“Mmmm, and what’s that?” I asked, tugging on one of his charming curls.
“To protect you,” he said in earnest.
My stomach did that strange, somersaulty thing. Indigestion, most likely.
“That’s why we have guards,” I reminded him in case he thought I’d allow him to risk his life again.
“You almost died yesterday,” he said with a frown. In all the chaos, I hadn’t really considered my own mortality and how close I’d come to losing my life. “Doesn’t that scare you?” he asked, perplexed by my silence.
“Unfortunately, it doesn’t feel very novel at this point, but you’re right. I will increase our security and recruit more guards.”
“You shouldn’t have to live like a prisoner in your own kingdom. We need to know who’s behind this,” he insisted, palming one of his fists, angry on my behalf.
The matter was pressing, but there’d been so many attempts on my life over the years, I’d begun to take it as a matter of course. “I agree with you,” I said cautiously.
“And I want to know what happens with the interrogation. I think it’s only fair, since my safety’s at risk too.”
His reasoning made sense. And the cur who’d tried to kill us both was surrounded on all sides by unbendable elvish steel of my own making, monitored by guards, some who were sorcerers in their own right, all of them loyal to me and me alone.
“I’ll discuss it with Commander Farrow, but you must promise not to act without my permission,” I said.
“I promise not to throw myself in front of an assassin’s arrow,” he replied, choosing his words carefully.
“Hmmm,” I said, not entirely convinced. Yes, my gorgeous, headstrong prince needed to be brought to heel. And soon. “This vigilante streak does not become you,” I told him.
“Doesn’t it?” he asked, toying with one of my nipples.
“I have remedies for that too,” I said with what I hoped was an air of authority, but the brat only grinned. And then he kissed me and I was done.
We spentthe morning in my baths where I hand-fed the prince his favorite fae delicacies while he soaked in the warm mineralwater. Then I supervised as the royal healer unwrapped his bandage and inspected the stitches on his arm to make sure they weren’t torn or infected. Once his wound was cleaned and rewrapped and with his arm resting on a towel outside the bath, I dismissed my servants and joined him in the water. I’d always enjoyed the therapeutic effects of the hot springs, the way my worries seemed to melt away.
While we soaked, Cedrych asked questions about our penal system. I’d decided to trust him with elvish state secrets–he’d saved my life after all–and if it ruined me later, then so be it. I was throwing caution out the window.
“Do you starve them?” Cedrych asked, referring to the culprit currently being held in my subterranean dungeon. As of that morning, the prisoner hadn’t uttered a word, but I had faith in Anika’s tactics.
“No, prisoners are fed three meals a day.”
“Is it gruel?” he asked with a look of displeasure, my pampered prince.
“Their meals are prepared alongside our own. Judging from the lad’s scrawny frame, the food may be the best he’s ever had.”
“Torture, then? Dismemberment?”
“No, Cedrych,” I said, faintly disturbed by his assumptions, though it did give me an insight as to how prisoners were treated in the fae realm. “We do not torture or dismember our prisoners here in the elvish realm, and if I may say so, I find the practice of wing amputation to be quite barbaric.”
“Then how do you get them to talk?” he asked.
“Patience,” I said and tucked an errant lock of hair behind his ear. So unruly. “The boredom gets to most people soon enough, and if it doesn’t, we discuss privileges, such as a visit from a loved one or a walk outside. We also ask if there is anyone else we should talk to about the crime, a witness who can corroborate their account.”
“But this one is obviously guilty,” he said, his skepticism of our practices obvious on his frowning face. “Will you hold him until he talks?”
“I will. The crime was serious. He won’t be freed even if he does talk, though at least we can move onto sentencing.”
“Death?” Cedrych asked.
“No, we don’t employ the death penalty here either. We believe all individuals should have the opportunity for restitution, and if that’s not possible, we find a suitable place to hold them where they won’t cause additional harm.”
“And if he never talks?” Cedrych asked.
