Moria stepped forward. Her hands were shaking. Rage pounded through her, and she had to struggle to keep her gaze on him, struggle to speak to him.
"You raised shadow stalkers. With your father. For your father. You raised them, and you commanded them to massacre my village."
His eyes rounded. "No, I would never--I did not realize--"
Again he clamped his mouth shut, so hard she heard his teeth click. She could still see more in his eyes, more he wanted to say, but he blinked hard and when he looked at her again, his gaze was shuttered.
"You let them kill my village. Kill your comrades. Kill my father."
She heard his teeth grind and the muscles on his jaw worked, as if he struggled to keep silent.
"What?" she said. "You have some excuse? Some explanation?"
He took a moment to open his mouth, just enough to let words out. "I have no excuse, Keeper."
"Do not call me that!" she roared, yanking her blades from their sheaths.
"Moria, I--" He swallowed hard, and he seemed to pause, as if considering. A flicker of something like pain. Then anything in his expression vanished, his face going hard as he pulled himself straight. "Yes, I have done whatever you believe. I have deceived you. I have betrayed you. Remember that. Whatever happens, remember that."
"Remember that?" She whipped a dagger at him. "I remember my father, you son of a whore!"
Gavril spun out of the dagger's path just in time, and it passed just under his arm, ripping through the fabric before hitting the wall. He stared at it, as if shocked. She charged him, the other dagger raised, and it was only at the last moment that he feinted. He pulled his own sword. Her charge was clumsy, rage-blind, and his sword broadsided her arm, knocking her blade flying. She scrambled out of the way, but he didn't strike at her, just stood there, sword half-raised.
"I'm going to leave now, Moria," he said. "You can't fight me."
"By the spirits, I can. And I will, if I need to wrap my hands around your throat and choke the life from your body."
She dove for the nearest dagger. He tried to intercept her, but she twisted and went for the other one instead, yanking it from the wall. She spun. He lifted his blade.
"You cannot fight me with a dagger, Moria. You're outmatched and--"
She threw it, but she was too angry, every lesson evaporating from her head. The dagger flew off-target, Gavril easily dodging it. She went for the second blade, but his sword struck her again, broadside, knocking her into the wall. Then it was pointed at her throat.
"Enough, Moria."
She stepped forward, the edge of his sword touching her throat.
"Enough!" he said.
She met his gaze and moved a little more, letting the edge dig in.
"Moria! Stop this. Are you mad?"
"If you want to stop me, you'll have to kill me." She met his gaze and eased forward again, feeling blood trickle down her throat.
Gavril's eyes filled with fury. "Blast you, Keeper. A pox on--" He snapped his mouth shut. "You will not do this."
"Is it so hard to kill me?" she said. "Perhaps it's not the same when you aren't ordering dead men to do the deed."
"I would not kill you, Keeper. Not kill you. Not harm you. Not ever." He looked her in the eyes. "I regret any hurt I have brought to you. Most of all, I regret what I had to do to Daigo."
"Daigo?" Her heart thumped. "The infection? You caused--"
"No, not that. What I did tonight. After we spoke in the garden. I went to your rooms, hoping to take your sister as a hostage, but Ashyn was not there. Daigo was. He knew something was wrong." Gavril looked at her. "He attacked me, Moria. I would not have harmed him, but I had to defend myself. I hope . . ." He paused. "He was alive when I left him, though barely."
Rage blinded her. She reached to grab his sword, not caring if it sliced through her hand, but he'd already lowered it. She dove for her blades. Then she felt something hit the back of her head. Everything went dark.
Fifty-five