No one was coming.
I’d have to save myself.
8
NEVER TRUST A FAE
The fae would kill me at dawn.
The guards laughed about it as they dropped off my meal. The bowl of broth they’d shoved through the slot sat untouched. Even if I could force it down, I couldn’t reach it. I was sprawled on the floor, every muscle locked in agony.
The massive rune underneath me pulsed, my skin flushing with its magic. Each throb sent waves of sickening heat through me. I tried to drag myself away from its center, but my arms buckled. My stomach heaved violently, though nothing came up—I’d emptied it hours ago. The chilled floor against my hot face was the only mercy.
Footsteps echoed down the corridor.
I didn’t look up. Couldn’t stand to see another guard mock me.
They stopped at my cell. “Gods, Aelie.”
My head snapped up.
Vaeris stood at the bars, staring at me. He actually came. A flutter of hope soared inside me that I immediately crushed.
Grimacing, I flopped on my side. Vaeris steppedthrough the bars like they were vapor. His mouth was set into a grim line.
I rolled over. “Come to watch me die?”
His cloak was damp, like he’d rushed here through the flooded streets, but his deep blue eyes were steady.
Cold.
A dark tendril slipped from under his cloak. It reached out, wrapping my ankle. He curled his finger, and the shadow dragged me across the floor. As soon as my body cleared the rune, relief swept into my stomach.
Vaeris knelt beside me. “What did Henrik do to you?”
My chest tightened. “Nowyou care?”
He bowed his head.
“I waited for you,” I said brokenly. “While he violated my mind. I kept thinking you’d come. That whatever this was between us meantsomething.”
His gaze burned into mine. “I wanted to.”
“But you didn’t.”
“My position in court is already hanging by a thread, Aelie.”
“You’re the Crown Prince!”
His jaw worked. “I’m a contingency plan wearing fine clothes. The moment I become more trouble than I’m worth, the king will slit my throat and breed another heir.” He gripped my shoulders. “But you—gods, Aelie. You can shatter runes. Do you know what they’ll do to you for that?”
“We needed the money. The infirmary ran out of medicine.”
“You risked your life for tonics?”
I pulled away from him. “The Rite is tomorrow. Dozens of people will volunteer just to help their loved ones.”
Vaeris went still.
