Who would Cos Darragh choose if he did know, she wondered vaguely? She had never been his favorite, nor even liked much at all. Perhaps he wouldn’t even care that his own cousin had taken his daughter captive.
Her cousin snapped his fingers before her eyes. “You really are messed up in the head, aren’t you? The rumors are true.”
She pressed her lips together.
Rolling his eyes, he sat down hard in the chair across from her. “There’s something I need you to tell me.”
“What do you wish to know? How to betray your own family?”
Anger flashed in his eyes.
“We need to know about the Prince of the Shadow Court,” he said in a calm yet dangerous voice.
The Prince of the Shadow Court? How...odd. She had not thought of the exiled royals in ages, nor did she think anyone else had. They were a distant memory in the history of Tir Na Nog. Goneandforgotten. Much like she would be soon, no doubt.
She frowned. “I don’t know anything about the prince of shadows.”
He arched a brow. “Don’t you?”
“Why would I know anything about him? The Shadow Court has been exiled for years. Aren’t they all dead?”
“You didn’t answer my question,” he pointed out.
“I did,” she said through gritted teeth. “I said I don’t know anything about him.”
Why was he being so insistent about this? Clearly, she wouldn’t know a damn thing about an exiled court, nor their prince. She’d read their histories, of course, but she knew nothing about their present nobility.
He leaned back into his chair, considering her. “I find it very curious that you are capable of lying to me.”
Exasperated, she tried to push up from her chair, but the guard slammed her right back down again. Her teeth knocked together from the force. Terror melted her insides.
“I’m not lying to you, Lord Morcant,” she said quietly, her heart thrumming like hummingbird wings.
“One wonders...if you can lie, what else can you do?”
Tears filled her eyes, as hot as lava. “I can’t doanything. Because I’m not lying to you. I don’t know why you’re so convinced I am. I don’t know anything at all about the Shadow Court! Please, just send me back to the tower and leave me alone. You’ve already done enough by capturing me. Stop shouting at me about things I know nothing about!”
He leaned forward, ice in his eyes. Her pleas had clearly landed on deaf ears. “So, the nameLorcandoes not ring a bell?”
She stiffened, her heart in her throat. Slowly, she swallowed around the lump. “Lorcan?”
He nodded, his keen eyes watching her every move. “Lorcan Rothach, the son of High King Bolg Rothach.The Prince.”
Her mind began to race. Lorcan was theprinceof the shadow kingdom? How in the name of the Dagda could that be true? He was Thane’s closest guard, one of his oldest friends. The Selkirkshatedthe shadow fae.
Did her sister know? She couldn’t. Or could she? The two had spent weeks sneaking around the city together, all secretive, hiding from everyone else.
They’d gone in search of Thane together. Her sister was with the prince right now. Did that mean her cousin knew where they were? Did he know whereThanewas? She had so many questions to ask, but she didn’t want to give anything away.
If Lord Morcant, her cousinwho had captured her, wanted to know about Lorcan, then she wasn’t going to tell him a damn thing.
“Why are you asking me about the Shadow Court?” she tried instead. “They haven’t been involved in the war for decades.”
“Never you mind about that. What I want to know is—”
“Are they causing trouble?” she quickly interrupted.
His eyes narrowed. “You aren’t answering my question, Eislyn.”
