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Klaus shook his head but obeyed. He retrieved one of my potion stores from a cabinet, and under Nadine’s instructions, he carefully measured the proper amount into the cup. I drank, then waited. It would take a few minutes to start taking effect. As I waited, my mind turned back to Reilyn. “She thought I was going to harm the forest.”

“What?”

“Reilyn.”

“That’s her name, is it?” Klaus scoffed. “She refused to tell me.”

“She seems to believe I stole my magic,” I said.

“Why would she believe so?” Klaus asked and said with a sneer. “Wait, another lie fed to her by the Nightshade.”

“Our enemy is certainly weaving long tales of me,” I remarked. The feeling I’d been fighting in the forest was gone now. The beast no longer stirred in my bones. That bloodlust, the joy in killing the creatures as they attacked us. It had been my Dhajork heritage. The forest pulled the magic forward and that ancient part of my lineage with it. That part I never thought I would touch. I pushed the thought from my mind. Dhajork or merely twisting my magic inside of me. It didn’t matter for now.Strength was seeping into my muscles, and I could no longer lay here even if the pain hadn’t deadened.

“We will go to the cell where you put Reilyn,” I said as I got out of bed. I was pleased when my legs were steady.

“But Your Majesty, you need to rest” Nadine fussed.

“I know.” I said as I crossed the room to my wardrobe. “But I have never been one for resting. Did you really think I would stay in bed?”

“You cannot blame us for trying,” Klaus said.

I turned back to my wardrobe. Usually, I put no real thought into what I wore. The royal tailor made everything to fit me perfectly, all in neutral tones that worked well together. I didn’t want to strut around like a peacock the way Thebe had. Now, though, I wish I had something a little softer. The dark colours gave me an imposing air. The colours suited me most of the time. I selected my palest shirt and breeches, which I normally only wore for informal activities with my inner circle of companions. Klaus retrieved my belt and sword, which I buckled about my waist. I felt better, having it at my side. It had proved its worth in the Forest of Shadows. Those wicked creatures would have torn us apart if Reilyn hadn’t teleported us in the nick of time.

“You look… haunted,” Klaus said suddenly. “What happened in the forest?”

I glanced at Nadine, not as a dismissal of her but of my protection. If she found out the extent of what I had been through in the forest of shadows, the sheer drain on my physical health and my magic, she’d not let me out of the room for a week. And while sleeping for so long seemed incredible, duties called.

“Specters attacked us, werewolves-” I told him.

“Specters?” Nadine gasped. Even Klaus looked disturbed.

“We handled the beasts,” I assured her with a tight smile that came out as a grimace.

“Why do I feel like there was more?” Klaus asked.

“There was, but I will tell you when I am ready. Not before.”

“Very well,” Klaus replied. I finished dressing, pulling a double on over my undershirt.

He sighed. “You are still going to the assassin.”

“Yes.”

I couldn’t explain the feelings I had when I was fighting alongside back in the forest. Still, perhaps it would be a start to tell Klaus about the young girl the spectre mimicked to trick Reilyn. I couldn’t bring myself to tell him about her, either. It seemed a betrayal, somehow. I smiled wryly to myself and spurned any kindle of softness I held toward her.

“She is my guide to the Nightshade, to taking them down once and for all,” I said.

Klaus nodded somberly. “You’re right, of course. We don’t have much time… another Fae duchess went missing the night before. That makes three fae nobility and two nymphs' disappearance in the last two months.”

I frowned. “Any clues to whom or what is responsible for the disappearance?”

“Not yet unfortunately.”

I strode for the door. “We must put an end to this soon.”

An Unexpected Cage

Reilyn