Page 22 of Quicksilver

Everlayne had gone pale, but she didn't fight him. “Okay, I'll write. Tell him he'd better write back, or there'll be trouble.”

Renfis bowed his head. “It was good to see you,” he murmured. And then he was gone. With him, he took the tension that had flooded the room when I’d removed the necklace, and for that I was eternally grateful. Everlayne didn't relax the way I did, though. Her eyes shone bright with the beginnings of tears as she put her back to the door and said in a forcefully cheery voice, “All right, then. I expectyou'llbe wanting to have a bath.”

“Abath?”

“Yes. It’s been at least ten days since you've had a proper soak. Come on. I'll draw some hot water for you. It'll make you feel a million times better, I swear.”

Hot water? A whole tub full of it. For me towashmyself in. The waste of so much water would have stricken me dumb on any other day, but today there were far stranger things to concern myself with. And besides, I was too focused on something both Renfis and Everlayne had said.

Ten days. That's how long I'd been unconscious for, lying in this bed, recovering in peace, while my brother was back in Zilvaren, potentially fighting for his life.

“I don't need a bath,” I said. “I need to go home. My little brother needs me.”

Whatever Everlayne was about to say died on her lips. Slowly, in increments, her smile faded. “I'm sorry, Saeris, but that isn't going to happen.”

“What do you mean? I have to go back. I don't have a choice. Madra's planning on wiping out my entire ward. I have family back there. Friends.” I ignored the small voice in the back of my head, whispering that it was already probably too late. Madra would have been furious when she discovered what had happened in that hall. Scratch that. Furious wouldn't have even come close. Not only did I not die, but I'd somehow liquified Harron's dagger, it had attacked him, and I'd—I'd—fuck, I didn't even knowwhatI'd done with that sword. I'd drawn it from somewhere I shouldn't have and summoned the devil himself. Harron was probably dead. Madra was not a merciful monarch. Her vengeance would have been swift and horrific. Odds were that the Third had already been reduced to a crater in the sand, but I still had to get back there. If there was even the slimmest chance that she'd temporarily stayed her hand, I had to try and stop her. It was the least I could do.

Everlayne did look sympathetic as she headed slowly toward the door. But she also looked resigned. “I'm not going to lie to you. Some of the tales your mother used to tell you were true. My people can be ruthless and cruel at times. There are those ofus who endeavor to be different, but...occasionally there’s simply no other option. We've been waiting to retrieve that sword you drew for a very long time. But to have foundyoualong with it...” She shook her head. “You have no idea how important you are, Saeris. I'm afraid my father isn't liable to give you up any time soon. And he wants to see you in an hour, so unfortunately, the bath isn't up for debate.”

“You can't keep me trapped here. This is kidnapping. It's inhumanebehavior!”

Everlayne at least had the decency to look contrite. “It's inhumanbehavior. But we aren’t human, Saeris. We’re Fae. We don't behave like you. Don't think like you. We don't operate by the same moral guidelines thatsomeof your kind do, either. The faster you remember that the easier this will be,” she said a little more gently. “Now, please. Bathe before the water gets cold. When you speak to my father, you can ask him about returning to your Silver City.”

“And who the hell is your father to tell me if I get to go home?” My anger echoed loudly up and down the hallway. Both guards, who stood in stern silence, flinched, looking deeply uncomfortable.

“He is Belikon De Barra,” Everlayne said evenly. “King of the Yvelian Fae.”

I sobbed while I soaked in the copper tub. I had an inconceivable resource at my disposal and no way to share it with the people I loved. If Hayden and Elroy were alive, then they were dizzy with their thirst, just as they had every day oftheir lives. Meanwhile, I was luxuriating in so much water that I coulddrownin it. It was black with dirt, and a film of scum bobbed on its surface when I was done scrubbing my skin until it was pink—probably the cleanest I had ever been. I'd never washed my hair properly before, nor had access to shampoo, and I used way too much, not expecting the amount I scooped into my palm to produce so many suds. It took forever to first work it through all of my tangles and knots, and then another age to rinse out all of the soap. Everlayne was prowling back and forth outside the room like a caged hellcat by the time I told her that I was done.

She looked harried when she bustled back into the room. “We don't have time to deliberate over what you should wear now. We'll have to get you laced into the first thing that fits and worry about style another time.”

“Laced? What are you talking about?”

“Yourdress!” Everlayne made a beeline for the large, dark wood wardrobe, throwing open the doors. “With that dark hair and your eyes such a lovely shade of blue, I think we should stick to royal blue, or maybe...” The top half of her body disappeared into the wardrobe. When she emerged again, she clutched a staggering amount of cobalt fabric in her arms. I backed away as soon as I saw it.

“No. No, I'm not—I don'tdodresses, Everlayne.”

“What do you mean?” She looked genuinely confused.

“I wear pants. Shirts. Things I can move easily in. So I can run, and climb, and—”Kill people.

“You’re not wearing a shirt and pants to meet the King, Saeris. He'll see it as a slight. If you’re not well turned out, he'll have you thrown into the cells.”

Hah. Another day, another monarch throwing my ass in jail. Honestly, a cell was what I deserved. After stealing the gauntlet and landing my entire ward in such trouble, I didn't deserve tosee the light of day again. I was numb as I let Everlayne shake me into the dress.Gownwas a more appropriate name for it, really.

“You look like a dream,” Everlayne announced when she was done jiggling and poking me, tugging on corset stays so hard that I thought I might pass out.

“And yet I feel like I'm trapped in a nightmare,” I added dryly.

She tutted. “Turn around and sit down on that chair. I need to deal with your hair next.”

“What's wrong with my hair?”

“Well, hmm. How do I put this delicately? It looks like it's had a family of field mice living in it for a couple of years. And I'm betting it's been a while since it's seen a brush. So...”

“It doesn'tneedbrushing if I just tie it back into a braid.” I wasn't stung by the criticism. Seriously, I wasn't.

Everlayne laughed quietly—did she think I couldn't hear her chuckling? I slumped down on the chair where she'd told me to sit, fuming under my breath as the female wrestled with my knots. She was loving this, wasn't she? A little prisoner of her own. A doll to play dress up with. But I wasn't a toy or a pet. She'd learn that the hard way if she treated me like one.