Page 36 of Into The Green

The footsteps in the hall were hard and purposeful. He walked into the room a few seconds later and I felt my stomach clench. It was like seeing a slightly older version of Jasper. Except that maybe life had been hard on him and he had become cold and hard, all the goodness pried from his soul. His head was ducked down, gaze focused on scrubbing a rag against his hands. My gaze followed his and it was good I was seated because if I wasn't, I would have fallen over. Blood. There was dried blood all over his hands.

It didn't take much to realize it was either Doyle's or Jasper's. One of them was getting what was coming to them.

Declan's gaze shot up as he walked, eyes finding me and stopping short, like he hadn't been expecting my presence.

"Darling, we have a... lost girl with us today," she said, voiced steeped in a meaning I wasn't privy to.

"You called me here for this?" he asked, tone angry, exasperated, like he was sick of her.

"Darling, this is Celestine," she said firmly. "Celestine, this is my husband, Declan."

My stomach clenched hard as I raised my gaze to him. Declan's face went from disinterest to disbelief in the passing of a second. His eyes widened and he actually went back a step.

"Why don't you join us for tea, Declan?" Opal asked, pointedly.

"Yes, of course," he recovered as he moved to sit. "Celestine, it is nice to meet you. You are, of course, very welcome here."

"Than..." I started then clamped my mouth closed so hard that my teeth hurt. I was going to thank him. That was another thing Jasper had told me, to never thank a fae. If you thanked them, you owed them. And it suddenly hit me that that was why Opal had given Amy such a hard look before. Amy had thanked me. She owed me now. My gaze cut to Amy who was giving me the tiniest of knowing smiles. "That is most kind of you," I covered, silently thanking Jasper in my head.

Declan's head tilted to the side as if I had whispered Jasper's name aloud. His eyes were knowing when I found them and I remembered that Jasper told me his sensing thoughts and feelings thing was hereditary. He'd gotten it from his father.

Shit.

I was found out after all.

Wonderful.

"You have... good manners," Declan said, his voice dry, like maybe he found my dilemma amusing.

"I had a good teacher," I snapped back, almost glad for the spark of honesty. Inwardly, I was screaming Jasper's name over and over, daring him to call me on it. I conjured an image of Jasper and projected it to his father.

I knew I had succeeded when Declan threw his head back and let out a big, booming laugh. "Yes," he said, giving me a smile that I swore was genuine, as if he enjoyed my defiance. "Well, he won't be teaching you anything else."

"Maybe not," I said, my jaw so tight it hurt. I hadn't realized how angry I had become until I felt the heat flood my entire body. "But then again, maybe he will."

"Trust me," Declan said, sneering.

"Whatever could you have possibly done in your evil little life to make you think you are trustworthy?" I shot back. I knew it was reckless. I knew it was asking for it. But I couldn't help it. I was already so screwed that I couldn't imagine it could get any worse.

"What on Earth are you talking about?" Opal broke in, her tone making it obvious how much she disliked being out of the loop.

"We, my dear," Declan started, his voice completely devoid of emotion as he addressed her, "are discussing our son."

"Jasper?" Opal asked, confused.

"Yes, Jasper," I barked. "Your son. The one you treated so badly that he had to take your daughter and run away with her. The son that your husband has been torturing down in his dungeon."

"Well then," Opal said, smirking. "I guess we can suspend all the pretenses then."

"Yeah, let's," I said, taking my teacup and pouring it back into the pot. "So we can also stop pretending that you're not trying to poison me."

To my side, Declan chuckled. "It was worth a try, wife." His eyes went to me. "So what are we to do with you?"

"We could throw her down in the dungeon as well," Opal piped in. "It would be quite a treat for them to watch each other get tortured, don't you think?"

I felt my stomach drop because I knew that if Declan agreed, that was exactly what would happen to me. But I couldn't let that happen. I needed to escape. I needed to get out and find a way to get back in and save Jasper. I was his only hope.

But I wasn't like Jasper. I wasn't brave. I wasn't strong. I didn't have special skills.