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“Others?” She couldn’t help but frown. As strange and unnerving as Rafe could be, she’d grown accustomed to his presence already. Hell, Bree loved spending time with him. He might transform into a raven instead of a wolf, but he still understood her in a way that no one else ever had, not even the other Redcaps she’d met in Otherworld. He knew what it felt like to have another creature brewing inside, and he knew what it felt like to want to resistit.
She couldn’t imagine working with any otherfae.
“When it comes to physical combat, Rafe is good but he is not the best. He would much rather become a bird and spy on the world below than pick up a sword and fight. And he does not have the knowledge of one of thescholars.”
Bree arched her eyebrows. “You have scholarshere?”
“Just because we must feed on the energy of humans to survive does not mean that we do not valueknowledge.”
“Right.” A beat passed. “Anyway, that’s not what I meant. Poisons and creatures and powers...that’s all useful, but it’s book knowledge. Not street smart kind ofstuff.”
“You are using your human vocabulary again,Bree.”
“Right. I mean, what’s it like to be a Dark Fae Prince? What is an ordinary day like? What do you do all day? Where’s the rest of your family?”And do you have any skeletons in that closet ofyours?
Taveon’s jaw rippled as they turned the corner. Up ahead, Bree could see the heavy bolted door that led to the stairs down to her dungeon cell. She only had a few moments left with Taveon before he’d lock her up again, and she’d gotten zero information from him. Again. “I am not certain that I can see how details of my family will help you become my champion andassassin.”
“What if someone comes after you because of something your family did? Or what if I need to understand the motivations of someone close to you, someone who may have a history with your family? If I’m to one day fight for you, then I should knowyou.”
A compelling argument, one Bree had been mulling over in her head for days now. But it was an argument she didn’t think he was going to buy. His face was still set into hard stone, and his walk remained the steady, firm pace toward the door where their conversation wouldend.
But, after a moment, he cleared his throat. “Very well. As you know, my father was King Midas, and he ruled this realm with terror. He loved my mother, or at least that is what his people like to say. So much so that he looked past the fact that for years she was unable to produce him an heir. They were wed fifty years before she became pregnant with me. And he was so worried about her health that he took her away to the countryside, away from this stone and steel castle and its damp, coldwalls.”
Taveon’s voice grew graver with each passing beat. “My father, of course, did not stay there with her. He took two wet nurses with them and returned to the castle. She was in their care those long months, and he only returned to her side when news came that a baby boy had been safelyborn.”
Bree’s heart clenched at the pain in Taveon’svoice.
“But she died during childbirth, my mother. When the King arrived at the cottage to find her body in the bed, he slew the two wet nurses in a fit of rage. It was not long after that when my father decided he wanted to destroy Queen Marin of Otherworld. He was cruel before, but my mother’s death made himvicious.”
Bree’s feet slowed, and she stopped short in the hallway, staring at Taveon with a hollow pit in her gut. No wonder he seemed to carry a storm cloud with him wherever he went. No wonder he always had that hollow look in his eyes. He carried with him the heartache of his own birth and the knowledge of exactly how terrible his fatherwas.
“I’m sorry,” Bree whispered. She didn’t know what else to say. His was the kind of hurt that would likely never goaway.
“And now you see why I want to claim the throne.” He began walking again, taking them closer and closer to the door down to Bree’s cell. “Our realm can either have another King just like my father, or we can have someone who will try to take our people back to a time when we had greaterpeace.”
Bree’s heart felt torn when they stopped just outside of the door. On the one hand, he had lied to her and had her shot with an arrow. So, how much of this could be believed? On the other hand, there was nothing false in that hollow look in his eyes. And his voice held far too much emotion for his words to be anything butreal.
Still, he had lied, and he had lied about something important. And there was no telling what he had planned. Yes, he wanted to be good to his people, but what would he do once he’d taken the crown? Would he rule them with an iron fist? Would he have every single doubter shot in the chest before the entireCourt?
Despite Taveon’s sad story, she would still gather the information she could for Lord Dagen. Besides, she didn’t have to use it if she decided she didn’t want to. If she decided to keep Taveon’s secrets, she could. But only if she was certain he would do her no moreharm.
