The stone crowded all around me. Human men all seemed smaller than the fae. Maybe one could fit comfortably in this cell.
If only I had taken her sooner. She begged me to take her, and I didn’t.
And now I didn’t even know if she knew where I was. They had better not have told her I left without her.
My hand still throbbed from when I slammed it into the stone. We were so close to being gone from this place—so close to being free from the human realm.
I just wanted to live life with her—to give her everything she wanted.
Boots hit the stone and echoed down the hall. I studied their cadence.
“Make it brief.” A guard walked up beside Edward, before turning back, leaving him in the slender hall.
“Tell me it’s not true,” Edward said. “You didn’t violate her.”
“You know I would never.” It mattered little what Estlen thought—but I wouldn’t have my men thinking it too.
“My lord, they will accept no negotiation on your behalf. A letter arrived from King Lioran. I was on my way to bring it to you when I heard the news.” He pressed weathered parchment through the bars.
The royal wax seal lifted at the edge as I slid my thumb beneath the corner. Damp edges around the parchment curled as I unfolded it.
Lord Fyn,
It is with great disappointment that I receive your news.
Ashlyn is welcome to send word to Aelira when she is ready.
The matter is no longer within our jurisdiction. You must disengage.
I expect your prompt return.
Your King
A prompt return wasn’t really an option. Nor was leaving her here. I fought the urge to bang my hands against the metal bars.
Lioran made the only call he could have made as king.
But in that moment, I needed so much more than that—Ashlyn did too.
“We should inform him of the false accusation. Of the imprisonment,” Edward said.
“I believe it will be brief.” I shoved the letter into my tunic pocket. “We needn’t concern him with it.”
“With all due respect, my lord, I think word will reach him, regardless. Do you think Estlen will say nothing of your state? You are the Lord Chancellor.”
I had hoped they would wait. “What is the status of trade?”
“It is as it was, minus part of the ore,” Edward said.
“And the princess? Have you seen her?”
“I saw her in the hall with Prince Soren, my lord. She seemed distraught.”
“But safe?” I needed her to be safe.
“Yes, my lord.”
“Please keep an eye on her if you can. Bring word to me if anything shifts with her or the trade route.” We would wait it out. There was little else he, or any of my men, could do.
