“Where did you get that?”
“I am the King’s consort. The Prince...he is my son. One of them. The other...”She shakes her head, tears shining in her eyes. Quickly, she unbuckles the holster and pushes up my dress. I nod, and she fastens the straps around my right leg. As soon as the blade touches my skin, it burns, and I cry out.
Iron is deadly to the Fae, and though I want to deny what I am, this is proof. Can I even wield the weapon?
Noelle holds a finger to her lips, then picks up a piece of my leather corset, wrapping it around my leg to keep the poisonous metal from directly touching my skin.
“Th-thank you,” I whisper. “But I cannot do anything bound as I am. When the Prince comes, he is never alone, and he will charm me before I have a chance to use the dagger.”
She smiles and plucks a hairpin from the knot of red curls atop her head. The locks fall away in under a minute. Clearly, she has had to do this before.
Even with the leather protecting my skin, the dagger still burns, but it has shifted to a dull ache, and I can bear it if there is a chance I can earn my freedom.
“Can you teach me how to do that?” I ask. “I have to free Roarke. The collar they put on him…it lets them siphon his pain...forever. His dragon cannot escape it, and they are torturing him.”
Noelle tenses and glances back at the door.“We do not have much time. The chains will be charmed. The only way to break them is with iron.”
Freed, I crawl over to the narrow cot and shove my hand under the mattress. The bag of shavings is still there, and I thrust it at Noelle. “Will these help?”
She nods.“Yes. With these, and this,”she tells me, holding up her hairpin, “I should be able to help him get free. But there are still the two guards outside.”
I swallow hard. “Leave them to me. But there is one other matter. I cannot leave this place—this castle—until I can say the Prince’s name and tell him I do not love him. But I do not know what his name is.”
Pain pinches her tired features, and she shakes her head.“Before the King took my tongue, he and his mage wove a charm that wiped my own son’s name from my head. If I even try to remember...”She wavers on her knees, and her skin pales.“I would give anything to be able to help you. But that...you must do alone.”
Chapter Thirteen
Aurora
Icurl on the cold stone, the shackles draped over my wrist and ankle, but no longer locked, and the dagger clutched in my uninjured hand.
Noelle screams and flings open the door, grabbing for the arm of one of the Fae guards and trying to pull him into the room. She points to me frantically, then clutches her throat.
“What is it, consort?” the guard asks as he approaches me. She jabs me in the chest, and I do not move, and now, I can sense his apprehension. When he leans down to touch my neck, I strike, driving the blade into his belly and twisting sharply.
He tries to call out, and his partner races into the room just as Noelle slams the door to keep their screams from reaching any other ears. Leaping to my feet, I charge the second guard.
“Do not fight me.”I send every ounce of my mental energy towards him, hoping perhaps these new powers of mine are strong enough to work on a pure-bred Fae.
He lifts his hand and his mouth opens, but he hesitates for a single moment. Long enough for me to slash at his throat.
Crimson sprays across my chest, and he gurgles as he sinks to his knees. Both guards struggle to get up, but the second is losing blood at an alarming rate, and the first... His innards spill into one of his hands as he rises.
“You will pay for that,” he says hoarsely.
“I think not.” I plunge the dagger into his chest, then take a single step back as his eyes roll back in his head and he takes his final breath, falling onto his partner.
I have just killed two of the Fae. If I do not escape now, I have sentenced myself to a death more horrible than I can possibly imagine. But more importantly, I know I can affect their minds. While I doubt my ability to compel anyone, especially the Prince, even if I can merely distract them for a moment or two, that power—and the dagger in my hand—could be enough to win my freedom.
Now to see just how strong my powers are. I have to find the Prince and see if I can invade his mind. If so, perhaps I can trick him into telling me his name.
* * *
Roarke
Time means nothing to me now. The King and the Prince have toyed with me for so long, I can no longer stand. The manacles bite into my wrists, and my dragon…he prays for death. But he did not see Aurelia’s eyes.
For one brief moment, the power of the Fae flowed through her veins, and if I had been able to call upon my dragon, we might have been able to leave this place. Together.
