Needing to be close to her, desperate to have her scent wrapped around me, I lower myself carefully onto the sofa. The blanket neatly folded along the back is her work, and I take it reverently into my hands and inhale deeply. “Whatdoyou know of this realm? When did you come here?”
“I was twenty,” he says as he drops his head into his hands. “I never asked any questions once I found out I couldn’t leave. I tried. For so many days. Until Aurelia’s mother found me in the forest, half-dead, and brought me back here.”
Aurelia’s mother. Not my wife or my mate.
His words hold so much shame. Is this the reason he has been a drunkard for as long as I can remember?
“Aurelia is not your daughter.”
The man starts to sob, his shoulders shaking. “No. June was already pregnant when she found me. Not far along. We told everyone the baby had come early.”
My beast is quiet now, listening intently as I ask my next question.“Who is her father?”
Abbot pulls a handkerchief from his pocket and blows his nose loudly before swiping at his reddened, puffy cheeks. “One of the King’s guards. He was killed when June’s father attacked him for defiling his daughter.”
Aurelia is half Fae.
Inside me, the dragon rails, his sorrow and horror so great, my own eyes burn. If the Prince or the King were ever to learn of her true heritage, they would never let her go—no matter what bargains were made. They would consider her half forfeit and keep her forever.
Anger pulses through my every nerve, and I spring for the dolt in front of me, haul him to his feet, and slam him against the wall hard enough he hiccups.
The stench of alcohol is overwhelming.
“Listen carefully, and perhaps, you will live to see her again,” I snarl. He looks up at me, his eyes wide and most definitely sober. Now. “If youevertell another soul of her parentage, I will rip out your spine and make you watch as I shatter each bone. I have enough magic within me to keep you alive—and screaming—until I am done. Do you understand?”
“Y-yes,” he stammers. “I…I killed her, didn’t I? The Prince will kill her, and it will be all my fault.”
“That is still to be determined. Now tell me. Do you haveanyiron in this house? Even a single scrap. A shaving.Anything.”
Abbot nods, and hope flares to life, soothing my raging dragon and giving me a few blessed moments of peace.
“Get it. Whatever you have. Right. Now.” Releasing my grip, I start to pace as he shuffles off into the bedroom I assume he once shared with Aurelia’s mother. I remember her now. Beautiful, but always sad. And I wonder…was it because she loved the Fae guard who gave her his seed? Or because she hated him?
A few moments later, Abbot returns with something wrapped in cloth cradled in his hands. “This belonged to Aurelia’s grandfather. He…right after I came, there was a war. It…wasn’t what everyone thinks. Not really.”
I stagger back as the pieces fall into place. “Do you mean to tell me that the man who started the two-day war, who nearly caused the death of every last being in this realm without Fae blood in their veins, did so—“
“Because he wanted to kill the Fae guard who’d taken his daughter’s virtue.” Abbot nods and passes me the object.
This…if this is what I think it is, I have just found all I need to murder both the King and the Prince and reclaim Aurelia’s freedom. I pull the leather tie loose and unfold the rough muslin. The dagger inside is covered with a thin layer of rust, but I do not care. Rust means iron and iron means death to those who would keep her from me.
Quickly, I wrap the weapon up again and tuck it inside my coat pocket. “I do not trust you. Not with how you fancy the drink. Until I free Aurelia, you will be theguestof one of my acquaintances. You will not be harmed, but nor will you be able to do any further damage.”
“I’ll do anything you ask,” he says softly. “I don’t even care if you kill me, Roarke. Just get Aurelia out of there.”
“For her sake, you will live. If it were up to me?” I pat my pocket. “This would be the end of you.”
* * *
The realm is large,and more than twenty kilometers separate Crux’s cottage from Abbot’s hovel. But the beast inside me enhances my speed, and I carry Abbot slung over my shoulder. When I told him we would be using magic to travel, he begged me to knock him out, which I did. With a solid punch to the jaw. Happily.
“Roarke?” Crux says as he opens the door and stares at the unconscious man.
“I require a favor. Bind this idiot with your magic and keep him hidden—and silent—until I return.” Striding into Crux’s main room, I arch a brow. “Where would you like him?”
The warlock mutters something he should likely not repeat in my presence, then sighs. “In the basement.” He leads me into his kitchen, then slides his wood stove along the wall to reveal a trap door. No human would be strong enough to move that stove alone, but with the aid of magic…
“You are certain the Fae do not know of this place?” I ask as I lay Abbot on a pallet of blankets.
