And then I hear the voice…a voice like smoke and broken glass, rasping in my ear.
“At last…after so many long, hungry eons…” it hisses. “FOOD.”
15
Lucian
The office door bursts open without a knock.
“My Lord!” one of the tower guards blurts, panting as he stumbles in.
I set my pen down with deliberate care. Expensive contracts lie open before me, the ink still fresh.
I shouldn’t have to deal with incompetence this early in the evening—especially when I’m trying to concentrate on business instead of wondering where in the Crimson Spires my lovely one has gotten to. I know she hasn’t gotten out—I had my Underboss call and instruct the guards that no one is to leave.
“You’d better have a damn good reason for barging in here,” I say, my voice low and irritated. “Talk fast before I decide to redecorate the walls with your blood.”
The guard drops to one knee.
“I came to report that I apprehended an intruder, Don Lucian. A woman.”
My heart gives a single, violent thud.
“A woman?”
“Yes, my Lord. She claimed—” His lip curls in disdain—“she claimed that she came from the Human Realm. She even dared to say you wanted her here—some nonsense about a prophecy. She had herself disguised as an Abundant Queen, but I saw through her glamour.”
I freeze at his words. Ice floods my veins. I push away from the desk, standing to my full height. My suit jacket strains across my shoulders, silk tie tugging against my throat as fury builds inside me.
“What,” I bite out, each word sharper than a blade, “did you do with her?”
The guard shifts uneasily. He was trying to curry favor, and my anger has dismayed him.
“I… I placed her in the dungeon, my Lord. Where else? She was clearly lying.”
A slow, awful realization crawls through me.
“Which cell?”
“Which cell?” he repeats stupidly.
“Yes!” Reaching down, I grab him by the collar and yank him upright. I lean down, glaring into his idiotic face. “Which…cell?”
The guard swallows hard—he won’t quite meet my eyes.
“The…the one at the very end. The one with…with the Wraith.”
My stomach drops like a stone.
“You fucking idiot.” My voice is flat, lethal. “Do you have any idea what you’ve done?”
The guard’s face goes slack with fear.
“M-my Lord, I thought?—”
“Thinking clearly isn’t your strong suit,” I snap, striding past him. My polished shoes strike the marble with sharp, ringing cracks. “You didn’t just lock up some random glamour-user. You threw my Queen into a cage with the most dangerous thing in my dungeon! If something has happened to her, I promise you that you’ll be the next one in that cell.”
The guard staggers back, eyes going wide. He is wisely keeping his mouth shut.
