Never again.
He felt ill.
Maybe he needed to eat. Cassiel glanced at the small burlap sack with a sigh. Tugging it open, he found golden crumbles of manna bread wrapped in a cloth and a leather waterskin filled with rice milk. His favorites, yet he couldn’t swallow more than a few bites.
His only thought was of the other half of his soul who had trapped him in a cage.
Dyna’s voice hummed in his ear like the resonating ring of a bell.It’s no different than what you have done to me.
A voice hissed his name.It startled Cassiel awake, finding the cellar dark and cold. He must have dozed off.
“Up here.”
He glanced up at the tiny window above his head and smirked. “I knewyou were near.”
“I am the shadow at your side,” Netanel said. The small opening only offered a view of his boots in the moonlight. “Having troubles with your queen, it would seem.”
Sighing, Cassiel rubbed his aching temples. “I am, for a lack of better words, in confinement due to my misbehavior.”
Netanel chuckled. “It may serve you to apologize. That is all they truly want.”
He owed Dyna far more than that. “You are the last person who should advise me on my marriage.”
“Perhaps you are right. Well, it wouldn’t take much to free you of the wine cellar. We would be gone before anyone noticed.”
Netanel could easily sneak in and pick the lock. But the moment Cassiel woke up in chains with his mate standing before him, he had already decided he was staying. “I have business here. I have another task for you.”
“Of course, whatever you need.”
Cassiel sighed. Logically, he should order Netanel to spy on Nazar, primarily Akiel. But he had other priorities. “Dyna’s safety is your primary objective. Watch and listen for any who may attempt to come after her. I need you to help me keep her safe.”
“It will be done.”
“What’s more, keep me informed on the situation with Lord Norrlen. I assume King Leif has the matter in hand, but I will lend my support if needed.”
Netanel hummed. “It has been some time since Hilos and Greenwood have interacted. Since the reign of your grandfather, I believe.”
“It may be time to reestablish the Accords. Meanwhile, guard the High Queen and this estate. If anyone comes near, I want to know. But you will not show yourself to her. She cannot know about you.”
Dyna didn’t trust him, and he didn’t need to provide more reasons not to.
“Worry not, she will never see me,” Netanel said as he stepped back. “However, I do not recommend keeping secrets from your wife, especially if you want to regain her affections.”
Before Cassiel could reply, his spy left as quickly as he appeared.
CHAPTER 47
Cassiel
Odd how up until six months ago, the one thing Cassiel had feared was a cage. Now that he found himself in another once again, his old fear was drowned out by a new one.
That Dyna wouldn’t return.
Two days passed in silence. Sowmya would briefly appear to bring him warm meals and water, provided by the estate, judging by the fine Elvish food. By the third day, he knew how many bricks made up the walls and how many bars lined his cage. With evening’s arrival, Cassiel had grown restless. He paced back and forth, feeling as if the cell were shrinking.
Was this how his uncle felt? Locked away for months with nothing but his own thoughts?
Cassiel’s pulse jolted at the sound of doors cranking open at the end of the hall. Halting in place, he stared at the main door, holding his breath.
