“You’ll need backup, Your Majesty,” Anika interrupted. “Galen, where is your compound?”
“In the abandoned mines outside of Abersmyth.”
Anika’s brow furrowed, seeming to recognize the place.
“Do you know it?” I asked.
“It’s the Keepers, m’lord. It’s where they have their hideout,” Anika said.
“Are they the ones behind this?” I asked Galen.
The lad blinked, eyes wet with unshed tears, and nodded. The Keepers, that damn cult I’d let fester. Not so harmless after all, it would seem.
“How many are there?” I asked Galen, for their numbers were always shifting.
“There are many,” Galen said. “Thousands, m’lord. And they all answer to him, Master Keeper.”
Master Keeper, a coward hiding behind a mask, the thief who’d taken my beloved prince. My mind worked overtime as everything slotted into place–if this person was the one stealing fae children to do their dirty work, they might also be the culprit behind my parents’ deaths. If that was the case, I’d make them regret every dastardly deed they’d ever committed against me. Power thrummed in my fingertips, begging for release. Vengeance would be mine. But first, I had to save Cedrych.
“It’d be better to mount an organized attack,” Anika said.
Goddess only knew what might happen to Cedrych in the time it took my troops to gather. I couldn’t take that chance. “The queen and I will take her palanquin. You and Erlander round up the guard to travel by horse and automobile, as fast as you can,” I directed.
“You mustn't go in there alone, m’lord,” Anika said, laying a firm hand on my forearm.
I gripped my vanadium rod and tried to reassure her. “The plot is becoming clearer to me, Anika. If I don’t retrieve my prince now, I may never get another opportunity. I promise I will exercise caution.”
“You’d better,” she warned, then nodded once to the queen and turned to gather up the rest of the guard. Erlander releasedGalen into our custody, and I outfitted him with bracelets and anklets made of vanadium in case I needed to restrain him.
“I won’t run, m’lord,” he said.
“You’d be wise not to.” I ushered him along, pointing toward the exit with my rod. To the queen I said, “I must advise you one more time, Your Majesty, it would be safest for you to stay here. We’re heading into enemy territory. The Keepers want my destruction and nothing less.”
The queen huffed and stared down her royal nose at me. “I have every confidence that my fae guards will protect me. And I wish to lay eyes on the reprobate who thought he could steal the second-born son of Queen Gwyneth Avondale of Emrallt Valley. I will show them the consequences of kidnapping a member of the royal family.”
I offered my arm to the queen, and we set out for her palanquin at a brisk pace. I would rescue my beloved fae prince and put an end to this menace once and for all.
Death didn’t scare me, but failure did.
Chapter 22
Prince Cedrych
Iawoke disoriented with a throbbing headache and a parched throat. There was a crust of drool on my chin on account of the metal bit, which prevented me from closing my mouth or swallowing properly. My wings were trapped in some sort of metal mesh, but my ankles and wrists were no longer shackled, so I immediately ripped the bag off my head and set to removing the bit from my mouth. I couldn’t. It was secured on the outside by bars that encircled the lower half of my jaw and some locking mechanism that likely had no key.
A custom piece made with signature metal, which meant the only person who could remove it was the damnable brute who’d kidnapped me. A metal sorcerer, no doubt. Were they also the one who’d kidnapped Galen and attempted to turn him into an assassin?
Falling back on my soldier’s training, I set aside my discomforts and assessed my surroundings. Lit by pockets of eternal flame, the rock walls outside my barred enclosure had no windows to the outside. The air was sweet, but in a weirdly chemical way. I must be somewhere underground or perhaps inside a cave, and I wasn’t the only one being kept prisoner here.
Across the spacious cavern was another large metal enclosure with a floor of hard-packed earth and hay scattered about. Inside of it was a beautiful piebald mare. She appeared agitated, nosing the bars of her enclosure and stomping her hooves. How long had she been down here? Why keep a horse as a prisoner?
“They have her,” I muttered, repeating the words Galen had said to me. Was this horse the “her” he’d been referring to? Were these thugs so low as to steal a boy’s horse?
The two are bonded for life,Vasil had told me about the connection between rider and steed. No wonder Galen had been so reluctant to talk. They must have threatened the life of his horse. I could now add animal cruelty to the scoundrel’s list of crimes.
My gaze shifted from the mare to another peculiar sight–a working forge in the far corner of the cavern. The rhythmic sounds of a hammer striking steel echoed off the rock walls, and the man toiling appeared to be none other than Levolor, the same bladesmith who’d made my dagger. Was he working for the enemy? I squinted and saw that Levolor’s ankle bore a metal cuff similar to my own. The man was chained to the anvil itself, which allowed him to move within his workspace but not much farther.
So, this band of criminals not only trafficked in fae, but they’d kidnapped a bladesmith, presumably to forge weapons, which meant they were intent on some sort of uprising. They’d taken me as part of some larger conspiracy against Lord Vasil, and I was now an unwilling participant in their scheme.
