Delphi looked back at the haunch of venison, wondering how she could eat so much meat before it went bad. At least, for the moment, she would enjoy a full stomach and hope that Tenebrys calmed down by the time she ran into him next.
9
Tenebrys woke as the sun set. There was a strange, delicious smell in the air. His sensitive nose twitched, and he opened his golden eyes.
He had slept the day away. He was used to hunting and patrolling at night, but to sleep the entire day? That was beyond rare. He sat up, his nose still tingling. It was... Someone was cooking.
After the plague and Narcisse's curse, they had turned more animal than human. No one had bothered cooking.
It had to be the girl. No, thewoman.
Tenebrys scratched at his mane, remembering the night before. What the hell was he meant to do with her? How did she get out of her rooms?
Tenebrys padded over to the bathing room and turned on the cold tap. The château had been built for the royals that his family had once been. Indoor plumbing was only one of the wonders that it had. The magic that had once fueled the heating, however, had died with the curse.
Tenebrys looked at himself in the cracked mirror. His face and chest were still smeared with blood from the hunt the night before.
When had he last washed? The bathtub had a layer of dust in it, and the showering area was in the same condition. The state of his fur hadn't bothered him in a long time. Now looking at it made him itch.
Tenebrys stripped off the threadbare trousers he wore and got into the shower. It had been built to accommodate his fully shifted form, so he had space.
The cold water didn't bother him, but the dark filth running off him did. A bar of soap, hardened and cracked with age, was in the dish. He used it as best he could.
Feline shifters were vain about appearances by nature, and he could only imagine what his father would have thought of how far Tenebrys had fallen. He hadn't thought about his father in a long time.
For the last twenty-nine years, he had only one thought and goal: Find and kill Narcisse and Cassia.
He had been so close that it made his claws spring free in fury. He wanted to take something precious to Narcisse, so he had taken Delphi.
That was the only reason. The mark he had placed on her was a mistake in the magic. He didn't feel anything for her. His body had reacted to her touch because it had been so goddamn long since he had taken a female.
Tenebrys growled low in frustration. He needed to find out who had been bold enough to release her from the prison he had put her in.
The scent of cooking assailed Tenebrys twice as strongly as soon as he left his rooms. The energy of the house had changed. It was still dusty and filthy, but the cold emptiness was gone.
What in the goddess's name had happened while he had been sleeping?
Tenebrys found Felix and Syn loitering at the bottom of the stairs, where his wing joined the main house.
Syn's creature had been a panther and was their best silent hunter and spy. He could vanish into the shadows of the Mistwood like none other. He usually only came to the château when he had something to report.
"Well, well, Syn, look who finally had a bath?" Felix teased.
"Lady in the house again," Syn replied, with a flash of white fangs.
"Theladyhas nothing to do with it. I was covered in blood," Tenebrys grumbled. He eyed Syn. "What are you doing here?"
"I got word from Nahar in the south. He fought off an incursion last night. Ten fae tried to get through. One almost succeeded but fell into one of the perimeter spike pits he is so fond of," Syn replied. "It was more than he had seen in the past six months."
"Maybe they thought that it would be easier to sneak in through that gate because it is the farthest one from here," Tenebrys mused. "I don't like this."
"Something must be happening in Faerie to get them stirred up to try and get through. It's not even full moon," Felix added.
It was shit news that Tenebrys really didn't need. The three shifters froze as a melody started up further into the house. No one had sung in the halls for decades.
"Who let her out?" Tenebrys demanded.
"We thought you did, sire," Felix said, his ears flattening. "Your scent is the only one on the door."
