“I’ve fought orcs as large as you. I can do it again.”
“There’re a dozen soldiers at the top of the stairs. If you think you can free your friends before you get to the top, you’re wrong. I have no power to open any cage except for yours. So try and kill me if you want, but it’ll get you nothing, and if the others hear me call out before I meet my end, they’ll be ready with arrows and blades.”
“Vale. Go.” Neve’s voice was but a whisper, one that tore my chest open. “Tell them whatever you must so they’ll free us.”
“Bring my wife too,” I commanded.
“You have the power to free her, but I’ll not be the one opening her cage. It all depends on what you say to our leader,” the fae tossed back lazily. “Wrap those around your middle and tie it tight. Once you’re done, we’ll be enchanting it into place.”
Why they wished to speak to me, and not my mate, when they knew who she was—a Falk that they might be inclined to follow—was beyond me. Still, I did as my mate wished and wrapped the wide ribbon around me. I had many questions regarding the material, but one thing was clear to me. If the rebels had the silk but did not weave it into clothing like gloves or vests, which would be useful for this purpose, then they didn’t have someone to work the rare material. No surprise there. Few could sew and create with the silk of ice spiders.
Once the spider silk material encased me, the rebel fae opened the door to my cage. He’d not used a key, but placed his hand on a flat part of the cage, where a lock would be located.
“Come on.” He pushed me ahead of him, and throwing Neve one last look, I climbed the steps.
Just as the fae said, a dozen armed soldiers wearing the red hawk of the Falk rebels around their arms waited at the top. I found it ludicrous that Neve was a true Falk princess, not some bastard-born Falk taking a claim that was above them, and yet they did not listen to her.
Inhaling to keep my calm, I examined the swords the soldiers held, some sheathed, some out and at the ready. None of them wereSkelda,and that at least was good news.Upon capture, we’d been relieved of our weapons. To think of someone else carrying my sword rankled.
The soldiers escorted me down a hallway, the large part-troll, part-faerie at the front. As we went, I studied our surroundings.
The building seemed quite large. A small fortress or castle made of stone. Though clean enough, the ceiling sagged in places and stones jutted from an uneven floor. Where in all the nine kingdoms were we?
The rebels stopped before a door in the middle of a long, blank, black stone hallway. The troll-faerie opened the door and poked his head in. My name lumbered off his lips and a second later, a female voice told them to enter.
Someone shoved me in the back. My fists clenched, but I held my composure and passed through the doors to find a large room, empty save for the two people sitting around a table. One I recognized as the black-haired female who tried to kill Neve at the Royal Theater. The same faerie who had visited my mate before the rest of us awoke. The rebel who took Anna.
“Thank you, Ulfiel,” the black-haired female said. “You may go.”
“You’re sure?” the troll asked even as he brought a fist to his chest in a gesture I’d seen before. The famous singer, Avalina Truso, had done the same thing before rebels descended upon the Royal Theater. It was a gesture of loyalty to the rebellion. “No protection?”
The female’s eyes, a sharp blue, settled on me. “I’m sure the prince knows how much is at stake. After today, we’ll getto the bottom of their story. Wait outside if you must, but the prince will not harm us.”
She was right. Without my mate and my friends beside me, I’d not do anything stupid.
The soldiers left, but I remained standing there, waiting.
“Sit,” the female said.
“Who are you?” I asked, my tone matching her command as I crossed to the empty chair.
“For now, all you need to know is that I’m the leader here. One of them, anyway.” She nodded to another female at the table, an older faerie with black hair heavily shot through with gray, light blue eyes, and navy wings pressed down her back. “This is Ratha. She’ll read your mind. Give her your hand.”
I balked. “If I don’t?”
The younger faerie shrugged. “Then we kill you.”
“Where’s Anna?”
Her eyebrows arched. “You care about the human?”
“I do. She’s my mate’s best friend.”
A long sigh left her lips. “You’re a strange lot, I’ll admit. One that brings up many questions for people like me. Questions you can answer—if you work with Ratha.”
The old faerie’s trembling hand extended to me. One might think the trembling was a sign of nerves, but there was no hint of anxiety in her proud face. Age affected this fae, not my presence. “Give it over, my prince.”
There was something so familiar about the old faerie. Almost motherly. Though I did not trust them, I understood this was what had to happen.
