“Any of you touch her again and I'll kill you all.”
Pointing to the now awake gnome, I said, “You're in charge, and next time any of you decide to take someone from my castle, you better make sure it's with my authority. Clean up this mess.”
The gnome scrambled to the dead warden and dragged it away.
Dismissing the shadows, I turned to her. She trembled against the wall, her arms wrapped around herself in a protective hold.
Once, I’d cowered like that, shaking with fear in a corner.But where I had the comforting hum of a pixie, Deirdre only had me.
A shadow-wielding king who had just killed her husband.
“How bad are you hurt?” I said, kneeling in front of her.
“Just scrapes. Get me out of here.”
I held up my hand for her to take and she, of course, ignored it. Wobbling, she used the wall to support herself and stand.
The cut by her collarbone was right under the dampener she wore. Blood dripped from the wound, and something about her being collared and bloody didn't sit well with me. I preferred the female who fought back and made things interesting. This version of her… it wouldn't do.
Knowing she wouldn't take any aid I offered, I stepped aside, allowing her room to shuffle out of the cell, hugging her middle, her long black hair a tangled mess around her.
She paused at the exit of the dungeon, the path blocked by two hatchets.
“Move!” I yelled to the redcaps guarding the only way in or out of the prison.
They stepped aside and the human walked faster.
I followed her out. “Why were you wandering the palace at night?”
Her steps slowed as she began walking up the steps, holding on to the wall for support. Dried blood caked parts of her skin.
“I was hungry,” she said, her voice weak.
“That's why we have servants. You have a bell in your room. Use it.”
She shook her head. “I wasn’t going to wake Liora in the middle of the night just to feed me.”
“Did you not come from a temple with servants?”
She stopped. “Yes, but I didn't wake them up in the night. I…” She paused. “Went to the kitchens myself.”
“It’s not entirely your fault, since your guards were asleep.”
“I did think that was odd.”
Her story wasn’t believable. She could lie all she wanted, but she was close to one of the exits, even if she didn’t realize it. I also had a pretty good idea about who put the guards to sleep.
Pixie meddling.
Anna and Ella seemed to be too concerned with making this ridiculous union work. I doubted they would risk Deirdre’s life for a little mischief.
But Olivia certainly would.
I paused on the steps. “I'm not going to have you wandering my castle at odd hours, getting lost. I just killed my warden. Redcaps that are somewhat obedient are difficult to find, and now I'm down one.”
“I didn't ask you to kill him!” Deirdre glared at me, and I debated on bringing her back down to the dungeons to teach her a lesson.
“No, you did not. But not only did he imprison you, he cut the future fae queen, and that is an offense that will not stand. Didn’t they teach you anything in that temple about court politics, or are all humans this ignorant?”
