Page 30 of Empire of Dark

Most malefics worked in the seedier side of the grey—anything to service our own goals. Right and wrong rarely had any impact on our decisions.

Sudden clanging—steel on steel—echoed in through an open window in my study.

What in the hell now?

I shoved off from my desk and went to the window overlooking the labyrinth.

Fucking hell.What was she thinking?

Ada was in a full-out battle with one of my most skilled guards. Their swords swinging, clashing. Arms and feet darting out to get jabs in.

Then a blade came within an inch of her head.

She was losing.

I took off running.

Chapter Eight

{ ADA }

I needed to train.

The unspent energy brewing into a cesspool inside of me, I was crawling inside my own skin and making stupid mistakes.

Stupid mistakes with Damen.

If I didn’t expel the energy—thehatred—soon, there was only one place it was going to go and torture me.

My head.

And my head, I needed about me in this place.

I needed to sweat and to clear the manic energy. Desperately.

Or I would make even worse mistakes than I just had when I rammed my way into Damen’s study.

I’d reacted without thinking and I didn’t do that.

I thought. I plotted. I planned. Reactions never got me anything good in life, I knew that. I had the worst instincts.

That was why Triaten had chosen me for this mission. I never did anything without a plan in place.

Except I did today.

My running shoes thudded softly along the stone floor in the corridor I had set myself into, wandering aimlessly after escaping Damen’s study.

I needed exercise. Training. Where could I do that?

Outside would be my best bet. The weather wasn’t too warm, but neither too crisp for mountain air. For how the castle clung to the edge of the mountain, there was a surprising amount of space carved out for the grounds. Enough for the labyrinth and some formal gardens. If I was lucky, I might even find the stump of an old tree I could punch and kick and send my sword into. Though the meticulous way Damen kept the grounds and castle—aside from the crumbling portion of it—meant my chances were slim.

Unless there was another pathway that led away from the castle onto the opposite side of the mountain that I hadn’t discovered. Weeks ago, I’d searched the mountain area I’d seen as we had approached the castle in the car, but I hadn’t seen much of anything but stark cliffs extending out from either side of the castle.

I veered to the right from the corridor I was in to the main staircase that led up to my bedroom on the third level. Running up the stairs as fast as I could was helpful to the itching under my skin and my breath heaved as I reached the top step.

I darted off to my room and picked up my sword tucked in its long leather scabbard from the spot I’d found for it on a side table that I’d dragged close to the bed. Easy enough to reach from the bed if needed. Though the dagger under the extra pillow would be my first choice in an emergency, as I like light steel.

I was in enemy territory, after all.