Kingdom of Ash

particular code.
She blinked once again. Yes.
Dark eyes scanned her. He’d seen
everything. Every moment of it. If he were
permitted to shift, he could tell her what was
fabricated and what was real. If any of it had
been real.
No injuries ever remained when she awoke.
No pain. Only the memory of it, of Cairn’s
smiling face as he carved her up over and
over.
He must have left her on the altar because
he meant to return soon.
Aelin shifted enough to tug on the chains,
the mask’s lock digging into the back of her
head. The wind had not brushed her cheeks, or
most of her skin, in ... she did not know.
What wasn’t covered in iron was clad in a
sleeveless white shift that fell to midthigh.
Leaving her legs and arms bare for Cairn’s