“Ah.” His smile grew wide. “I can see now that you have finally accepted the truth. I am not your Lugh. I never will be again. I have trapped you here todestroyyou, not to save yourlife.”
I wanted nothing more than to believe he didn’t mean that, but there was no doubt in his eyes or in his words. With my lips pressed firmly together, I watched him push away from the bars and head to thestairs.
“Good night, Moira.” He threw the words over his shoulder. “Don’t even think about escaping. I have wraiths stationed all around the premises. The second you move a muscle, I’ll have them attack you once again. And next time, I won’t bother to keep youalive.”
Lugh laughed and marched up the stairs. He pushed open the door and slammed it hard behind him, leaving me in totaldarkness.
With a sigh, I stumbled back and slumped against the dirt-stained wall. Tears filled my eyes and splashed down my cheeks. It was allover.
I’dlost.
I’d lost Lugh. I’d lost the fight against the wraiths. I’d lost any hope I ever had of making it back to the mortal realmalive.
I’d lost itall.
Everything.
* * *
Hours went by.Or maybe days. It was impossible to keep track in the terrible darkness. My eyes had begun to adjust, but there was still only so much that I could see. The bars were thick and spaced only far enough apart for my fingers to slip through them. To my right sat an empty cell where a blanket had been spread across the dirt-packed ground. Someone had once been kept there. I didn’t want to think about where they werenow.
Lugh came and went with surprising frequency. He brought me food, along with a bucket of crisp mineral water. Several times, I asked for a status about the Queen. He neveranswered.
For all I knew, he’d already drawn her here, and she wasdead.
But that wouldn’t explain why he still kept mealive.
As long as I was still breathing, there was a chance that humanity would survive the plague of nightmare wraiths...not that I would ever get out of this placealive.
At the end of the day—maybe, I couldn’t be certain—Lugh brought down a third meal. He shuffled to a stop outside my cell door, eyeing me warily. Even though I hadn’t made a single move to escape, he clearly didn’t trust that I didn’t plan on pullingsomething.
“Back up to the wall,” he ordered with a bored tone to his voice. “Make a move for the door, and I’ll kill you on thespot.”
I obeyed, lips pressed tightlytogether.
As soon as my back hit stone, Lugh swung open the cell door, slid the tray across the floor, and then slammed the bars shut. It was locked before I could even take another breath. I glanced down at the meal. You’d think prisoners would get gruel, right? Like some kind of disgusting porridge that was lukewarm. Instead, Lugh had brought me a veritable feast. Roast chicken, a pile of mashed potatoes slathered in butter, and some steamed vegetables. He’d even put a chunk of black pudding on the side, a dish that had become a favourite of mine at nightly feasts in Scotland. My stomach grumbled inresponse.
He started to walk away, but I called out after him. “Any news on theMorrigan?”
“That is none of your concern,” he snapped. “Eat yourdinner.”
Ah, so itwasthe end of the day. That was the first real tidbit of knowledge that I could mentally log. It didn’t really tell me much, but I would take anything I could get. Nighttime meant shadows, which meant that Wraith Lugh was now at his strongest. In the morning, he’d be weaker. If the Queen wanted to attack, I hoped she’d wait untilthen.
Ignoring the food, I strode up to the bars and peered at his retreating back. “Can I ask yousomething?”
“You can,” he said, pausing, but not turning to face me. “But it is unlikely I willanswer.”
“Are all the wraiths likeyou?”
He craned his head, glancing over his shoulder. In the dark, I swore I could still see the hooded black of his eyes. “In whatway?”
“You seem fairly intelligent. You have a strategic plan to take the world,” I said. “The other wraiths seem sort of...mindless.”
“They’re hungry. The fear we need provides us with strength,” he said in a gruff voice. “And they are not the king of the wraiths. Iam.”
I frowned out at him. “If they’re hungry, why haven’t you let them feedagain?”
I didn’t really want to give him any ideas, but any information I could weasel out of him would be information I could use later on. When I escaped. I was determined to get the hell out of here, even if it did seem impossible now. Sure, I didn’t have a plan, but I had to start somewhere. First step: get the wraith king totalk.
