Page 43 of Manor of Wind and Nightmares (Fae of Brytwilde #3)

My stomach twisted at his words, even as I cursed myself for caring.

For what good would it do? No matter what, Kaede wanted me dead.

I would be fortunate if I could escape with Callista.

It was better for Kaede to grow fond of Laura, to let affection for her distract him from his tangled feelings of hatred and desire toward me.

Clearing my mind, I forced myself to focus on the matter at hand.

Find the great hall and solve the riddle.

Perform well enough in this contest to continue on and protect Callista whenever I was permitted to do so.

That was my purpose here. The only time I should have thought of Kaede at all was when I was defending myself from him.

“Do you recognize this part of the manor?” I asked Florian.

He shook his head. “It’s always changing. I recognized that painting, but that is all.”

I tilted my head, studying it and reflecting upon what Florian had said earlier, about some believing the manor served the royal family. What if the rumor was true, and this painting was some sort of hint?

Touching the frame, I ran my hand along it, only to find that the painting hung loosely on the wall. It slipped, tilting sharply to the right and then, just as abruptly, swinging inward with a portion of the wall, revealing a hidden room.

“Well, I’ve never seen this before,” Florian commented, but I was already stepping inside.

It was a music room, with a windowed alcove where a woman sat strumming a harp, an open space where men and women tuned their instruments, and a corner where a short man who looked to be a cross between a goblin and a dwarf sat polishing and cleaning various instruments laid out upon a cloth-covered table.

My skin crawled at the sight, for his goblin-like features brought to mind the ones who’d attacked our party over a year ago, when I’d traveled with Kaede as Princess Briar and I’d known him only as Captain Junseo.

When the man saw me, he glanced up with a smile that was all needle-like teeth.

I gave him a wide berth, studying the others in the room. Why had the manor led us here? Florian trailed me as I paused before the woman at the harp. She glanced up, and I recognized her violet eyes: she was the healer who’d tended to me after the maze.

Florian grasped my arm, startling me. “If you’re hoping they’ll help, I wouldn’t trust anyone here.”

As if she hadn’t heard Florian’s warning, the healer smiled demurely and ran her fingers along the harp’s strings, plucking a few notes. “Hello, Miss Aurelia Sinclair. How are you feeling?”

I dipped my head in greeting. “Much recovered, thank you. But I’m afraid I don’t know your name to properly thank you.”

“I’m Azalea of Ashwood. The royal family sent me to tend to Prince Kaede, as an act of generosity and goodwill, and as a show of their loyalty to the alliance the two kingdoms have forged.”

“Tend to Prince Kaede? Doesn’t he have his own healers?”

Azalea’s mouth curved downward, and her fingers paused their thrumming. “None who have seen a condition like his. Ashwood is a little more familiar with fae being brought back from the dead, and though I’ve never assisted such a soul before, I’ve studied historical accounts.”

“Is it because of the darkness in him? The...” I lowered my voice. “Vampires?”

The healer’s eyes widened, surprised I knew. She opened her mouth as if to say more, but we were interrupted by a clock on the wall striking the hour.

“We need to find our way out of here if we want to join the contest in time,” Florian said, shifting on his feet uneasily.

“Of course.” I glanced back to Azalea, desperately wanting to know if there was a way to stop the progression of the darkness inside Kaede, or if he was doomed. “Are you staying in the manor then?”

She nodded. “For now. We...thought different sleeping arrangements would help Kaede and protect those around him, but it doesn’t matter where he is.”

I repressed a shudder. “The nightmares keep coming? And—and the monsters?”

“We have guards stationed throughout the manor, especially near his sleeping quarters.” She nodded toward a stack of books in the corner. “When I am not taking a break to play and think, I’m reading and studying all I can.”

The manor shifted beneath me, as if urging me to move.

“We will run out of time. Aurelia, please.” Florian grasped my hand and gently but firmly tugged, drawing me back out the way we’d come.

“I would have liked to speak to Azalea longer— I think the manor wanted—”

“Aurelia, if you don’t participate in the contest at all, there could be severe consequences. Don’t you understand?” There was a frantic look in Florian’s eyes as we stepped back into the hall where Prince Kaede’s painting hung, a look that gave me pause.

“You’re right.” I drew a deep breath. My curiosity had distracted me. As much as I wanted to hope that Kaede would find healing from whatever contaminated his magic, along with his heart, that wasn’t my main objective. I couldn’t help Kaede, not when he wanted to kill me.

To our left, the hall stretched to a staircase that moved, its steps shifting from leading upward to twisting downward.

“I think we should go that way,” I suggested.

Florian’s brow pinched. “I’m not sure the manor is helping us.”

But I had a feeling—one that I couldn’t explain with logic or reasoning.

The manor did seem to enjoy playing tricks and throwing me into danger, but that was exactly why I was confident it wouldn’t keep me from the next contest for long.

I hurried toward the staircase, descending confidently with Florian on my heels.

As soon as we reached the last step, I grinned in triumph. “Here we are.”

A short distance away, the double doors leading to the dining hall were wide open, warm candlelight spilling from within.

Florian and I were the last to enter. Already, the rest of the contestants, nearly all accompanied by various fae servants or nobility, were clustered about the table, opening their envelopes and studying an array of glasses and weapons.

The open portion of the room had an odd assemblage of objects, almost like an obstacle course, ranging from targets hanging on one wall to stacked boxes in the middle to ropes hanging from the ceiling.

In the center, Ji stood with other members of the court. To my relief, Kaede was nowhere to be seen.

“Welcome,” Ji cried. “As part of this trial, each one of you must sip from the cup that we offer you. Then you have until dawn to solve the riddle. During that time, we will lock the doors. Attempting to leave this room will cause you to forfeit the challenge—something I don’t recommend.”

My stomach turned as I remembered Molly’s fate.

One by one, the women formed a line moving toward Ji, who accepted thimbleful-sized cups from the gathered court members to offer to each contestant. Every woman scowled or cringed as she sipped. Audrey gagged. I bit my inner lip as I stood at the back of the line awaiting my turn.

All too soon, I was the last competitor, and there was nothing left but to step forward. Heart somewhere in my throat, I extended my hand for the cup Ji held out for me.

I wanted to be cautious, to study whatever he’d given me. But forfeiting the contest wasn’t an option, and Ji’s expression was filled with impatience that I didn’t want to push to its limits, so I tipped back the cup and downed its contents in one gulp.

The tang of blood filled my mouth, and bile rose in my throat.

Across the room, Hattie stumbled, teetering on her feet and crying out. She hugged herself as she wailed. All around, other women broke out in a panic, moaning and trembling in pain.

Laura’s accusing glare latched onto Ji. “You’ve poisoned us!”