract her from...

"You should have killed Elias before he could fill your head with poison. Now look what's happened. Gavriil has paid the ultimate price."

"No," Nadine choked. "No." She sank onto the floor. It couldn't be true. Gavriil – sweet, innocent Gavriil, who she'd endured everything for, whom she loved more than anyone else in the world, who had finally had a chance of getting better...

Nadine's world was crashing and burning around her.

Elias. He'd killed her brother, than returned and actually kissed her. Did killing mean nothing to him? Had this been a part of his sick plan all along?

Suddenly, Kostin's face was against the bars. "I can give you a chance at revenge," he breathed.

Nadine's voice was hollow when she spoke. "I'll kill him. I'll make it a slow death." Fiery anger burned through her. She didn't care that she was going to die somehow. There was nothing left for her now. She just wanted to see Gavriil again... But before that, before she embraced the end of her life, she would make Elias pay.