Myfathercould not know, to keep him safe—no matter how much it hurt to lie to him. And neither could myking—to keep my soul mate safe.
I stated coldly, “No.”
It was the first time I had ever talked to him as such.
And it felt Fae damnedwrong.
King Traevon’s nostrils flared, and his jaw tightened brutally. “It is to be that way then, my heir?”
“It is.” Ice touched each word.
I turned my face from him, squatted down, away from his hold, and swiftly did as we’d been instructed to do. I crawled after the group, making the least amount of noise as I could—my king following behind me. The swampy ground was half sludge, my entire body coated in the muck from head to toe. The closer I crawled to the water, the deeper down my body sank, my elbows and knees squishing into it until I could swim silently in the mess, the ground still within reach.
I stopped beside the caster queen, where everyone was lined up in a row, watching the landscape through the reeds. I followed her positioning, pulling my legs beneath me and sitting so the water reached my chin—the rest of my body submerged, my bagheavyagainst my back.
King Traevon halted beside me, doing as I’d done.
The landscape was full of guards attired in purple, and Kera Boone, all sitting on their horses as they rode closer to our position.
I glanced down at the water. Then to the trees nearby.
My teeth ground together, knowing this was where we needed to be. This was a place of buried bodies and illegal dealings—a land of death.
The edges of my lips pulled down in a frown as I squinted hard at Kera’s entourage. I whispered, “Is that the barkeep from last night?”
“No. I secured our room from her.” Queen Mikko glared through the reeds, duckweed floating around her neck on the water. “She is the owner of the inn.”
My nostrils flared. “Shit.”
This mess was straightening out to be a very ugly line.
The riders stopped their horses next to the largest willow tree I had ever seen, its trunk near where we had slept last night. They dismounted their horses, talking amongst themselves as they gazed up to the statues.
Except for Kera and the innkeeper.
They were talking together off to the side... Kera handed over a small, purple coin bag to the other woman. Both of them laughed together, broad smiles on their faces.
I cocked my head, opening my mouth to speak.
“What crypt lies under that tree, Queen Mikko?” King Traevon questioned quietly. “Or do I even need to ask?”
The King of Elves took the words right out of my mouth, my thought exactly the same as his.
The Queen of Casters stated distantly, “You have guessed correctly. It is the original caster.”
My eyes closed in resignation, dread and defeat roiling in my stomach. I would be going down into the crypts—allof us needed to retrieve the artifact. It looked like I would see the vile bastard, after all.
No one moved even though we knew the artifact’s whereabouts. What spanned in front of us was horrific enough.
Faedancedout of the tree, the most beautiful creatures I had ever seen in my life. Their skin shone bright under the morning sun, their flesh barely covered with sheer, white material—that did not belong to this realm. It curled around their bodies on its own, constantly moving like a lover’s touch.
The Fae bent and swayed, their eyes hungry on the guards. The sensual beings reached for the casters and then pulled their arms back. Slowly, they circled the guards, their erotic, bizarre dance drawing all of the guards’ attention—in abadway for them.
Kera and the innkeeper didn’t even look their way, continuing their conversation, as if nothing odd was happening a few feet beyond them.
The dancing circle slowly lured the guards closer to the tree, touching the casters now, gradually removing their own peculiar clothing and wrapping it around the guards’ eyes—blindfolding them. A Fae stepped back into the tree, holding on to her seduced guard’s arms, pulling him inside.
I turned my head sharply to the caster queen.
