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I knew without looking that every storm fae in the war camp was dead. At least they had not suffered. Even so, my entire body shook.

“Toryn,” I said, palming the stone.

He was beside me in an instant, his hand on my shoulder. “Don’t worry. I’m here.”

I took a moment to steady myself, but I did not have all the time in the world.

“Get the horses ready.” I brushed off the sadness that pressed on my shoulders, and I stood. “We leave for Albyria immediately.”

Fifteen

Tessa

Aweek passed without a dream. Ruari, the new horned guard, came to my cell every night and forced me to drink the wine. The one time I’d tried to refuse him, he’d ordered another guard to yank open my jaw and pour the liquid down my throat. I’d almost choked on it. Once, I’d tried to fall asleep during the day before they could drug me, but they’d charged in to shake my shoulders and scream into my face.

But the worst part was, I didn’t know what I would find even if I did manage to dream again. Was Kalen alive? Could he have survived that kind of fall? Had the god somehow found a way to kill him? I paced for hours, the worm of worry in my gut growing larger and larger until it was all that was left of me.

The days bled by until two nights before the scheduled wedding, and Oberon came for me. His silken crimson tunic swished as he unlocked the cell door, his horns glimmering as if they’d been recently polished. An orange sash cinched his waist, which highlighted the broadness of his chest that whittled down into a sharp V. If he wasn’t such a bastard, he might be handsome, but his cruelty was so etched into his face that it turned every attractive feature into an ugliness unlike any I’d ever seen.

Without a word, he beckoned me from my bed. Even though I desperately wanted to scowl, I kept my face expressionless and stood. As I walked toward him, Nellie gasped from where she sat cross-legged on her bed, reading.

He towered over me, reeking of lavender and blood.

“I’m throwing a ball tonight to celebrate our impending union,” he said with a wicked smile. “You’ll join me there for an hour at most. The courtiers have barely seen you since your return, and it’s high time I show you off again. A maidservant will be by shortly to…” He waved a hand at my drab brown trousers and cotton tunic. “Make you more presentable for court.”

I nodded, biting the insides of my cheeks. He’d barely let me leave my cell this past week. I was eager to get out and actually do something, even if that meant attending one of his horrible balls. I’d never forget the moment I’d doomed Raven, but I knew better than to make that kind of move now. No more stabbing kings, especially this one, not unless I could be certain the blade would slide into his heart.

Oberon left, and the guards followed him out of the dungeons. Ruari was the only one who remained. As soon as the sound of Oberon’s footsteps faded, he was outside my cell, peering in at me and Nellie.

“Are you going to be on your best behavior tonight?” he asked me with arched eyebrows. “I think we all remember what happened during one of your other balls.”

“You took away my wooden dagger,” I said dryly. “What am I going to stab him with? My fingernail?”

He gave me a tight smile. “Knowing you, you might try. The king will expect it, too.”

“I’m not going to try to stab him.” I smiled right back. “You can smell the truth on me. So now you can run along and tell your father exactly what I’ve said.”

Ruari just laughed. He always did when I spoke rudely to him, and he hadn’t once told his father about my disrespect. It was the only reason I dared to do it. He didn’t seem to care. It almost seemed, at times, that he reveled in it. Sometimes, I even swore I spotted a flicker of defiance on his face when Oberon ordered him around.

I didn’t trust him, though.

“So, is that all?” I asked him.

“Hmm, no.” He folded his arms and lounged against the bars of the cell. “Just thought I’d give you a little tip. You should be on guard tonight. Court is all aflame about this mist business. There might be some…” He flicked his gaze to Nellie. “…unpleasant moments.”

My blood pooled in my gut, as heavy as a hammer of war. “What are you talking about?”

“Just be careful.” He took several steps back from the cell and cast a glance over his shoulder at the closed door. “And if you’ve been conjuring up some kind of rash plan, now might be the time to execute it.”

“I know what you’re trying to do,” I called after him. “It won’t work.”

“Trying to get you to trust me? No, I know that’d never happen. I’d be disappointed if you did.”

“I’ve figured out who you are. You’re his first-born son.”

Ruari froze.

“You want his throne,” I continued. “But you’re part human. Even if you got rid of him, the fae of this kingdom would never accept you as his heir.”