Isolde wasn’t defenseless, precisely. Her tiny fingers were tipped with sharp claws, and we’d all seen the white flame she could summon. But she was not a warrior. She was a Faerie ofthe Fen—an Ancestors-damned legend. One I’d sworn myself to protect, if only within the silence of my own mind.
“Because the terrestrial bastards think they can take whatever they want,” Lyrena growled behind me. The viciousness of it almost made me stumble.
She’d never shown any sign of distrust towards the terrestrials here or in Baylaur, beyond what was reasonable for strangers. If she held some personal prejudices, I’d never seen them. But the ire in her voice mirrored the rage in my soul—one of our own had been taken.
We hit the training courtyard. The cold air and wind whipping against my face did nothing to calm the blaze within me.
“Where?” I demanded again.
Lyrena’s hand was tight around the hilt of her sword, knuckles bright white against her golden skin. Precious seconds passed as she considered, and I knew she counted every one of them. “There are old passageways in the walls around the outer ward. Most of the entrances are sealed. But it is more likely than taking her to someone’s private chambers.”
Because there would be no one to hear her cries for help.
I traded the rapier I’d grabbed for a dagger instead. It would be better for fighting in close quarters. “You start in the northwest corner. I will go to the southeast.”
Lyrena did not wait for more. She was already running. But I knew she heard me when I said, “Show them no mercy.”
I forced myself to stay on this plane. The void was faster, but I might miss something. Every step between me and the entrance Lyrena had pointed out felt like it lasted a lifetime. But I focusedon the details—tried to catch a scent of burning embers on the wind or the crunch of brutality.
Nothing.
This was my fault.
I should have arranged for Isolde to stay with us, even if it had meant close quarters. We’d shared worse while camping and traveling. But like a stupid fool, I had believed we were safe here. Even after I’d found the threat carved into the staircase that led to our suite.
The entry to the passageways was partially walled off by a half-caved in stone wall that otherwise could have been mistaken for an accident. But there were tool marks, the scrapes faint but visible, where someone had used a metal blade to pry apart stones and enlarge the opening.
I’d reward Lyrena for her cleverness later.
I shimmied through the opening, slower that I wanted at the price of silence. Whoever had taken Isolde, they would not hear me coming.
It was dark, the only light seeping in from the opening I’d climbed through. Once I turned the corner that marked the southeast tower, even that would fade to nothing. But I knew the darkness like I knew my own soul.
I cleared the corner, no sounds from ahead or behind. I kept going, knowing that Lyrena would eventually sweep behind me.
Each step was a moment lost, and there were too many steps. The passageway curved with the edge of the island. The next turn was more of a slope, but there was still a tower. A larger opening that would mean more space for—
No. I did not let myself consider what torment they’d wreak on Isolde.
My ears captured their voices a half-breath before the faint flickering of light reached my eyes.
Males and females, hushed but excited.
I stepped around a pile of debris.
One, two, three separate voices.
I slowed my pace, inching around the curve with by back pressed into the stone wall. The shadows would not hide me for long, especially in these close confines. But they were distracted. There was a thud—were they jumping?
My breathing so shallow it was imperceptible, I was finally able to see why.
They were indeed in the base of the tower, a slight male with dark hair, a larger one who was turned away, and a female I’d definitely seen during the feasts in the great hall but could not place otherwise.
Isolde was above them—out of reach. Thank the Ancestors.
The ache in my heart eased slightly.
Somehow, she’d managed to get free and climb up where they could not reach her, using her size and those sharp claws to her advantage. Those claws were embedded in the wooden supports for the floor above. But the terrestrials were dragging over stones. No airborne shifters among them, then. Or none whose wingspans would fit in the tight space.
