My body knew before I did, this wasn’t safety.
Idiot.
How could I have let myself sleep so easily? We were in the heart of the fae realm, surrounded by powerful beings with motives I couldn’t fathom. The stories had warned me.Every human child knew them.Fae with their silver-tongued tricks, their twisted bargains, their honeyed lies that tasted sweet before turning to poison.
I had been lulled into a sense of security by a warm room, a soft bed, exhaustion.Had they whispered some spell into the air, stitched magic into the seams of my clothes?
Had they gotten into my head?
Gods. Had they already won?
I pushed the thought down.I still had time to be smart.
Silently, I slid from the bed with a glance back at Mireth and Eryx’s sleeping forms. I brushed a gentle hand over Mireth’s forehead, then wrapped myself in the night cloak left nearby.
Steeling myself, I opened the door and slipped into the dimly lit hallway.
I needed a way out—one we could follow swiftly. Not if this turned.When.
I moved like a shadow. Or tried to.
I slipped deeper into the unfamiliar corridors, senses stretched taut as I catalogued everything. The only sound was the echo of my footsteps, and I cursed myself for each slight noise. I tracked turns, noted windows, anything that might become an escape route.
The castle waslarge, cursedly unfamiliar.But when this all turned against me, I wouldn’t be caught a fool.
A glint of metal caught the light like a promise. A dagger. Laidcarelessly on a table near an open doorway.
My fingers were already reaching before my mind could catch up.
No weapon worth stealing should sit unattended.
A prickle ran up my spine. The air shifted. I hesitated.
If I took it, they’d know. If I didn’t, I’d be defenceless.
A voice shattered the silence.
“Looking to redecorate? Blood is a bold choice.”
I whirled, my heart thundered in my chest, my body locked up, muscles tensing in that split second between fight and flight. But neither would save me now.
He was already there. Watching. Waiting.
Varyth stood in the doorway,one shoulder against the frame, his eyes reflecting the lanternlight.
His shoulders were relaxed, so casual it made my blood spike. I forced myself tosteady my breathing, to school my expression into neutrality.
His gaze dropped to the weapon, then returned to me.
He raised a brow, slow and deliberate.
“A dagger,” he said, drawing the word out. “Charming. And here I thought I’d earned a semblance of trust.” His lips lifted at one corner, an almost pitying grin.
Expectant. Like this was always going to happen.
I dropped my hand as heat rose in my cheeks.
“Trust,” I echoed, with a shake of my head. “Forgive me if tales of fae hospitality have left me… disbelieving.”
