Page 52 of Cursed Evermore

They all nodded. Even Arielle.

“I need you guys to cooperate, and I don’t think I have to remind you to keep your silence.No onemust learn of my plans. Once we get back to Galaythia we need to be extra careful. Dreynthor will have his spies watching us.”

They bowed their heads again, understanding. They all knew how I felt about my uncle.

“What if the prisoner starts asking questions?” Bastian set his shoulders back and glanced toward the door as if Elariya stood on the other side.

“Let me deal with that. I’ll decide what she needs to know.”

“What will you tell your uncle?” Arielle shifted in her seat. “It’s sad to think he won’t be happy you found a lead to the ring.”

Poor girl. She still had the innocence of youth that made you see the good in others even when there was none. She even tried to see the good in me. She found it hard to think of Dreynthor as a power-hungry devil because he’d been kind to her when she was little, but she’d seen his true face for herself on multiple occasions.

“I’ll speak to him when the time is right.” I glanced at Alaric, who was already nodding his agreement. “For now, we keep everything quiet and pray to the Gods we don’t run into more obstacles. It was my father’s wish to make Galaythia a kingdom that thrived. One where our legacy would endure and our people would flourish. That’s my mission. It starts with fixing what’s broken.”

An air of reverence settled between us. I’d spoken true of my father and they felt it. A moment of silence passed, then Arielle turned toward me once more.

“My Lord, may I speak freely?” Her voice was soft and careful, as if she didn’t want to disturb the quiet reverence that clung to the air.

“Haven’t you already been speakingfreely?” I quirked a hard brow.

Her delicate jaw clenched. “Perhaps, but I still feel this could have been handled differently. Elariya is a mage.”

“Half.”

“It doesn’t matter,Wolfe.” Only Arielle could switch between calling me 'my Lord' and 'Wolfe' with the same dismissive tone, like neither carried any weight with her. She was also the only person I’d allow to get away with it. “Had she been raised in the Ravenwood Realm or any of the other mage realms, she wouldn’t have been treated any differently. I implore you to remember that. Mages don’t just go rogue for no reason. Until we know what happened you should give her the benefit of the doubt. Just because the evidence points to her doesn’t mean she’s guilty.”

I leaned forward and steepled my fingers, wondering how in the fucking hells she could think like this when she knew what I’d endured. “Give her the benefit of the doubt? Really, Arielle?”

“Yes.” Her breathing stilled and a cautious look washed over her face. “I also may have an idea of how you could get information from her sooner without the use of stronger magic.”

Bastian’s back became ramrod straight, his nostrils flared, and the thunderous expression on his face told me he already knew what she was going to suggest.

“No,” his voice rumbled before either of us could speak. “It’s too fucking dangerous.”

Arielle turned to him. “I’ll be fine.”

“How do you know you’ll be fine?”

“I don’t. But I know you’ll rescue me if I’m not.” The hint of a blush swept over her pale skin. Arielle may have been a masterof disguises, but she couldn’t hide her feelings for Bastian. He couldn’t hide his either, though he tried.

Something flickered in Bastian's eyes before he forced the hardness back into his stare. We all noticed he didn't argue further. He didn't need to. At the first sign of trouble we knew he'd move heaven and earth to get to her.

“That doesn’t mean you are safe,” he griped.

“What exactly are you suggesting, Arielle?” I cut in.

“Dream walking.”

“You can’t dream walk without using powerful magic.” Dream walking was also incredibly unstable. My wraith powers prevented me from doing it because you needed to be able to manipulate light.

“I can, by using the ghost roads.”

Oh fuck.Now I knew why Bastian was against it.

The ghost roads were ancient ethereal channels, veins of shadow and spirit that connected the dead to the dreamscape. They weren’t meant for the living.

“No.” I shook my head and glared back at her. “Your spirit would need to leave your body for that to work.”