A Crumble of Walls (The Kin of Kings Book 4) (42 page)

At the beginning, Sanya had expected to marry Tauwin and become queen of Kyrro. He’d thought he would win the war in a single day, and she would’ve disposed of him after earning the trust of everyone she needed on her side. But all she’d done was make enemies.

Everything seemed to turn in her favor when Ulric arrived. She’d seen in him a powerful ally and friend. And she might very well get the life in the castle she’d wanted if she stayed to support him. But for this to work, the Academy would have to be taken or destroyed.

Terren would have to die in addition to anyone loyal to Alex or Nick who might seek vengeance against her. If Sanya helped Ulric win the war, he would gladly dispatch her enemies, for they were his enemies as well. But that thought twisted her stomach with guilt. She’d never felt this way until recently and couldn’t imagine suffering from it for the rest of her life, which was a certainty if she took the easy path before her.

She could run from Kyrro. It wouldn’t be difficult to get a horse and travel to the far reaches of Ovira where she’d never be found. She could live like she had during that brief time in Raywhite Forest with her loyal bear, Muskie. Or she could convince Ulric to send her to Greenedge on ship.

Alternatively, she could steal the money to hire her own crew to take her there. Her many skills would give her a nearly endless variety of paths to choose from once she arrived. If she was going to abandon this life in the castle, Greenedge seemed the place she’d be most happy.

As that thought entered her mind, she realized it wasn’t true. The one place she’d felt she truly belonged, even though her time there had been short, was the Academy.

It’s the only place I really want to be. If I seek a life elsewhere, who knows the atrocities I might commit to stay alive. Do I really want to steal, manipulate, even kill again, only to suffer the consequences later?

The Academy was the one place she had a chance to become the woman she wanted to be. But she must face her punishment first.

It might very well be death, but she was willing to try her luck.

If the Academy somehow won the war without her help, and she turned herself in afterward, they might dismiss her motives as merely a willingness to be taken alive rather than killed during her inevitable capture. By going now, she could warn them the war was not over with Tauwin’s death. She could promise more information if they let her live.

No, she was done with lies. She would keep any promises she made from now on.

She gathered her few belongings and limped out of the castle without anyone seeming to care.

END OF BOOK FOUR

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