Frowning, Phelan glanced up and met my gaze. “What’s the meaning of this? Did you not learn anything at all? My guards said you found the stone and went into the Autumn Court where you overheard the Queen in discussion about the war.”
“I did.” I gave a nod and met his gaze. “The Spring Court plans to invade the Winter Court two mornings from now. After they lose, which they will, Autumn will retaliate against weakened Winter forces.”
He grunted. “That is very unlikely.”
“Well, as unlikely as it is, that’s what I heard,” I said. “The Spring fae are going to war.”
Phelan frowned down at his map before glancing at each of his fellow Hunters in turn. “This is certainly not what we expected to hear, but I cannot deny it’s valuable information. If the Spring Court goes to war with Winter, then the entire landscape of Otherworld could be changed. I think it’s clear what we need to do. We need to inform the Winter Court that they’re coming.”
“What?” Liam strode forward, his hands fisted by his sides. “Now, wait a minute. While I agree that something must be done, I’m not certain provoking the Winter Court is the right course of action.”
“Provoking them?” Phelan laughed. “I daresay it is the Spring Court that is doing the provoking. The Winter Court should know what is coming for them.”
Liam huffed out an irritated sigh and whirled toward Rourke. “A little help here?”
“Phelan, you cannot do this. For once, I find myself agreeing with my Summer friend here,” Rourke said coolly. “Spring fae, notoriously, do not like fighting. I’m sure there must be some sort of explanation for this, which means theycouldbe reasoned with. I think the far better approach would be to go to them directly for a reasoned discussion. If you warn the Winter Court, this situation will only end in more bloodshed.”
“Well, lucky for me, this is my decision and not yours.” Phelan lifted his eyes from the table and flicked his fingers at what I had thought was a dark and empty corner. Instead, it turned out to be where Alastar was stationed, along with a handful of other Hunters. Alastar’s red eyes flicked to mine, and they sparked with furious fire.
“Alastar, please take our guests to their new quarters and lock the doors. They’re not to go in or out unless accompanied. They may join us for dinner, if they wish, but if they make too much trouble for you, then they can enjoy eating in their rooms alone.”
Alastar and his men quickly surrounded us, and I whirled in a circle as they grabbed our arms in their tight grips. Liam’s face was a mask of rage while Rourke’s eyes were nothing but pure ice.
“Phelan,” Rourke said in his quiet, deadly voice. “What’s the meaning of this?”
“Surely you of all people would understand, Rourke?” Phelan asked, crossing his massive arms over his chest. “You’re not one of those fae who is driven by emotion but by logic and calculation.”
“You’re keeping us here so we don’t go warn the Spring fae,” Rourke said, his voice dripping with derision. “But why?”
“No. Think harder.” Phelan shook his head with a laugh. “Your changeling is valuable to me. With both the Autumn and the Spring Courts going rogue, we’re much better off having a Greater Fae who can weave in and out of shadows. We can use her to plan all of our moves in this war. We’ve already lost all our Royals. I will take any advantage I can get.”
“Well, good luck with that,” I said, lifting my chin. “Because you can keep me here all you like, but I will never help you ever again. Not after this. And that is a promise.”
He let out another chuckle. “Why do you think we’re keeping Rourke and Liam as well?” The smile vanished from his face. “You’ll do what we ask, or we’ll kill them.”
* * *
“Something doesn’t smell right.” Liam paced from one end of the small squat room to the other. He’d already walked the same path about a hundred times since they’d thrown us in this little make-shift cell, and I was starting to think he’d wear a hole in the floor.
“Yes, and it’s Phelan.” Rourke leaned against the wall with his arms crossed lazily over his chest, but the clench of his jaw gave the truth about his feelings away. He was pissed. “Taking leadership of the Summers has obviously gone to his head.”
“It’s not just that.” Liam stopped to grab the bedpost and squeeze it tight in his fist. “It’s the way he went about it. It’s almost like hewantsthe Spring Court to attack the Winter fae, but that doesn’t make any sense.”
“Summer fae,” Rourke said with a slight eye roll. “They’re not logical.”
“Well, regardless, I think we should get the hell out of here,” I said, standing and swiping one hand against the other as if I were dusting off the very presence of the Summer fae. “He can go warn the Winter Court all he wants. We’ll just go talk to Spring ourselves.”
Rourke lifted an eyebrow. “And how, pray tell, do you anticipate getting through that locked door?”
Phelan and his Hunters hadn’t taken us down to his dungeons. We were his prisoners, but he seemed inclined to make our stay as comfortable as possible. We weren’tenemiesso much as we were fae he wanted to control. Instead, he’d put us in a section of the hall where two bedrooms were connected together, along with a bathroom that held a claw-footed tub. There were windows in each one, but they’d been blocked off. The doors were locked, and I was guessing there was at least one Hunter stationed outside.
In any other scenario, I might be kind of excited to be trapped inside a couple of bedrooms with who I hoped to be two of my future mates. But right now, my focus was elsewhere. We had a war to stop.
Obviously, we couldn’t shift in or out of this place, but there were plenty of other options when it came to magic. So, I filled Rourke and Liam in on my hastily-constructed plan. At first, they both looked skeptical, but over time, I managed to convince them it would work.
Plus, we didn’t really have any other options.
Now, we just needed to wait for the right time. We needed darkness.
