Thread of Frost

Ch. 48: Can't Save Them All

Her hand jerked sideways.

Lucia stumbled, colliding with a wine goblet. The glass shattered on the floor. Red seeped into the cobblestone, curling around the Delafort family crest. The goddess raised her hand; she was staring at her fingers as if she'd never seen them before.

Eris rose. "Your Majesty?"

He looked alarmed. Vulcan set down his wine. "Are you alright, Your Majesty?"

Lucia's breathing was harsh. "I need a moment. You." She crooked a finger at the serving boy. "Come with me."

The boy ducked his head. Lucia pushed open a door, ushering him inside. The room was small, filled with a cloth-covered sofa, empty bookshelves, and a dusty mirror. An old meeting room, if Camille had to guess. She had been in here only once before, when Isaac and Ryne had positioned Drusden's Sermons on the shelf to use as target practice.

Lucia seized the boy by the throat.

There was a sickening crack as his head struck the wall. The boy wriggled, a fish speared to the dock. Camille couldn't process it.

"I'm sorry!" The boy's voice broke. "I'm sorry. Please don't hurt me."

"Hello, Camille," Lucia purred.

"Please," the boy cried.

He kicked his legs. Lucia dug her nails — Camille's nails — deeper into his skin.

"I know you're in there," Lucia said. "Come out and play."

"Please!" The boy's eyes welled. "I'm sorry."

Something sour rose in Camille's throat. She felt cold and hot all over, itchy in her own skin. She focused on Lucia's hand, on prising the steel-like grip apart. The goddess's hand twitched but didn't move.

"Ah," Lucia said softly. "There she is." Her grip tightened. The boy choked. "I wasn't sure, that day in my rooms, but I'm sure now. You're still somewhere in there, aren't you? Watching. Listening."

"Please." Tears ran down the boy's face. "I'll do anything you ask."

Lucia stroked a hand down his cheek. "You have a soft heart, don't you? But it's your hands doing this." Her nails were chipping, flaking red polish on his neck. "And it's your hands that will kill him."

"I'll be better." The boy's eyes bulged. "Please. I promise."

Lucia withdrew a knife. The boy whimpered, squeezing his eyes shut. Something warm soaked her skirts; he'd wet himself, Camille realized. Something fierce burned in her chest, something that felt like the fire of a thousand suns. She stared at Lucia's hand — her hand — until it became nothing but colour. Move, she thought desperately. Move.

Lucia stroked the blade down the child's face. "You can't save them all, my dove. You can't save any of them."

She pressed the tip of the knife into the boy's throat. A bead of blood trickled down. "There are lots of children in this castle. I suspect you probably know quite a few of them. You're going to behave yourself from now on. Is that understood?"

Camille stared at the knife and willed it to move. Lucia's hand jerked, but she clung to the blade. "Is that understood?"

The goddess pressed the knife deeper. The boy gave a cry. Camille broke her concentration, her chest burning. She understood that Lucia was offering her a choice: spend an eternity — possibly a hundred eternities — trapped in her own body, or watch this child die.

She knew what she chose.

Lucia relaxed the knife. "Good."

Something silver flashed. There was a thud. The metallic scent of blood filled the room, and Camille let out a silent scream, her throat raw and aching. Lucia wiped the blade on her skirt; her white-blond hair flickered in the mirror.

"Behave yourself, little dove," Lucia crooned. "Or I'll be forced to teach you another lesson."

She pushed back through the door. Three heads swivelled towards her. Eris's gaze raked over her skirt, taking in the large red stain. He seemed to be trying to decide whether it was wine or blood. Orin rose. "Your Majesty?"

Lucia set the knife on the table. "Where are the nightweavers?"

"I—" Orin looked alarmed. "Port Flurry, I think."

She turned to Eris. "You truly require an extra day to prepare?"

"Ideally," Eris said. "But if the nightweavers are an issue..."

He let the sentence hang. Lucia smiled.

"Don't worry," she said. "I know just how to slow them down."