“She isn’t in the best condition,” Zane warned.
“Mentally? I know that.” I furrowed my brows, and that earned a chuckle from Koa for some reason.
“She’s dirty and bruised,” Casimir specified.
“Oh.” I shrugged. “That’s fine.”
That earned a sharp bark of laughter from Mrs. Wentzel, who had been pretending not to listen while aggressively chopping vegetables.
“Out!” she commanded, waving her knife at all of us. “All of you, out of my kitchen before I can no longer salvage lunch!”
“I need to know where that woman learned to fire a rifle so accurately from a thousand yards,” Koa grunted on the way to the basement.
That reminded me to ask about the gargoyles.
“I know there are two at the main gates, but they didn’t intervene during the hawk incident, or just now with Eluned.”
“Their current orders are to prevent entrance onto the property by anyone other than us from moonrise to moonset,” Casimir explained. “I wasn’t kidding about getting more, specifically to respond during daylight hours.”
“That seems like overkill,” I told him with a little frown.
“Overkill is obviously what’s required to keep you alive.”
I stuck my tongue out at his back, and Zane and Koa laughed.
#
The basement stairs creaked under our feet as we descended into the cold space below Evermere, lit only by Casimir’s flashlight. My heart thumped against my ribs, but not from fear. Not this time.
For years, Eluned had haunted my nightmares, her voice the soundtrack to my suffering. Nowshewas the one made powerless, andIwas the one who would walk away free.
Casimir’s hand at the small of my back was a steady anchor, his touch protective without being controlling, as we stopped before a closed door at the far end of the corridor. He turned to face me, his green eyes searching mine with a look I’d come to recognize. It was his way of measuring. Was I ready? Was I strong enough? Would I break?
I met his gaze without flinching, chin slightly lifted. The corners of his mouth curved up, just a hint of approval softening his features.
“You don’t have to do this, Seri.”
“I do, though. Forme.”
Giving me a sharp nod, he reached past me and threw open the door, palming the light switch just inside.
“Little mouse, little mouse,” Eluned’s voice slithered into my ears, “nibbling on stale bread.”
“Want me to silence her, beloved?” Koa whispered in my ear.
“No.” My hand found his. “Let her sing.”
A harsh fluorescent glow flooded what looked like a storage room converted into a makeshift holding cell. The space was mostly empty except for some shelving units against one wall and Eluned sitting on the floor in a puddle.
Her silly wedding dress was torn and stained a murky gray from the lake water with streaks of algae like green accents. Her dark hair hung in tangles around her face, bits of duckweed and twigs caught in the snarls. And still her eyes blazed with hatred and mania.
“Well, well,” she drawled as Zane went in first, “the red fox returns to play. I knew you couldn’t resist me for long.”
Zane snorted, moving to lean against the shelving unit with deliberate casualness.
As Koa entered next, Eluned’s smile turned predatory.
“And the dark prince, too. Did you tell your little wife how much fun we had earlier? How your hands felt around my—”
