Page 12 of The Keeper of the Kingdoms

It was like I wasn’t even here. If it weren’t for the pressing matter of an undead beast in our cells, I would bang their heads together. Jaxus was acting like I was a fragile ward he was charged with protecting, and fine, he didn’t know me. But Nyx was forgetting too easily that I could best him in a hundred different ways that did not require a sword or dragon fire.

I would remind him later if we survived the night. Perhaps I’d slip a potion into his breakfast that would have him bangingon my door for a stomach aid, then remind him as I mix the cure at my leisure that there were many much deadlier things that could be slipped into food undetected. He should remember that the weapons I could wield may be subtle but they could also be deadly.

“Okay.” Nyx took a breath, pulling me from my revenge fantasies, and led us to the furthest cell, producing a bunch of keys and unlocking the heavy door.

Jaxus insisted on going in before me to check the state of the thing and make sure it hadn’t freed itself while Nyx came to get us. I stepped up behind him to peer in, but the stench hit like a wall before I even stepped into the room. There was no doubt in my mind it was dead.

And the smell wasn’t the worst part.

I was not prepared for what lay within the room.

I had only seen drawings of the undead, the Vivi Mortui, brought to the 100 Years War to fight for them, and this creature was similar, to say the least.

He was fae, no question. How long since he had been turned, it was impossible to tell. “You may enter. The thing is secure as far as I can tell.”

I tied a cloth over my face before pushing the door wider to step inside. My mind did not believe the sight before me. A poor fae was shackled to the table, looking as dead as he smelled. His sagging skin was a grayish-blue, and his eyes were a cloudy white.

The creak of the cell door alerted it to our presence and our appearance seemed to aggravate him intensely. He hissed and screeched in a very unfae way. It was disconcerting because the sound did not come from its throat but seemed to resonate from a deeper part of it.

The three of us stood silently watching as the creature thrashed against its bindings. I took in the room. He lay upon a metal table much too modern to have been down here manyyears. It had shackles at its corners, secured with magic and warded with fire opals to bind the locks, presumably to Nyx’s magic.

The creature glared at us between bouts of thrashing. Even though its milky eyes seemed unseeing. I shuddered. There was not a drop of soul apparently left in the body before us. Nothing recognizable as ‘alive’. Instead, there seemed to only be rot, malice, and rage.

“You must be mad. What in the Goddess’ name made you bring it back here?” Jaxus was a wall of tension beside me.

“How else will we know how to revive one without study?” Nyx fixated on the creature. Surely he couldn’t?—

My chest ached, connecting the dots. If he thought we could bring one back, he must see this as a possibility for Kol, and my heart hurt for him. It was more than clear from reports that Kol had not been turned, he’d been obliterated. Nyx was holding on to false hope.

I turned to him. “There’s no coming back from this. Surely you know that?”

Nyx’s eyes remained fixed, but he replied, “We don’t know anything. We need to see what can be done.”

Jaxus tensed even further and stepped between us, turning to Nyx himself. “This is absurd, Nyx. I respect you as a general, as a fae and as a friend, but this is unacceptable. We need to kill this thing immediately. Dragon fire is the only possible fix for this condition.”

I returned my gaze to the table and watched the creature work itself into a frenzy, wailing and yanking against the bonds. My stomach turned. I didn’t see how anyone could come back from a condition such as this. But the healer in me did want to assess the situation. There was a fae there once, underneath somewhere. Whether he was still there or long gone, only the Goddess knew at this point. But if I conducted some tests, I may be able to tell.

I took a step further into the room, but Jaxus put an arm up.

“Excuse me?” I asked indignantly.

“Do you think it’s wise to get closer to it?” Jaxus asked.

“Do you think it’s wise to get in my way?”

Nyx stifled a laugh, and I shot a glare at him.

“If you want to get closer with me, you may, but don’t think for a second you get to stop me.”

Jaxus relented and approached the thing with me. Every pace forward had the stench intensifying.

I sighed, resigned, turning to head back to the healer’s wing. “I need to get some books and some equipment. I need to cover my work for the day and let my father know.”

Nyx stepped to block my path. “No one can know we have one here.”

“My father is not the rest of the palace population. He is the Healer on High of the Twelve Kingdoms and is a trusted member of the King’s council. He will be appraised of the situation at his morning briefing anyway.”

“He won’t be informed in any briefing.” His jaw flexed. “No one knows, and no one can know.”