Page 162 of Gilded

“Serilda!” Anna cried. She started to run off the dais, but was blocked by the king’s crossbow.

She whimpered and fell back, clutching at Fricz.

“How miraculous,” the Erlking drawled. “You’ve returned from the dead. Though looking rather unkempt. Why, one might think you spent the night dead by the side of a river.”

Hatred burbled like a sulfur spring inside of her. “Why would you take them? Why would you do this?”

He shrugged mildly. “I think you know the answer to that.” His fingers drummed against the crossbow handle. “I told you to stay close. To be present in Adalheid when I summoned you. Imagine my disappointment to find you were not in Adalheid. I was forced to search for you yet again—but no one was home at the mill in Märchenfeld.” His eyes crystallized. “How do you think that makes me feel, Lady Serilda? That you could not be bothered to bid farewell. That you would ratherdiethan assist me with one simple favor.” A haughty smile touched his dark-tinted lips. “Or at least, pretend to.”

“I’m here now,” she said, trying to keep the tremor from her voice. “Please let them go.”

“Who?Them?These darling little ghouls? Don’t be absurd. I’ve claimed them for my court, now and forever. They’re mine.”

“No. Please.”

“Even if I couldlet them go,have you considered what that would mean? Let them go home? I’m sure their families would be thrilled to have sad little ghosts haunting their sad little cottages. No, best they stay with me where they can be made useful.”

“You could free their spirits,” she said around a sob. “They deserve peace. They deserve to go to Verloren, to rest.”

“Speak not of Verloren,” he growled, sitting taller. “When Velos gives me what is mine, then I will consider releasing these souls, and not a moment sooner.” His rush of anger passed as quickly as it had risen, and he leaned against one arm of the throne, resting the crossbow in his lap. “Speaking of what is owed to me, I have another task for you, Lady Serilda.”

She thought of her promise to Pusch-Grohla. She had sworn she would not help the Erlking anymore.

But she was a liar, through and through.

“You took one more child,” she said through gritted teeth. “If you want any more gold from me, then you will let her go. You will return her to her family, unharmed.”

“You are hardly in a position to be making demands.” He sighed, almost melodramatically. “She is a pretty thing, for a human. Not as pretty as the Adalheid princess. Now,shewas a gift my love would have doted on like no other. Sweet, charming …talented. They say she was blessed by Hulda, just like you, Lady Serilda. Her death was such a waste. As will yours be, if it comes to that.”

“You’re trying to goad me,” said Serilda through her teeth.

The Erlking smiled quite viciously. “I take my enjoyment where I can.”

Serilda swallowed and glanced behind her, unsure how she should feel to see that the doorway back to the mortal world was still there.

She could leave. Could he follow her? She suspected not. If it was so easy, surely he would not have stayed confined to the veil, allowed freedom but one night each cycle of the moon.

But she couldn’t leave.

Not without Gerdrut.

Her gaze traveled up toward the rafters, but the princess who had been hung from the chandelier was gone. Her body would have been disposed of long ago. Buried or tossed into the lake. Serilda knew her ghost was not here in the castle. Either she’d been left behind in Gravenstone, or sent on to Verloren. Otherwise, she was sure she would have noticed her among the ghostly servants, and Gild would have known immediately who the portrait depicted.

Gild.

Where was Gild? Where were any of the ghosts? The castle felt eerily quiet, and she wondered if the Erlking could force their silence when it pleased him to do so.

She fixed her gaze on the king again, trying hard not to think about the four trembling children beside him. The ones she had already failed.

She would not fail Gerdrut, too.

“Why did you abandon Gravenstone?” she asked, and was pleased at the surprise that flashed over his face. “Was it truly because you couldn’t stand to be in the place where Perchta had fallen? Or did you choose to claim this castle as another layer of revenge against the prince who killed her? It must have felt quite satisfying at first. Do you sleep in his quarters and listen to the moans and cries of the ones you murdered all night long? Does that please you?”

“You enjoy a mystery, Lady Serilda.”

“I like a good story. I like when one takes an unexpected turn. What’s interesting to me is that I don’t think evenyouhave figured out the final twist in this tale.”

The Erlking’s lips curled with amusement. “That the little mortal girl will be saving everyone?”