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It’s not like I like the reminder of Rys’s touch, either. But… hey. I’m still struggling with guilt. Maybe I could have saved him. Maybe I could have stretched the shadow a little further to include Rys. Sure, shadow travel nearly killed Ash, and I remember how the portal left black streaks on his bronzed complexion that morning in the mausoleum, but still.
Maybe—
I nod. “Yeah. That’s him.”
Before Oberon can say anything else, the door opens and Helix walks back into the throne room on his own.
Oberon gestures at him. “Helix.” Then, as if I’ve never met him before, he tells me, “A member of my old guard. I’m glad to see you’ve survived Melisandre’s reign, Captain.”
Helix nods. “Thank you, your highness. I’ve done what you’ve ordered. The castle is clear, with my best soldiers going through Melisandre’s staff now, searching for any whose loyalty might not be to the true and proper king.”
“Well done. As efficient as ever, and as ambitious, I’m sure. I can work with that. Now, what can you tell me of the Seelie known as—”
He looks at me again.
“Rys,” I supply.
“Rys.”
Helix stops dead in his tracks. His back goes ramrod straight, his features entirely expressionless. He hesitates for way longer than I can take before he says, “Melisandre punished him.”
“Punished him,” I squeak out. Oh, man. I knew it. “How did she punish him?”
Helix stays quiet.
Oberon leans forward in his throne. “Answer the Shadow,” he commands. “What did my treasonous consort do with one of my fae?”
“Rysdan was charged with being a traitor. Rather than call for his head or his soul, Melisandre chose leniency for a former favored soldier.”
“Leniency,” repeats Oberon. “That doesn’t sound like her.”
Helix hesitates before admitting, “He was put into Siúcra.”
“As I thought. A fate worse than death then, disguised as kindness. Just like Melisandre.”
“Why?” I wonder. “What’s…” I try to repeat what Helix said. I butcher it and it comes out like, “sucker?”
“Siúcra,” Oberon corrects, his voice going almost gentle as he addresses me. “The inescapable prison of Faerie. Once you’re locked inside, there’s no getting out.”
“What? Ever?”
“I’m afraid not.”
Whoa.
I… I don’t know what to say about that. All this time, I let myself believe that Rys was okay. That even though the last time I saw him he was being bombarded by Melisandre’s soldiers, he was fine. I convinced myself that he’d finally stopped chasing me because he respected Nine’s claim, and that without his brand on my skin, Rys couldn’t find me.
But he’s in prison. Faerie prison.
The Fae Queen ordered me and Nine into a cell once. I remember making a joke about it, calling it fairy jail, almost amazed that something like that existed. There were only a handful of cells built inside of her elaborate castle, far away from her throne room, and it never occurred to me to wonder if the cells were permanent—or only a holding area for those Melisandre wanted to punish.
Like Rys.
Oberon can’t lie to me. When he says that there’s no escape from this Siúcra place, he means it. And that means that Rys is—
He’s—
Gone.
