Page 5

“I cannot help but feel you are leading me to a trap,” Callan said cautiously while they descended some stairs.

“I am leading you nowhere,” she answered. “I am following you.”

They were on the main floor of the palace now, and a bridge was ahead. There was a bridge on every level of the palace. They were made of some sort of glass from what he could gather, but he hadn’t been able to study them further as he had never been allowed onto one other than when they were escorted to their quarters the first night.

The guard at the bridge straightened and saluted, but Eliza strode right past him.Callan hesitated beside the guard, who didn’t so much as acknowledge them.

“You do know this is actually a trap, right?” Sloan muttered from behind him.

“Not if she is going to let us cross this blasted bridge,” Callan retorted.

She had paused halfway across the bridge, looking over her shoulder to see if they were following. “Well, he certainly has no information for you,” Eliza said, nodding to the guard.

So Callan took a step. They crossed the entire bridge without incident, and he held in his sigh of relief. But now that they were on the other side, he paused, unsure of which way to go.

“Lead the way,” she said, gesturing with her hand again.

“I… This was a trick all along,” Callan sputtered, glaring at her.

“I have not deceived you at all,” she retorted, crossing her arms. “Did I not say you could try to go see her? Pick a direction.”

“Fine,” he said through clenched teeth and started forward. She fell into step beside him once more. They had climbed a set of stairs and started down a hallway when a male stepped from smoke and ashes before them. Rayner. This one was Rayner. He would never forget the terrifying male with eyes that swirled like smoke.

“How did they get here?” he asked in that dangerously quiet voice of his.

“They crossed the bridge,” Eliza said with a smirk.

“I can see this,” Rayner replied, his swirling eyes sliding to her. “Why were they not stopped?”

“I suppose because I was with them,” she answered with a shrug.

“Look, I am just trying to inquire about Scarlett,” Callan said, trying to maintain politeness and keep the agitation from his voice.

“Who?” came a male voice from behind him.

“Shit,” Sloan muttered. “Where do they keep coming from?”

The other male who had escorted them from what he assumed was Sorin’s chambers that day was now standing at the top of the stairs they had just climbed. He had golden eyes that were nearly identical to Sorin's.

“Scarlett Monrhoe,” Callan said with a sigh. When the male gave him the same quizzical look, he added, “The woman that came here with Sorin.”

“What are they doing here, Eliza?” the male asked, ignoring him now and looking at the female.

“They crossed the bridge,” she answered again.

“Then they should cross it back to the other side,” he said pointedly to them.

“No,” Callan ground out. “Not until I am told how she is faring.”

The three Fae exchanged a look.

“I do not think it is any of your concern,” the male said. What had his name been again?

“It most certainly is my concern. She is my…” he trailed off. What was she?

A prince holds her heart.Nuri’s words from that day in the tavern clanged through him. He had arrogantly thought she’d meant him, but then he’d learned that Sorin was actually a prince.TheFire Prince.

But she had been his once, hadn’t she? His Wraith of Shadows. Did shadows still trail her wherever she went? Did they still swarm her and flit around her?