“Henrietta threw out those filthy rags. So, unless you want to wear your nightgown all day, I suggest you accept my offer.”
I look down at my white nightdress, which is as archaic as everything else here. “I’ll wear the dress.” I reach for it. It feels expensive, like silk.
“I’ll leave you to change.” Kosac turns away. “I look forward to introducing you to the rest of my court and the realm we are in. I promise it isn’t as macabre as the stories suggest.”
Yeah, maybe because it’s worse…
“Wait,” I say. Kosac pauses, twists toward me, face still hidden in shadow. “My ancestor, Aradia Graves, is here. Will she be at the party?” Hope expands like helium in my chest.
Silence stretches like a rubber band about to snap. Then, there’s an otherworldly screech rattling the ancient windows. Kosac straightens. Henrietta glances toward the window.
“No more questions. Be downstairs in an hour.”
Fear seizes my chest. “Wait.”
“Someone is stirring up trouble with my Dullahan,” Kosac replies with an edge to his voice before vanishing like smoke.
Henrietta frowns at me before storming out. I toss the medieval garment on the bed, chasing after her. Maybe she knows where Fynn is.
“Stop! Where is he keeping that little boy?”
Henrietta disappears around another corner.
I stand in the hallway, a restlessness twitching my limbs.
Wilder?I test our connection one more time. He doesn’t respond.
Unease wraps around my throat like cold fingers and squeezes. What if that’s him with the Dullahan?
Henrietta comes back before I can go check, holding a glass bottle. She pushes me toward the bath.
Selene hasn’t changedat all. She refused to help me, telling me it was my funeral and muttering about how I was a nuisance before walking back into the woods. But I’m not dying today.
The castle is a fortress with heavy chains hanging from the wooden doors and bars covering all the large windows. There’s no way I’m getting inside to find Leigh, unless someone lets me in.
Which means I need to get caught.
I circle the property, heading toward the stable. If I can rile up the Dullahan’s horses, I can lure out the Dullahan themselves. I’d ignite a fire, but that’s not an option right now. I can’t start a fire without magic either, since everything is so wet.
The musky scent of hay and animals hits me when I enter the stable. The horses, standing about fifteen hands tall and likely weighing around twenty-six hundred pounds, snort upon seeing me. I unlatch each of their dwellings and stand back, expecting them to rush from the barn. They don’t move. Nothing can ever be easy, can it? Entering the nearest stall, I carefully maneuver around one of the giant beasts.
“You better not trample me.” I slap its wet hide.
The horse whinnies, then takes off in a gallop. I target the next few horses, and they take off out of the barn. Following them, I see the horses running around the castle grounds.Wherever their daemon owners are, I know they’ll come for me, and at least they will be on foot.
They can take me to Kosac.
It takes less than a minute before a Dullahan appears from the castle to inspect the noise. The rider spots me, and upon seeing me, lets out an earsplitting screech, likely alerting the entire kingdom that there’s an intruder.
I clutch my ears. Pain radiates through my body, and I feel like I’m about to be sick when I notice the Dullahan unsheathing a sword.Shit. I figured they’d bring me to Kosac before straight up killing me. Rainwater drips down the formidable blade, and I swallow the bile creeping up my throat.
I’d run, but the plan was for them to capture me.
Despite the heavy armor, the Dullahan pursues me with incredible agility. I barely have time to lift my arms in surrender before more Dullahan appear, their weapons drawn. I’m outnumbered, and with no magic, this isn’t a fair fight.
“I surrender—” One blade slices through the air, and I jump back just in time to avoid it.
Another blade arches overhead, and I twist to avoid that, too, only to align myself perfectly with the third Dullahan’s weapon. I jerk out of the way, narrowly escaping being skewered.
