“That dryad stag.”
“Yes?”
She traced a finger through the hair on my chest. “He said that I was more than a mouthful. I was sure he planned to eat me. Until you came, of course.”
“What made you think on this?”
“I was thinking of Tylok’s family. The dryad seemed to be infected with this dark illness the shadow fae spoke of. I think the grimlocks are taking the females and the children for food.”
I pondered this for a moment, wondering how I didn’t make this connection earlier. “Grimlocks are an abomination. They are not born, but created. A mesh of creatures brought to life with black magick. They serve a master.”
“But who?”
I breathed out a sigh. “That, I don’t know. I’m wondering if the shadow fae know but just aren’t saying.”
“Why wouldn’t they tell you? Aren’t you working together?”
I chuckled. “One thing you must know about the three dark fae races. None of us work together—unless we have to. Weprefer to stick to our own. Even so, I’d say the wraith and beast fae are more allied than we are with the shadow fae.”
“Why is that?” She propped her chin on both her hands atop my chest, gazing up at me.
“There is no reason why. The shadow fae live farther apart from the rest of us, high in their city of Gadlizel in the mountains. They are very secretive, but there have been rumors that their king is dying.”
“The prince’s father?”
“Yes.”
“It’s surprising, then, that Prince Torvyn was down here chasing grimlocks. I would expect him to leave that to his warriors.”
“He may be a cold bastard, but Prince Torvyn is a man of honor. When there is a problem in his lands, he prefers to take care of it directly himself.”
“Hmph.” She turned her head to lay her cheek on my chest and wrap an arm at my waist. “That makes sense. I was thinking of how my father handled his problems. He never risked himself to do what needed to be done.”
I coasted a hand up and down her spine, the length of her pale back a lovely sight, an unsettling thought now surfacing that had been pricking my conscience for some time. I decided to ask her, though I truly didn’t want to know the answer.
“Did your father ever force you to use your syrenskyn magick on someone for him?”
She was quiet for a moment, and I knew he had. I buried my rage and kept soothing my hand up and down her back.
“There was a merchant,” she began softly. “He’s stolen from my father more than once, skimming from the coin he was supposed to tithe to the king. So Father told me I was to prove that I was a worthy daughter and kill the man for him. His ownguards could’ve killed him just as easily, but I didn’t think about that. I knew that I had to prove my worth.”
I tightened a hand on her hip, willing myself not to interrupt her story with the curses I wanted to throw at her abysmal excuse for a father.
“I was sent into the chamber where the merchant was waiting. I’d been forced to go in nothing but my chemise so that my glowing skin could be seen, could bewitch the merchant.” She sighed. “It did. He was frozen and in a trance, just waiting for me to swipe my claws and kill him…but I couldn’t do it.”
I held her close as she finished her terrible story.
“Father was both furious. He scorned me on my knees in front of his guards for not finishing the job, then he warned that I’d better do as I was told next time, when the lord who won my hand came calling. The next thing I knew, I was betrothed to Lord Gael and preparing for his arrival at court.”
We were both quiet for a moment, me trying to wrangle my fury under control and her trying to come to terms with the fact that her father used her abominably.
“Your father misused his power. And he betrayed you in betrothing you to that noble from Mevia. But worse, he didn’t protect you or cherish you the way a father should.”
She remained silent for a time, then finally squeezed her arm tighter around me. “Thank you,” she murmured softly.
“There is no reason to thank me for speaking the truth.” I pressed a kiss to the crown of her head, inhaling deep. “You are a treasure, Jessamine. You should be treated as such.”
Her heart sped faster, beating swiftly against my abdomen where she lay across me. But she didn’t say another word before sleep took us both.
