Page 67 of A Court of Wings and Shadows

He nodded slowly, his eyes not leaving mine.

“But not with my heart,” I finished, firm. “Not again.”

Something in him cracked, but to his credit, he didn’t flinch away this time.

“Then I’ll earn the other,” he said. “No more lies.”

I stared at him for a long beat, and when I spoke again, my voice was lower, cautious. “There’s something else you need to know. We visited the fae prisoner. The one being kept beneath the castle.”

His brows lifted. “You went into the dungeon?”

I gave him a pointed look. “You look surprised.”

He huffed a half-laugh, but it didn’t reach his eyes.

“I knowofhim,” he admitted. “But I’ve never met him. Rumors say he’s been kept there since the Unification. Some say he helped form the first treaties. Others… that he committed atrocities no one’s allowed to speak of.”

“He doesn’t seem dangerous,” I said, thinking back to Alahathrial’s calm presence, his ageless gaze. “He knew my mother.”

That made Remy blink. “Your mother?”

“He claims she was royalty. That she disappeared into the human world before I was born. He said my bloodline is older than his.”

Remy’s lips thinned, his expression shadowed. “If that’s true, it would make you…”

“A threat,” came Zander’s voice behind us.

We both turned as he approached, his cloak dark with sea mist, his presence as commanding as ever despite the faint weariness still visible in his face.

“A threat,” Zander repeated. “Or a weapon. Depends on who’s using you.”

I crossed my arms. “I’m no one’s weapon.”

“I know,” he said softly, stepping closer. “But someone wants you to be.”

Chapter

Fifteen

The Rider’s Quarters were quieter than I expected, but not peaceful.

Sleep had been hard to come by, wrapped in stiff sheets and thicker tension. With both Zander and Remy in the same room, every breath felt like it echoed. I’d chosen to keep my distance, spending the evening tucked between Riven, Cordelle, and Naia, their quiet presence a balm against the storm cloud lingering in my chest.

Jax and Ferrula had gone to explore the town earlier, returning just before nightfall, laughter still clinging to their clothes like perfume. But even their ease hadn’t softened the tension in the room.

I’d felt Remy’s gaze on me.Always.

He didn’t speak much, not to me, not to the others. That was something that had never changed about him. He’d always felt… separate. Even when he held me close, even when he whispered promises I believed back then, he’d felt like a singular creature. A shadow standing in sunlight.

Now I understood why.

He hadn’t belonged to anyone but the mission. Maybe he still didn’t.

Across the room, Zander sat with Tae, the two of them hunched over a roughly drawn map sketched on old parchment. Their voices were low but firm, discussing Horde formations and flanking tactics like it was second nature. Soldiers. Strategists. Leaders.

But my eyes strayed again to Remy, perched by the window, arms crossed, back straight, and expression unreadable as he stared at me.

Always apart.