“So he got drunk with power and money and now he’s a sadistic maniac?” I mused.
“Not exactly. My mother said he used to be kind in the beginning. But then people started asking for loans, favors, lying to him to get money, or begging him to save their farm only to find out they had a gambling addiction. My mother says money brings problems.”
His mother was wise. “So that’s when he built a magical dungeon of darkness that feeds off of his prisoners’ fears?”
I could hear the boy smiling. “No.” He chuckled. “It was after the love of his life tried to kill him in his sleep. She used a poisoned blade, which is how he got those scars.”
My heart shuttered in my chest and I sat up straighter. “What?”
“Yeah … that’s when the curfew started, and the interrogations, and then this place was built.” His voice had darkened.
I was speechless. His lover tried to kill him? “Why did she—”
“I just told you, Aribella. He’s the richest man in Ethereum. You must come from money if you can’t understand why that matters here.”
I cleared my throat. “My family is well off. Merchants,” I lied.
“Well, mine aren’t. Where I come from we only have a day’s worth of food in the cupboard and we gotta be thinking about where we can get coin for the next day,” he said.
I nodded even though he couldn’t see me. “But to steal it from someone doesn’t sound like the right way.”
I could almost imagine him bobbing his head in agreement. “It’s not. That’s why I said no when my cousin asked. But I understand why others do it. The chance to have that kind of money would change my life.”
I frowned, feeling bad for the kid. “Well, what job did you do? Before this.”
“I worked in the gold mines. I’ve held unimaginable wealth in my hands, only to have to give it away at the end of the day.” He sounded wistful.
I sighed. It was a sad tale but I didn’t agree with stealing because someone had more than you. We were both quiet for a moment and I felt the heaviness pull at my eyelids.
“Aribella?” he asked, his voice thick with sleep.
“Hmm?” I wondered aloud, laying down myself and attempting to get comfortable, despite the circumstances.
“Can you keep your power over me until I fall asleep? This is the best I’ve felt in weeks.”
It was the least I could do. He’d kept me sane in a terrifying moment and now that I didn’t fear the snakes, they’d left me. Just like he said.
When I heard a soft snoring coming from the grate beside me, I pulled the peace back into myself, not wanting to leave him with it overnight in case he needed to be alert or afraid of something.
Fear was a good emotion in some cases, it kept us safe from harm and told us when to run from danger. If I kept him blanketed in peace, it could harm him eventually. He might not fight back if attacked.
Hugging my knees to my chest, I tried to calm my nerves. Lying in the dark on hardened stone I thought it would be impossible to relax, but eventually sleep took me.
* * *
I awoke to the sound of scraping metal. My eyelids sprang open and I looked up at Lord Stryker, hovering above me.
“Enjoy the night?” he asked with a handsome smirk.
There were two guards behind him, both with swords held aloft. I might be able to subdue all three of them but I couldn’t go anywhere without my dagger.
I would need it to get back to Faerie. A portal back to my kingdom wouldn’t open until I used it to carve out a heart from an Ethereum lord’s chest. If his blacksmith melted it down I was a dead woman,along with my people. Besides, I wasn’t even sure I could subdue the big fae before me. His power was like none I’d ever encountered before.
I sat up, glaring at him, and his smile grew.
“You’re trying to find a way out of this. A way to kill me and still get your dagger.”
I clenched my jaw. Did he read minds?
