Operation: save the pixies and get the hell out of here was a dud before it even began.
A husky chuckle interrupted my rambling. “Trouble in paradise?”
Startled, I looked up to find a pair of emerald eyes trained on me, their color reminiscent of the land after it had been drenched by a spring rain.
“Breandan—I thought you were unconscious.”
Or dead.
I didn’t comment on the broken, raspy nature of his voice that made him sound different from his usual self. I had a feelingthe disjointed nature of his speech stemmed from damage to his vocal chords. Most likely from all the screaming he’d done while being tortured.
“That would be a mercy,” he rasped.
His eyes drifted shut as he slumped in the grip of the roots. The slight motion caused them to tighten, drawing a pained sound from him.
“Your twin is looking for you,” I offered, hoping it would bring him some measure of comfort.
“I saw,” Breandan murmured, not opening his eyes. “Where is he now?”
“Noctessa.”
I didn’t mention he’d been unconscious the last time I saw him. Or that my bio dad planned to interrogate him when he woke up.
Sometimes hope was enough to carry us.
“At least one of us will survive then.” Breandan breathed with a macabre twist of his lips.
“Hey now. It’s a little early to give up, isn’t it?”
“You can say that because you don’t know what’s coming for you. Like I said before, death would be a mercy.”
“I’m not sure Arlan or your twin would agree with you.”
I think they would prefer Breandan stay alive until they could rescue him.
“As long as I am here, the Summer King knows he has a choke hold on my lord.”
I drew my knees up to my chest. “What does he have against Arlan anyway?”
If he suspected treason, he could have just killed the barrow lord when he took over the barrow. Why use Breandan against him when it was so much easier just to enthrall Arlan like Inara, and anyone else who opposed him?
Unless Arlan was immune for some reason.
Or there were conditions that had to be met for his ability to work.
Maybe Muiredach just liked causing the maximum amount of pain. There was never a shortage of sadistic bastards among spooks.
“He exists.”
I waited but there was nothing else forthcoming. “That’s it? He exists?”
“I’ll let you figure out the rest. It’ll be more entertaining that way.”
“Seriously?”
Did he not realize he was knocking on death’s door? And he still wanted to play these games?
Breandan licked cracked, bleeding lips. The smile he offered held just enough of his old self to glimpse the cunning, sometimes cruel Fae, that I was more familiar with. “Your guests have arrived. Good luck, little breaker. Try not to die. We’re all counting on you.”
