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"How close?" Valek had been in the castle both tiic Did Valek suspect?

"I have to be in the sah me He didn’t know At least, not yet "Why didn’t you kill the southern ician at the festival?" I asked

"Yelena, I’ four men while she threw every ounce of her power ather doould have been a fruitless endeavor"

I thought about what he said "Is being resistant to ic?" I asked

"No" Valek’s face hardened

"What about the knife?" I pointed to the long blade hanging on the wall The criht In the three weeks I’d lived in Valek’s suite, it hadn’t dried

Valek laughed "That was the knife I used to kill the King He was athat knife into his heart, he cursedbreath It was rather uilt over his murder and have his blood stain ic, the curse attached to the knife instead of htfully "It was a shame to lose my favorite blade, but it does s blazed Flushed and sweat-soaked, I lagged behind the asp It was o

I had hovered by the northeast barracks right after tasting the Coe clump of soldiers ran past, I spotted Ari, aved uards would resent my presence, but there were servants, stable boys and other castle workers mixed in with the soldiers

The first two laps quickenedthe third lap and traveled up s blurred until all I saas the sht in front of ony, I found a thick row of hedges and threw upJanco give ed by He didn’t even have the decency to look winded, and his shirt was still dry

As I wiped vo yard, two o’clock See you then," he said

"But…" I said to nobody as Ari jogged away I could hardly stand, I couldn’t i yard that afternoon, Ari and Janco leaned against the fence watching twohters had drawn the attention of every soldier I realized with surprise that one of the , and I had assuht before