Two days until the wedding, and I wasn’t sure I was any closer to feeling ready to kill the king. My determination to see him dead remained strong, but when I stood beside him with a blade in my hand and my power crackling on my fingertips, would I be able to do it?
I had to.
And that was the problem. Knowing I must do this should be a solid thing in my mind, yet my resolve felt weak, though I didn’t know why.
“You’ll get there,” I whispered.
On his perch, Drask nodded his head.
I slid from bed and bathed, dressing in the green gown Vexxion had left for me.
It was early for Brenna, so I opted to head downstairs to look for Brodine first.
No time like the present to free a few creatures as well.
With Drask riding on my shoulder, I walked sedately through the lesser-used hallways, seeking Brodine everywhere I dared look, but not finding him. I also paused at one image after another. Some of the creatures hid, which made it hard to do anything with them. Unless I could coax them out, the spell didn’t work. More than half the time, even if they writhed in front of my nose, I couldn’t release them.
I didn’t dare make this obvious, which meant I only freed creatures from two paintings, one in a dusty parlor near the end of the hall, and two little green scaly things in a tall painting in a bathing area adjacent to the dining room. I let each out the back door, and while the green creatures took flight immediately, the solitary one dug a hole and disappeared into the ground, covering itself up.
I hoped they stayed away from the king from now on.
With time running out until I needed to go to Brenna’s suite, I headed up the back stairs, stumbling when I spied Brodine coming down from the level above—alone. Joining him, I latched onto his arm. He didn’t yank away but let me turn him and drag him all the way to my suite. I was tempted to flit us there, but I didn’t want to startle him if something of my friend still remained.
I sat him on a sofa near the fireplace and dropped down beside him, turning to face him. I cupped his cheeks with my palms and turned his head, something that was much too easyto do with my usually ornery friend. I made him sort of look me in the eye.
Total blankness greeted me.
I girded myself. I’d known I wouldn’t find much, though I’d surprisingly held onto a scrap of hope there might be something left of my friend.
“Brodine,” I said, then louder. Shouting his name didn’t cause even a flicker in his big brown eyes. “Come back to me.”
That didn’t help either.
I gathered power from my well and used the spell that released creatures from portrait captivity, though who knew if it would work for something like this.
Of course, it made no difference. Still, it was better than doing nothing, so I did it at least ten times, using so much power, I had to dangle over the edge of my well to scoop up more.
Finally, I released his face and flopped back on the cushions.
“I’m not giving up,” I said, my eyes stinging. “You’re inside somewhere, and I’m going to drag you back. You may not be the Brodine I knew and loved anymore, but there has to be something left of you. Come back to me, Bro. Please.”
His eyes didn’t flicker.
As if he’d received a silent command, he rose and drifted over to the door, opening it and slipping out into the hall.
I didn’t get up. I didn’t chase him.
And I didn’t follow.
But I decided right then and there that I would find a wayinto the king’s bedroom to look for information about collars the first chance I got.
I flitted to the hall outside Brenna’s suite and was surprised to find no guards waiting.
Stepping into the living area, I heard a moan coming from the bedroom, which made me worried. I rushed in that direction. Had she fallen?
I opened the door and stepped inside, but came to a halt, my eyes widening.
Brenna stood beside the bed, locked in an embrace, kissing a fae lord who wasnotthe king.
