Zedekiah, the king’s head soldier, struck Garrin in the jaw with a sharp uppercut. “Where did you find the female, and who is she?”
Garrin spat blood onto the stone floor and narrowed his eyes. He glanced past Zedekiah—or Zed, as Garrin knew him—to alchemists hovering in the shadows. “At some point,” he said casually, “the alchemists will tire of holding back my power. Have you considered what will happen then?”
Zed picked at his tooth with the blade he’d stolen from Garrin’s belt. “I suppose I’ll bring in more alchemists, should that happen. Though at the moment, I see no cause for concern.” He leaned forward, his hot breath coating Garrin’s chilled skin inside the frigid dungeon that his father reserved for the worst offenders. “You may be powerful, but not against the king’s army.”
It had shocked Garrin to find Zed in charge of torturing him. He’d known the soldier most of his life, and the sense of betrayal ran deep. “Who ordered this?”
“King’s orders, as I said.”
The king was ruthless, but he rarely left punishment to others, preferring to do it himself. Something was off.
The commander Garrin had mentally requested to sneak Lex from the castle was nowhere in sight. Lex had either escaped, or they held her trapped in Garrin’s quarters while they beat him for information. Either way, the situation wasn’t good.
Zed struck Garrin with a backhand to the face.
“Was that supposed to hurt?” Garrin willed his eye not to twitch, though it pulsated from the blow. “You never could fight without backup.”
Zed snarled. “Laugh all you want, Your Highness. But I will get the truth from you one way or another. Answer now before it is too late. Where does she come from?”
Too late? What was that supposed to mean?
It didn’t matter. Garrin would never tell of Lex’s origins, now that his fears about his father and the past were confirmed. He couldn’t believe it, but he must—he was imprisoned in his own dungeon. “The Land of Sun,” he replied.
This time, Zed switched things up and punched Garrin in the stomach. A blow that brought tears to his eyes.
He coughed and gasped for air. “If my father is behind this, where is he?” None of this made sense. Not the torture on behalf of his father, nor the interest in Lex.
Contrary to other Fae rulers, Casone Branimir passed up female soldiers in favor of their male counterparts. He’d never been one to believe women powerful, and he wouldn’t believe Lex a threat. Unless…
No. Her mother would never share Lex’s true origins, not even if her life depended on it. It was possible—unlikely, but possible—that Amund or Zirel had betrayed Garrin. More likely, his father had investigated Lex’s surname after she’d been unable to lie and connected her with Isle. Or perhaps the person who’d betrayed Garrin was no one he suspected. The castle seemed to always be one step ahead of them.
“You’re beginning to annoy me, Zed. Tell me why you were given these orders or prepare to pay for years to come.”
His jailer looked off distractedly. “I do not think so, my prince.” His gaze slid back to Garrin, filled with something akin to regret. “My orders are to obtain the information, no matter the cost. No matter whom I torture. Including you.”
Lex and Em ran as quickly as they could above packed snow while attached to a single coat. The village was deserted, though light glowed from cottages built like the one Mertha and her husband had lived in.
They had just passed what appeared to be the heart of the village, with small shops lining a frozen road, when the sound of others approaching came from behind.
Em hesitated. “The soldiers will soon be upon us.” She looked around, as though searching for somewhere to hide.
Lex glanced back. She couldn’t see anyone, but she heard the crunch of rapid footfalls over snow as well. “Shouldn’t we keep running?”
Now that she was healed, Lex could run faster in Tirnan. Heightened senses, the ability to run super-fast—it had to be a Fae thing. But sharing a coat while running slowed them down.
“We won’t outrun them,” Em said. “Come.” She pulled Lex to the side of a cottage, hidden from the main road.
The footfalls grew louder.
Lex looked at Em. “What now? They’ll see us any minute.”
Em bit her lip. “I can make us invisible. Briefly,” she quickly added. “But you must hug me close.” Lex’s confusion must have shown, because Em said, “It is my ability, though I’m not very good at Blending others. I can manage in a pinch, but we’ll have to time it right.”
Lex didn’t hesitate; she hugged Em like her life depended on it. Which it did.
“Don’t move, okay?” Em said, and closed her eyes.
A wash of Em’s magic swept over Lex.
The soldiers were talking, and so close now that Lex could throw a pebble and hit one of them in the forehead. Her heart hammered in her chest, and she closed her eyes too.
“I sense them,” one of the guards said.
“Where?” came the voice of another from what couldn’t be more than a few feet away.
Em was doing it. The guards were right next to them. If they sensed Lex and Em, they should be able to see them, but they didn’t. The only problem? Em’s magic was waning. Her body shook as she attempted to keep them Blended, or whatever she’d called it.
Through her mind’s eye, Lex saw Em’s power drifting away and weakening.
Leave, Lex thought. Em wouldn’t be able to keep them hidden much longer.
The guards were standing around, searching for what they sensed but couldn’t see.
Lex had read the magic Em used when she made them Blend. Lex gripped Em tighter and focused on holding on to it.
Em’s body stiffened, and Lex opened her eyes. Em was staring wide-eyed, but she remained perfectly still. Then her eyes slid closed, and she redoubled her concentration, because the energy wasn’t only coming from Em anymore but bouncing between the two of them.
Lex’s power pushed Em’s, and Em’s boosted off Lex’s energy in a synergistic dance.
The two guards who’d lingered finally gave up and moved on, but Lex and Em remained Blended until they could no longer hear the men.
Em pulled away. “How did you do that? You gave me strength—magical strength.”
“Honestly?” Lex said. “I’m not exactly sure. I felt your power and pushed it back at you. We’re lucky it worked, because I’m not very good at it, whatever it is.”
Em’s brow furrowed. “I’ve never heard of an ability like yours.”
“It’s a strange one, for sure, but we can talk about how weird I am once we get to your house. The guards will realize what happened and double back.”
“They will,” Em agreed. “They aren’t daft. At least, not all the time.”
And on that note, Lex shifted and moved in the direction they’d been headed, when Em gripped her forearm, stopping her.
“There is nothing strange about you, Lex. You have a unique ability, and that is to be celebrated.” She smiled.
Which nearly moved Lex to tears. When was the last time she had a friend who wasn’t Jas?
She couldn’t remember. Certainly not in the Earth realm. A few of her memories of Dark Kingdom had returned, and the ones Mertha had sent Lex of her time in Dark Kingdom were hazy. She had played with children, but she didn’t remember a close friend.
Lex glanced at Em as they continued running through rows of homes that grew larger and farther apart. “Thank you for being kind to me.”
Em flashed her a smile and pointed at a spot in the distance. “There. That is my home.”
Lex couldn’t see the house clearly from where they were, but it appeared four or five times the size of the homes they were passing, and these weren’t small like those in the village. “That’s where you grew up?”
Em shrugged. “My parents are relatives by marriage to the royal family. Once we arrive, we’ll be safe.”
Lex wasn’t so sure—not if Em’s parents were related to Garrin’s father, who couldn’t be trusted. More importantly, Lex hadn’t felt the least bit safe since they took Garrin away.
Would castle guards hurt their own prince?
