Page 28 of The Dead Queen

Hunter holds up his fist, but hesitates again.

My father’s voice is deceptively upbeat. “I have to say, Hunter. I’m not enjoying this game we’re playing where I have to ask you to do everything twice.”

This is another one of my father’s notorious, sadistic tests. He wants to see how far Hunter’s loyalty will go. How far he can push him into obedience. My father watches me for a reaction.

Hunter punches the Wolf in the stomach. The Wolf doubles over as much as he can with both of his arms restrained.

“Let’s try this again,” Father says. “Who sent you?”

The Wolf coughs, but doesn’t speak.

Father gestures for Hunter to hit him again. “Are you an assassin?”

Still, nothing. Father nods for Hunter to continue. The next punch lands on the Wolf’s jaw. The clank of Hunter’s metal gauntlets makes me wince.

“Did you plant something in my rooms?” Father asks.

The Wolf spits a wad of blood toward my father’s expensive shoes.

“Hm.” Father looks to Hunter.

Hunter punches him on the chin again, this time breaking the skin along his jawline.

“Again,” Father says.

A third punch makes the Wolf yelp in pain.

“Again.”

Punch.

“Again.”

This one lands on the Wolf’s stomach with a dull thud. He groans, but doesn’t say a word.

My stomach churns, bile rising in my throat. I’m afraid I’ll vomit right here on the damp stone floor. The guilt is overwhelming. This is my fault. I’m the reason he was discovered in Father’s rooms. I’m the reason he’s healed, fueling Father’s fury. I’m the one Father truly wants to break with this display of cruelty.

“We can do this all night, if we have to,” Father says. The light above him casts deep shadows across his face. “I will stop at nothing to ensure the safety of my kingdom.”

Another punch. Then another. I involuntarily whimper when I hear a sickening crunch as Hunter breaks the Wolf’s nose. Fresh blood spatters onto the floor.

Father steps right up into the Wolf’s face, so close their noses almost touch. “Why was my daughter there with you?”

Blood drains from my face. The room seems to spin, and I might pass out.

Hunter looks toward me, his brown eyes wide, pleading, but I’m not sure for what. Mercy? Understanding? Forgiveness?

I don’t know the Wolf. But I do know what he is. The question burns in my mind: Why won’t he use his power to defend himself? Is it to keep his identity a secret? He could kill us all with nothing more than his bare hands. He could call upon his own shadow power and inflict pain on everyone in this room. But he doesn’t.

Another thing I can’t seem to work out is why he trusts me, the Fox King’s daughter, to keep that secret for him. I’m supposed to be his mortal enemy. Why does he assume I won’t tell?

Then it hits me. The Wolf knows I won’t tell his secret because he has one about me as well. He knows I didn’t just follow an intruder into my father’s rooms. He knows I was looking for answers. That I want them so badly, I broke into my father’s chamber through a hidden entrance, during the middle of my engagement party. I have secrets too. And the Wolf knows it.

For now, both are safe. So long as neither of us breaks. But that’s the thing about secrets, somebody always slips, eventually.

The Wolf looks toward me, grimacing through blood-smeared teeth. Those pale, full moon eyes full of pain … and determination. He will not talk. Not even if it means his life is forfeited.

Father rushes forward, grabbing him by the neck. They stare into each other’s eyes, each daring the other to act first. My father releases him and stomps past me, out of the cell.