I knew it because I’d do the same thing for Haley if I could. The same thing for Jax, even if he kept right on hating me for it.
Oona nudged me with her elbow, but still, I said nothing. Not a damn thing.
Partly because I was finally too stoned to string together any more coherent words.
But mostly because I was locked in the dungeons of my worst enemy, blood leaking from more holes in my body than I could count, my soul as close to Death’s door as it had ever been, and I couldn’t bring myself to tell one more fucking lie tonight.
10
JAX
Keradoc’s castle was as cold and black as the man’s heart, a maze of damp stone passageways that twisted in all directions like tangled vines. Left, right, up, down, a confusing network no doubt meant to frustrate any would-be intruders and allow the lord of the manor to cower beneath his desk from a safe distance.
No matter.
I needed it tonight. The harsh, frustrating brutality of it all. Gave me something to focus on other than Saint’s betrayal.
Oona’sbetrayal. Her rise from the fucking dead and her reappearance in my life at a time that was rapidly becoming its lowest point.
I wasn’t sure which of them I despised more. Tough call, but I’d meant what I said in the dungeons. After what the two of them cooked up together? They could both fucking rot.
Liar…
Dismissing that little voice whispering at the base of my skull, I pushed on. Right now, my priority—my only priority—was finding Haley.
Trusting Saint was a mistake I’d never make again—especially not when it came to her. When Saint finally found his way out of the dungeons, if he still wanted to assassinate Keradoc? Fine by me—I wouldn’t stand in his way. But that motherfucker was on his own.
And so was his blue-haired co-conspirator.
Fucking Oona.
I couldn’t believe she was alive. That Saint had so thoroughly lied to me that night. That Oona herself had been complicit in the act.
Fuck.Their treachery tore a fresh wound in my heart all over again, more painful than the still-bleeding holes from the devil’s trap bolts. But as much as seeing her tonight gutted me, it also proved something. I wasn’t in love with her. Not any more—and hell, maybe I never was. Not really. When I looked back on what we’d shared, the glimmer of my feelings for her felt like a pale, flickering candle compared to the inferno burning inside me for Haley.
Haley. Hold on, angel. Iwillfind you.
I repeated the words in my mind, the mantra keeping me on track.
I didn’t want to risk backtracking the same way the guards had dragged us in, but after a few more twists and turns through the damp lower levels, I managed to find a back stairwell. Judging from the musty odor and the thick layers of slime covering the steps, it hadn’t seen much use—probably just the occasional servant or spy.
Back on the ground floor, I melted into the still-raging party crowd, my gaze finally zeroing in on a servant. Exiting the kitchens with a tray full of bubbly balanced on his fingertips, he was clearly heading up to the executive level; the rabble on the main floor didn’t get their drinks delivered on silver platters.
I ducked into a shadowy alcove. Waited for him to get close enough to grab.
His neck snapped with an audible pop. Amid the chaos of the party, no one heard the champagne glasses shattering.
Two minutes and another dead servant of Midnight later, I was dressed in a tux just this side of snug, the black cummerbund fashioned into a sleek new eye patch, his silver tray in hand. After a quick trip to the kitchens to replace the drinks I’d spilled, I was on my way back upstairs.
With a brief nod, I acknowledged the guards monitoring access to the upper levels, sending out a faint pulse of generalized fear and uneasiness—just enough to keep them worried about their own bullshit instead of scrutinizing my half-assed disguise.
That’s right, assholes. Nothing to see here. Just another poor chump serving drinks to the overlords of Midnight…
It took me another hour of dodging Keradoc’s guards, searching the nooks and crannies, and climbing more twisting, turning tunnels and staircases before I finally found my way to the castle’s topmost level—a massive gallery lined with dozens of oak doors that led off into what I assumed were suites and bedrooms, maybe a study or parlor or whatever the fuck kind of rooms the dark warlord of Midnight required.
The two guards positioned outside the doors at the very end were a dead giveaway, though—that’s where Keradoc had stashed Haley. It had to be.
Still hidden out of sight on the landing, I tried to cobble together a plan. I had no idea how many guards were on the other side of the doors, but if I didn’t take down the first two, it wouldn’t matter. The doors were a good fifty feet from the landing. I couldn’t just run over there, dagger drawn for a little slice-and-dice. They’d shoot me full of bolts faster than I could sayboo.
