These Urisks seemed to favor caves, much like those up north. Reyna shifted on hard floor, grumbling to herself. Her hands were cinched behind her, looped together in iron chains. Her skin burned, and she swore she could hear the sizzle of burnt flesh. Wingallock and Glencora’s familiar sat beside them, wide awake and blinking happily. At least the Urisks hadn’t attacked their owls.
“This isn’t ideal,” Glencora muttered from beside her. “Where the hell are the others.”
“Across the bloody pit.”
Glencora leaned past Reyna to see what she meant. They were on a tall slender ledge that punched up from the distant floor of the cave. It was only wide enough for the two of them. A rickety bridge spanned the distance to a ledge that was cut into the side of the cave. There were several other platforms dotted throughout the cavern. Thane and the others were bound together on one, their bodies slumped together. None of them appeared to have awoken yet, but Reyna had been alert for hours.
“I don’t suppose you have any bright ideas,” Glencora said.
“Not really. My powers have dimmed. If you look around, it seems this cave is lined in bloody iron.”
Glencora tipped back her head, frowning. “They did that on purpose.”
“Probably.” Reyna shifted sideways again, twisting her hands together, trying to escape her bonds. The iron bit into her, stinging. “Urisks aren’t too fond of fae. Probably because we haven’t been very kind to them.”
“This isn’t really the answer though, is it?” Glencora rattled her chains. “What’s the point of capturing us? If they don’t want us around, they should just leave us alone.”
“Maybe we stepped onto their territory.”
Glencora scoffed. “Ulaid Molt wouldn’t have given them territory. Even I know that, and I never had to face him.”
“True,” Reyna said. “Then, I have no idea why they captured us, but it scarcely matters. We need to get out of here fast. I don’t know how long we’ve been unconscious. It’s too dark in here to tell. A day, maybe? We don’t have any more time to waste.”
“Father will attack soon,” Glencora said grimly. “And then none of this will matter anymore.”
“He’ll spill Lorcan’s blood alright, but not in the way we want.”
Glencora was silent for a moment before she cleared her throat. “Just to be clear, dear sister…whatisthe way we want to spill his blood?”
“As little as possible.” She twisted toward Glencora, her brows pinched. “None of this is Lorcan’s fault. He killed Molt for the good of Tir Na Nog. It’s not right for him to suffer when he only wanted to save us all. So, now it’s our turn to save him.”
Glencora pressed her lips together. “I hope you’re right, Reyna.”
Her stomach tumbled. “Of course I’m right. Now help me figure out a way to get out of these iron chains or we’re going to have far worse things to worry about.”
Maybe the Urisks wanted to eat them. She’d never heard of them doing such a thing, but things changed, especially when people got hungry. If Molt had done little for them over the years, starvation could have taken hold. To them, fae might be a bounty that would last days.
Reyna didn’t plan to stick around long enough to find out. She spun her wrist and snatched the edge of the chain between her thumb and forefinger, wincing against the new blast of pain.
“Stop,” Glencora hissed.
Her fingers stilled. The bridge behind them creaked, and the sound echoed against the looming cavern walls. Heart racing, she kept her gaze locked on the walls ahead of her instead of giving in to her desire to glance behind. Instead, she listened. Hooves clomped on wood. Breath burst from lungs. A wheezing sound joined the orchestra.
The Urisk reached the edge of the bridge and stomped onto the platform where he’d trapped them. When the enemy spoke, his voice whistled from his lungs like the wind. “You should still be asleep.”
“Unfortunately for you, we’re not,” Reyna snapped. “And if you don’t let us go, I’m going to start screaming at the top of the lungs. I won’t stop either. I’ll go on for hours. I know how much you Urisks hate loud noises.”
He hissed, stepping in front of her. The sight of him almost caught her off guard. He wore a gleaming tunic spun from hoarfrost silk that had been dyed gold. The cuffs were embroidered with crimson diamonds, and a smooth leather belt cinched his waist. The bottom half of him was naked but for the thick grey fur that sprouted from his hide-like skin.
“That’s a very fine tunic you have there,” Reyna said. “Which is very interesting considering Urisks don’t tend to like trading with fae.”
“Fae like you,” he said with a snort. “Snobby fae who look down upon us Urisks.”
“I don’t look down on you.”
“Don’t you? You’re an ice fae. I know what you lot did to ours. Ran them out of them caves and away from their ice glass. It’s not right what you did, you know. That was their home. And where have they gone now? They’re likely freezing in those mountains you sent them to. Urisks aren’t like you. We feel the cold. The ice can freeze our bones.”
“Well, I’m sorry about that. Truly. That doesn’t make capturing us okay.”
