Page 27

TRISTAN

As I navigate the corridors of the castle, I contemplate the true cause of Warden Xall and the soldiers’ deaths.

A fae herbalist found no evidence of poison, and thus far, the servants are remaining silent.

Before my arrival in Sorsston just a few hours ago, torture wasn’t working to free their tongues, and I haven’t ordered them to endure any further agony under questioning yet.

Instead, I recently ordered all the guards, soldiers, and highborn fae out of the dungeon.

If it weren’t for Amelia, would I have personally tortured every servant from the castle upon my arrival in Sorsston?

Gods, I probably would have.

Months ago, before I’d stared into her eyes in the banquet hall of the Sorsston castle, I likely would’ve committed the most violent acts against the servants as I questioned them. But at present, I can’t fathom it.

If the pretty little human learned I tormented people she once considered friends, I doubt she would ever forgive me.

I growl as I descend the steps to the dungeon. The servants are being held in several cramped cells, though they’re being given plenty of food and water.

I summon an invisibility cloak before I reach the bottom of the steps, then I silently flash into the area where the cells are located.

I lean against the damp stone wall and watch the servants, most of whom are seated on the floor.

Some are huddled under thin, threadbare blankets.

This far beneath the castle, there are no windows, but the faelights that were placed along the walls cover them in an orange glow, making the cells well-lit.

There’s nowhere the prisoners might hide, no shadows in which they can cower.

Most of the servants are sitting quietly or trying to sleep, but a few are engaged in conversation. As I continue leaning against the wall, I listen in. It’s a tactic that I hope will reveal the truth about what happened to Warden Xall and the soldiers. Eventually.

Much to my dismay, when I arrived in Sorsston, I learned none of the highborn fae I sent ahead had thought to spy on the prisoners and eavesdrop on their conversations.

It’s a mistake I doubt any of my commanders will make again, particularly since I threatened to tell King Haratt of their failures.

No one wants to find themselves on the bad side of the Summer Court king, and as a result, I suspect my commanders’ performance will improve significantly in the coming months.

To my surprise, the servants keep asking one another why they’re all imprisoned.

Some speculate that Warden Xall and the soldiers aren’t really dead, and they believe my people are just having fun with them ‘in the dark, perverse way fae like to have fun.’ Eventually, they’ll be released and go back to serving the fae in the castle.

Still, others insist they’re being held captive because my people are planning to serve their hearts on platters soon.

Ah, that millennia old rumor that fae like to eat human hearts. Mentions of it usually make me laugh, but I can’t find much humor in it now.

I stand against the wall and listen to the servants for hours, but their conversations give me nothing to go on.

I’m starting to believe there’s another force at work here.

What happened to the servants that always causes them to freeze up and fall silent whenever they’re glamoured and questioned about the fae deaths that occurred in the castle?

It doesn’t make sense, but I’m determined to get to the bottom of it, and I’m determined to make the responsible party pay tenfold. No one kills a fae warden and nearly two dozen fae soldiers and gets away with it.

Justice will be served. Eventually.

Once I find the fucking culprit.

A dark thought strikes me. What if another highborn fae is behind the attack on Warden Xall and the soldiers?

It’s possible a highborn fae glamoured the servants not to speak about what happened, though the hypothetical highborn fae would have to possess powers greater than mine, as even my truth glamours haven’t worked on the servants.

I search my mind for a reason someone, particularly a highborn fae, might want Warden Xall dead.

A reason someone might want to kill the soldiers occupying the Sorsston castle.

The other soldiers in Sorsston weren’t killed, and enough of them remained to keep control of the human city until our highborn reinforcements could arrive.

Despite my urgency to solve the issue, my thoughts soon stray to Amelia.

My sweet human. I regret that there’s tension between us.

I know she’s upset about the soldiers guarding the tent.

She’s not certain she would actually attempt escape, but she wants the option.

She doesn’t believe we might find happiness together.

I rake a hand through my hair. After teaching her how to bring herself to pleasure, I was so certain we were about to embark upon a new beginning in our relationship.

Relationship . I almost scoff at my word choice.

Though I’ve treated her with gentleness, she is my war prize. I suppose what we have couldn’t be called a relationship, but gods, how I wish it could. I want nothing more than for her to belong to me by choice .

I want her to choose me. Forever.

Just as I want to choose her.

Knowing I won’t be able to restrain the growl that’s building in my throat, I flash out of the dungeon and reappear on the steps that lead to the main level of the castle.

After removing my invisibility shield, I stomp up the steps as I finally release the growl, my mood growing darker by the second.

I don’t like that I’m here in Sorsston. When I find the offender behind the attack, they will suffer until they plead for the mercy of death, and even then, I won’t kill them.

I’ll prolong their misery until their body finally gives out.

Maybe I’ll heal them in between torture sessions just so I can keep starting over with a blank canvas.

It's the middle of the night when I emerge from the castle. I summon my wings in a flash of bright light, then I bolt skyward.