Page 71

“There’s more to it, things you need to know…”

Tess held his stare as she chewed thoughtfully.

“What Nik told you about the Stormshades growing too powerful…that part was true. The part that wasn’t true was that the Stormshades were abusing their magic. Yes, they are inherently more powerful. But it was the Nightshades that were jealous of the Stormshades power. They wanted to be the strongest witches in the realm. They wanted to eliminate the Stormshades—at all costs. It was the greed and jealousy of the Nightshades that started this decades-old war between our kind to begin with.”

Tess and I sat quietly and listened, and when we didn’t interrupt Puck continued.

“The Dark KinghatedStormshades and wanted to destroy them entirely. Donika was a captain in his army and agreed with him, backing his decisions fully. But it turns out the Dark King had a Stormshade lover, someone who had deceived him. He didn’t know her true nature, not until it was too late. But that didn’t stop Donika from exposing the king. Donikausedthis information for her own gain and she quickly grew her own following. Those that would support her in overthrowing him. There was a battle at Siraleth when the city fell. Most of the Stormshades were slaughtered, those that weren’t fled to the human realm and were never heard from again. Donika killed the Dark King in her quest for power. They were on thesame side. She is evil and selfish, and I abhor her actions. I cannot support that. I do not support her.”

“You aren’t on her side?” I finally spoke.

“No. I do not support Donika or her quest to murder anyone who could be more powerful than her or act as a threat to her position. At this point, nobody could become more powerful than her anyway. She is so deep in dark magic it has completely consumed her,” he answered. “She does not know that I am against her, otherwise I wouldn’t still have my head.”

“And Nik?” I raised my chin and met his eyes through the iron bars.

“It’s…complicated.”

“Hardly,” I scoffed, returning to my stale bread.

“He did notwantto bring you here. Hewasn’tbringing you here. He told you to run. As soon as he saw Donika’s men…he told you to run. Fletcher has been up our asses since Nik has been putting this off, over and over. He was supposed to return to Akra with youweeksago,” Puck said.

“And?” I pushed, “Is that supposed to make me feel any better? That he…hesitated to turn me over? To someone who would see me dead?”

“Things…changed,” he replied with a heavy sigh.

“It doesn’t appear that way to me, seeing as only about ten minutes ago he had his tongue shoved down the Shadow Queen’s throat. He is herlover, it is clear where his allegiance lies.”

“Appearances.” Puck ran a hand through his mess of curls with a heavy sigh. “If he were to doanythingbut agree with Donika and beg for her forgiveness for taking so long to bring you here, he would be right down here awaiting execution with the two of you. He is trying to stay alive, so he can figure out a way out of this.”

“Execution?” Tess coughed, setting the tray down beside her.

“I’m not going to let that happen.” There was steel in his voice as he clenched his jaw. “Donika has brought enough strife to this realm, and it needs to end. I am going to figure out a way to get you two out of here.”

“Would have been a hell of a lot easier if y’all hadn’t brought us here in the first place,” Tess pointed out as she dipped some of the bread into the questionable stew. She turned to me as she chewed thoughtfully. “It’s not pancakes, but it will do.”

“Is the grimoire hidden?” Puck asked.

I paused before answering. Would he try to retrieve it himself, if he knew where it was? Was this only an act, to gain our trust and get the grimoire for Donika?

“As hidden as it can be…I hadn’t realized the Queen of Istmere was after it,” I replied drily. “But if she won’t stop until she has it…my family isn’t safe.”

“It needs to stay hidden.” He nodded to himself. “As long as we get you out of here and the grimoire stays out of her reach, we can still fix this.”

“There’s no fixing this,” I replied coldly. His eyes met mine once again in the dark, and his expression softened at what he found there.

“Eat. Rest. I will be back with a plan. In the meantime, don’t harass the guards. Don’t draw attention to yourselves. Nik has her plenty busy right now, but her attention can turn back to you at any moment. I need to come up with a plan before it’s too late.”

“I’m sure he does have herplenty busy,” I replied frostily.

Puck met my cold stare with one of his own. “She tires of her play-things easily.”

“How unfortunate.”

How long did we have before she tired of keeping us prisoner in the Stormvault? Until she tortured the location of the grimoire out of us? Would she hurt our families to get it? And how much had Nik and Puck told her about us? One thing was for certain…they could no longer be trusted. Whatever Puck was saying now, he still betrayed me. Betrayed us. He was Nik’s closest friend. If he was on our side, he would have to prove it.

“I’ll be back,” Puck said as he stood, brushing the dust off his dark pants. “Remember what I said.” He gave me a stern look before he turned to Tess and his eyes softened. Maybe he did have feelings for her, and he only got caught up in Nik’s schemes. It appeared that Donika was after me and the grimoire, Tess only happened to be caught in the crosshairs. She wasn’t a Stormshade, Donika had no reason to go after her. Talk about terrible timing.

Puck gave Tess one last glance before disappearing down the corridor and leaving through the heavy iron door.