CHAPTER 26

Aelin swallowed once. Twice. The portrait of
uncertain fear as she lay chained on the metal
table, Cairn waiting for her answer.
And then she said, her voice cracking,
“When you finish breaking me apart for the
day, how does it feel to know that you are still
nothing?”
Cairn grinned. “Some fire left in you, it
seems. Good.”
She smiled back through the mask. “You
were only given the oath for this. For me.
Without me, you’re nothing. You’ll go back to
being nothing. Less than nothing, from what