I leaned forward and rested my head against the horse. After spending the entire day with him, he wasn’t scary any more. And my muscles were tired enough that I might have leaned against him even if I was still afraid of him.
“My lady?” Ivodar’s worried voice came from near my left foot. “Are you hurt?”
I sighed and sat up to look at him. “Not really. I just want to sleep.”
He waved to my left, and I turned to see a two-story cottage settled into blossom-covered trees with no leaves. “If you can walk some thirty paces,” he said, “I’ll make arrangements for a room.”
I swung a leg over the saddle, grimacing from the pain of the saddle burns, and slid down to the ground. I landed a lot harder than I had earlier in the day, but I didn’t care. I clenched my teeth and followed Ivodar up a cobblestone path to the door. He opened it for me, and fresh bread smells distracted me from my sores. I’d already eaten all of Kusan’s pastries, even though Ivodar thought they should be parceled out over the next four days.
“Did you bring money, Ivodar? Because if not, I might need to acquire some of that bread through methods I no longer endorse.”
He chuckled. “I asked Lord Dedalus if he thought it was inappropriate to take some of Bylur’s money, and he provided me with a pouch he found in the study. He said it was yours anyway, but you were not organized enough to plan for it.”
I walked farther into the inn. “He really hates me.”
Ivodar closed the door behind us. “No. He would not have been so helpful if he hated you. Honestly, I’ve never seen him help anyone besides his sister as much as he’s helped you and Bylur. You should consider him an advocate among the nobles, if not a friend.”
His face flushed. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have told you what to do.”
I was too tired to care. I settled myself onto a bench by the door. “All I can think about right now is that bread and a room with a bed. I’d be very grateful for either of those.”
Chapter 30: Bylur
The guard change was loud enough that it gave me something new to focus on. They laughed over how two fae remained on the ground after they’d been beaten and complained about how the queen had insisted they leave me alone. I suppressed a groan. I never accepted volunteers to work in my dungeons because I did not want to give unsupervised power to violent fae. Thesesoldierswere more abusive than law-promoting. They wanted excuses to hurt, not room to protect.
I imagined the lecture I’d give if I discovered them among my guards. The way I would let my shadows strike terror into their blood—
“Why thank you, Oprun.” A high-pitched, false voice cut through the dungeon corridors. “I do appreciate your help with that.” Moments later, Queen Daneira stood in front of my door. “Bylur, you look completely out of place here.”
She pointed her chin at the door and a soldier opened it for her. She wrinkled her nose and waved a hand in front of her face. “This place is absolutely disgusting, Bylur. Are you ready to leave yet?”
I met her dark eyes. “I am ready to leave at any point if you release me.”
She stepped all the way into the cell and settled her hand against my cheek. “That was a poor joke, Bylur, but I’ll excuse it just this once, since you are clearly suffering from standing here all day.”
I turned my cheek away from her. “It was no joke.”
“Oh, Bylur.” Her fake sweet voice made my stomach turn.
She dropped her hands to the cuff around my right wrist and lifted it slightly, stroking the back of my hand. “I’ll bring you out of these chains the moment you agree to marry me.”
I jerked my hand away from hers, making the chains rattle against each other, and
narrowed my eyes. “I would rather die.”
She slapped my cheek, and the sound echoed off the stone walls. I ground my teeth together. I would not respond to her attempts to provoke me this time. “That can be arranged,” she hissed. Then she put on a sickly sweet smile. “In two more days.”
She grabbed my hand again, but this time her grip was full of anger. She squeezed my fingers, and a layer of ice coated them. “A little something to remember me by.” Her voice shifted to sing-song tones. “I’ll see you tomorrow evening.”
I waited for her and the soldier she’d brought to leave my corridor before I slammed my hand against the stone wall. The ice shattered and fell to the floor, leaving my fingers cold and sore.
I was a winter fae—the cold should not have been a problem—but it seemed that her magic-blocking cuffshad blocked that part of me as well. I slid my hands under my tunic and pressed my chilled, bruised fingers against my side.
This was going to be a very long night.
Oh, for a dose of Auria’s nightmare prevention tactics. Or her sweet, sincere chaos. I’d have taken a thousand complaints of missing jewels and bread if it would have meant another chance to hold her.
Chapter 31: Auria
