The thought had never occurred to me, and that was slightly disturbing, considering I’d only been staying with Axel for a week. Is that all it took for me to forget where I came from?
Axel saved me from any further introspection, guiding us over the road.
“Wow.” Gabriel stared at the impressive facade of the high court palace directly in front of us. “I never came here last time.”
It shimmered in the sunlight, white like the other buildings we’d passed but three times as wide and four stories high. Vines the colour of Ver’ath trees climbed the walls on the ground floor, the splash of dark green stark against the white. Low-hanging clouds clung to the tallest turrets, magic pulsing around it like the whole building was alive. Even now, with all the times I’d seen it, the sight never failed to impress me.
I shivered at the brush of magic as we entered. The building was heavily warded, unsurprising considering the members of the Fae High Court met here on a regular basis. Even Gabriel reacted this time, though I wasn’t sure he knew why.
“It’s the protection magic,” I whispered.
“Like a cold tickle on the back of my neck?” he asked, and I nodded. Maybe his magic was buried deep and just needed a little coaxing to come to the surface.
Like Nick’s.
I suppressed a smile. I doubted Rys would be happy if I tried the same tactics with Gabriel.
Lady Sarhin herself met us in the foyer, dressed in the ceremonial robes of the high court. “Gabriel.” She inclined her head. “It’s lovely to see you back in our realm.”
Gabriel smiled. “It’s a beautiful place. I’d forgotten.”
“Maybe you won’t leave it so long between visits next time?”
“Definitely not.”
“Have you decided whether to join us for Blake Tehlin’s interview?”
Gabriel straightened. “I have. And while I would love to be present, I don’t want to be put in the position of having to keep anything from Rys.”
“Of course. Would you like to wait in our offices, or do you have other plans?”
I got the feeling Lady Sarhin knew exactly what Gabriel’s plans were.
“I thought I’d visit my mother,” Gabriel said, and she smiled at him.
“I think she’ll like that very much. I’ll get someone to escort you and we will meet back here later. The rest of the council would like an update on the investigation.”
Gabriel nodded.
As soon as he’d left with a member of Lady Sarhin’s staff, she turned to Axel and me. “Blake Tehlin is waiting in my private offices.” Without waiting for us to say anything, she set off across the foyer, Axel and I falling into step behind her.
Blake Tehlin had unwittingly been usedas a mule to collect Blue Alhuirn from the Fae Realm and take it back through the gateway.
He had no memory of any of it.
The only explanation for it was the use of magic. More than likely a memory altering spell and some form of mind control. Both a gross invasion of privacy that made me angry on his behalf. He had nothing to add to what I already knew of his involvement, so now it was down to Axel.
Lady Sarhin, Axel, and I were the only ones in the room with Blake.
She leant on a desk, arms folded, looking at odds with the robes she had on. “Do you understand what we’re going to do now?”
Blake nodded, looking resigned. “You’re going to try and read my mind.”
Axel stepped forward and crouched down in front of him. “I’m going to try and see your memories from those weeks. It’s not as easy as it sounds, though.”
Blake’s eyes narrowed. “What are you going to do to me?”
“Nothing. But what I need you to do is think about what you were doing in the weeks leading up to when you were attacked.”
