“Good.” She folded her arms. “Do you know where she is?”
His eyes flicked to Lord Dagen, who hovered beside her and Eurig. She frowned at the lord.
“Unfortunately, he won’t let me speak to you alone,” she said.
“I’m not going to tell you where Bree is as long as that bastard is within earshot.”
“Fair. But that does mean you know where she is?” she asked hopefully.
He inclined his head.
“And she’s safe?”
A muscle in his jaw ticked. “Not entirely.”
Alarm flashed through her. Eurig tensed. Even Dagen shifted on his feet.
“What do you mean? What’s happened?”
Taveon stared hard at Dagen. The lord stared right back. Tension pounded in Norah’s skull. Honestly. Did they have to have this weird stand-off right now, when Bree had clearly run into some kind of trouble?
“Taveon,” Eurig said, edging closer to the bars. “What can you tell me?”
The dark fae stared down his friend. After a moment, he nodded and said, “Remember when we were boys, and we decided to sail the world? We even tried. And then we ended up crashing our boat in a storm. Remember that?”
Eurig’s eyes went wide, and a kernel of hope popped in Norah’s chest. He knew. She could tell by the look on his face. But then the frown came, the concern that etched lines around his eyes, and that newfound hope whispered away like smoke in the wind.
Eurig turned to Norah and nodded. “I know where she is. Buckle up, Queen. We have a big problem on our hands. How much magic do you have, exactly?”
Her heart pounded. It was more than she’d had before, but would it be enough?
16
BREE
Lord Worm pierced Rafe’s skin with the sharp side of his blade. Bree’s heart lurched forward like a horse desperately trying to free its hooves from squelching mud. Desperation and horror clawed at her throat, emitting as a strained hiss. They’d overstayed their welcome, and she’d heard the threat. The Worm would kill them both.
“I asked,” the Worm said, sneering at her, “why the hell are you still here?”
She held up her hands, pleading with him with her eyes. “I’m sorry. We lost track of time. It’s just so beautiful in here, and you have so many books.”
His dark eyes moved to the book she clutched to her chest. Curiosity flickered, but it was quickly replaced by rage. “I allow visitors to look. Not touch.”
“Oh.”
He stared her down. Slowly, she lowered the book to the shelf just behind her, though her fingers itched to snatch it back.
“Well, thank you for letting us look around,” she tried, wringing her hands. “We’ll just be going now. Apologies for staying a tad too long.”
He flashed his teeth, revealing a mouth full of sharpened fangs. Terror thrummed the vein in Bree’s neck, and a warning bell clanged in the back of her head. The Worm’s piercing eyes bored into her skull, melting her bones. And then something slammed into the back of her head.
Darkness dragged her under.
* * *
An elbow jammed into her side, and then something soft fluttered against her chin.
“Bree, Bree,” Rafe whispered into her ear.
