“No.” I shook my head. “It doesn’t have any murals, and best we can tell, the Seelie and Unseelie used the same glyphs for spells.”
“You’re staying in the former residence of the Unseelie Princes,” he practically purred, but the smile he gave me was all predator. “Which means you are actually useful to me.”
I reined in my shock at the revelation of whose castle I’d been sleeping in for almost a year. “There’s something in the castle you want, isn’t there?”
Thoughts swirled in my mind. Where were the princes? We’d never seen any signs of them and only knew of their existence because of Erendriel. He seemed to believe that not only were they alive but they were looking for whatever he was. Though if the princes were alive—and free—why hadn’t they come back to claim their castle? Especially if there were something there that would help them find what was lost in the mountains?
Not free, I theorized. Close to it, perhaps. That’s what Erendriel was racing against, because he believed that once the princes got free, they would have an advantage over him in finding this object, and that advantage was likely located in the Alpha stronghold.
“Does this have anything to do with the hidden room beneath the castle?” I fought the urge to step back and pace while thinking through the implications and instead held my position, squaring off against the Seelie King.
“There is a mirror in that room. Black obsidian frame with roses and thorns carved into it. Four gems adorn it, one in each corner.”
Satisfaction rolled through me. I’d known that mirror was important. Then another thought occurred to me. “How do you know about it?”
“I helped craft it.”
“You helped the Unseelie Princes?” I arched an eyebrow.
“We helped each other. Unfortunately, they betrayed me before I could betray them.” The muscles along his square jaw feathered as he clenched his teeth. “Have you been through it?”
“It doesn’t work. It’s missing something,” I admitted. “There is a divot in the top center of the frame where clearly something used to be.”
“A silver crest,” he murmured.
“Where does the mirror lead?” I tried to control my excitement. Could it really be this easy? I’d get the mirror working and then find what everyone was looking for?
Erendriel gave me a placating look. “It’ll get us closer to finding what’s in the mountains, but it does not lead directly to it.”
“Us?”
The Seelie King raised his hand and tapped his fingers against the invisible wall that kept him contained. “Find the silver family crest of the Unseelie Princes, fix the mirror, and bring me what you find on the other side.”
“And then?” I prompted.
“And then”—shadows rolled off his shoulders, and his blue eyes turned black—“we will go and retrieve what is rightfully mine.” Shadows poured off him in waves, and wraiths that had been hiding in the darkness of the room started their whispers again as they swirled around. “And if you do exactly as I tell you, I won’t slaughter all your friends and leave you awash in their blood before I depart this godsforsaken land.”
Chapter Fourteen
Ryker
What the fuck was I doing? Cade had given me a direct order not to leave home, and yet here I was, looking at a stronghold, but not the Alpha one.
I watched the Narchis sentries make their rounds along the perimeter. Nobody had noticed my presence so far. Sloppy of them. I was downwind, but if they’d been looking closer, they could have spotted me. Given enough time, I was confident I could get inside unseen, but I didn’t have the patience for that.
Two days. That’s how long I’d made it before I’d disobeyed Cade and gone after Rynn and Bastian.
They’d stopped on their way here, spending the night in three different outposts. All I’d been able to think about on my almost nonstop run here was what they’d done those three nights. Knowing Bastian, he’d figured out a way to get them to share a room.
A bed.
I shook my head, ruffling my light grey coat as a low growl bubbled up my throat. I hated that she made me feel this way. If I could claw out this ever-encompassing need to be near her, touch her, fucking hear that light, raspy laugh of hers . . . would I do it? I didn’t even know anymore. All I knew was that fighting this pull I felt towards her was a losing battle.
The sun rose higher above the horizon. Based on the scent trail, Rynn and Bastian had arrived late in the afternoon yesterday. So they’d spent yet another night together. I was still pissed at Cade for agreeing to that stupid bet. Bastian, I couldn’t really fault; it was just his nature. He thought with his dick most of the time and was extremely competitive, but Cade had to have known there was a good chance this stupid bet of theirs would blow up and Rynn would be even angrier. He might not care about her well-being, but everything Cade did was for the protection of the Alpha pack first and all of the Velesian realm second.
This seemed like a careless move for him. Then again, I was far from an expert at understanding the motivations of others. Even the other Alphas.
After letting out one long breath through my nostrils, I backtracked to a small supply building and shifted to my human form. Brisk winter air flowed over my skin as I quickly dressed before stalking towards the main gate. As soon as the sentries spotted me, they stood a little straighter, watching my approach.
