"Ask Trina what I had to do," she replied with an equal amount of fire. "And then tell her it didn't work!"

Trina had already told me about Tenger's arrest, but little more. Had Trina threatened Kestra again?

"Let's talk where it's safer." I opened Kestra's door and walked into her room. Kestra stood in the passageway, refusing to budge. I hissed, "Do you know what they'll do if they catch you outside your room?"

She checked the passageway again. "Probably the same thing if you're caught inside it."

"There you are, finally!" Trina had obviously been pacing. I saw the line she had worn into the weave of the rug. "What about Tenger and the others?"

Now Kestra marched inside and shut the door behind us. "Our agreement must change. I will help Tenger escape, but you must promise to release Darrow and Celia."

Trina shook her head. "Our agreement is for the Olden Blade--"

"Forget the Olden Blade! After I help Tenger, I'll have to leave Woodcourt too. I won't be safe here after that."

"Then we have to find it first!" Trina was doing a good job of controlling her temper, I had to give her that much. "You are our only chance to find that dagger."

Kestra's response came quickly. "Tenger will be executed at midnight tonight. We're out of time!"

Trina wasn't giving up. "What if Simon sets him free? He's escaped before. If we lower the prisoners into the pit, he can find that tunnel again."

"The three of us came here together," Kestra replied. "Once they realize Simon betrayed the Dallisors, they'll question you next. And then me."

A Dallisor questioning. And Dallisors always got the last word.

Trina combed her fingers through her hair, clasping them behind her head in utter frustration. "No, we can still do this! Risha had the dagger when she was brought to the dungeons. It must be there."

Maybe it was. But my attention was fixed on Kestra. Her fists were clenched, one tighter than the other, and her breaths were shallow and tense. She was upset, but in a different way than I'd seen her before. She said, "The dungeons have been searched. Unless there's some hidden corner only you know about."

Trina clasped her trembling hands together, hoping to steady them. "You trust Gerald. Would he know where to look for the Blade?"

That wasn't necessary. My voice was flat and left no room for doubt. "Kestra already knows where to

look." She protested, but the desperate gleam in her eye proved my guess was right. "This morning, you were rushing to return something to your father's library. What else belongs there but a book?"

"It's not Risha's diary," she said, suddenly on the defense. "I swear it's not."

"No, but I'll bet my life it was a diary with a pink satin binding. And I'm equally sure it can only be unlocked with a small silver key."

"Like the one the Halderians brought to the inn the other night?" Trina asked.

I kept my eyes on Kestra, whose expression was stone, and said, "Which you stole from me."

"Which was meant for me, so technically, you're the thief."

Trina drew in a breath. "You found your mother's diary? You've read it?"

"She read it, which was why she'd been crying." Turning back to Kestra, I continued, "It told you where the Olden Blade is hidden, didn't it? Now you're using Tenger as a distraction, to force all of us out of Woodcourt without the dagger."

Trina's face reddened. "Is that true?"

Kestra backed up, shaking her head. "There is too much about the Olden Blade we don't know. Does it lend magic to the person who holds it? What happens if the wrong person tries to touch it? Was it the reason Risha Halderian was killed, or was that a coincidence? And if it can kill Lord Endrick, what will be the price?"

"The Coracks will answer those questions," Trina said. "They're not your concern."

Kestra's voice rose in pitch. "Yes, they are! If I help you get the dagger, then it's my responsibility to know."

"We have a bigger responsibility if you don't help us," Trina warned. "What to do with you."

Tags: Jennifer A. Nielsen The Traitor's Game Fantasy
Source: readsnovelonline.net