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“I don’t want his riches. I’ve never known my family. I can’t tell you what it would mean to have a tie.” A family to belong to.
“There is a simpler way to see if you’re a Familiar.” Her gaze dropped toward Faye’s bare index finger. “You invoked your blood in Necromia, and it failed. You could invoke your blood at our altar. If it fires, you’ll have your answer.”
The answer to her possible race, but not if they were related. Faye hoped with time they may become friends and she could revisit the subject. “My sister is Familiar. She invoked her blood in Necromia.”
“If her blood fired in Necromia her dominant line belongs to that altar.”
That would mark Sparrow as part Familiar. Faye didn’t shift into a cat like Sparrow. She grew claws and wings. Being mostly Familiar was the only thing that made sense, but she lacked their most prevalent trait.
Faye stilled. Was she inadvertently poaching the Shadow Prince? Her stomach knotted and she thought she might be ill. “Why is he holding me here? If I was poaching him, it was unintentional. I’ll learn to control it.”
“I will speak with him and see if my father would allow you to come to our altar.” Sadi took her glass and stood. “I would recommend the choice cuts,” she said, pointing at a small plate of roasted meat with a long thin knife placed across it. She sauntered out of the room saying over her shoulder as she left, “I’ll see if I can have Rune make your stay more comfortable as well.”
Once she was gone Faye left the table. She paced the room nervously. Not allowing herself to hope she found where she belonged. She passed the table, and her mouth watered.
The Shadow Prince wanted her to eat, and she wouldn’t be doinganythingthat asshole wanted. Maybe he wouldn’t be such a dick if he found out she belonged to the Benevolence house. She glanced over her prison, tilting her head at the two doors next to each other. One led to the hall, and the other was closed. There was a third door on the same wall at the opposite end of the room and a fourth to her left.
Faye went to the closed door near the hall first. Maybe it was a coat closet. Faye turned the handle opening it.
She immediately recognized the large four post bed draped in dark silk. Her cheeks flamed, and she closed the door, resting her forehead on it. Memories flooded her mind. She’d slept in that bed, curled in his arms. Looking forward to the dreams that were now a walking nightmare.
She tightened her grip on the handle until her knuckles turned white. Dragging her lip through her teeth, she eased the door open again, scrutinizing his space and searching for anything she could exploit.
His furniture was sparse compared to the other rooms. The desk under the windows looked expensive, but the designs carved into it were far simpler. Leather bound books and loose papers topped it. There was nothing else. No personal effects, no art, no portraits. Even the scones holding the licks of hellfire illuminating his room were the same design found in every other part of his… castle?
Sparrow would say you’re boring,she thought, closing the door.
Two doors left. Faye chose the closer of the two. She turned the handle and peeked in. It opened into a large walk-in closet. It was empty but free of dust. A small black crystal chandelier hung at its center, alone. Faye shook her head, closing the door.
Only a dark-blood would need a chandelier for their closet.
She approached the last door across the room and found a huge bathroom suite. A large soaking tub made of what looked like white marble with glittering silver licks through it rested lengthwise against the wall, facing an enclosed shower that took up the width of the room.
Faye stepped through the space, brushing her fingers across the lip of the tub. She turned to the counters, looking for bathing oils. Wanting something strong to offend fang face’s heightened senses.
Every drawer was bare. No soaps, not even a toothbrush. Faye supposed she should be grateful for the folded black towels tucked into the floor to ceiling built in cabinets.
Faye jumped at two sharp knocks made in quick succession. She poked her head back into her room and found the Shadow Prince strolling in like he owned the place. He peered over the table and glanced her way. “You have not eaten.”
Faye kept her distance, “I’m not hungry.”
“You have not eaten in a day. Is the meal not to your liking?”
Faye glanced at the food and back at him, weighing her options. Sadi breezed into the room, saving her from having to respond. Faye’s eyes widened at the loose pages the Familiar held. She started toward her in rushed steps, and the pages promptly vanished.
Faye stopped, leaning back on her heels. She’d been too eager, showing her hand. A mistake she wouldn’t make again. Both she and Sadi looked to Rune and the corner of his mouth lifted. “I will supply you with the stationary of your choosing after you have eaten.”
“What do you want?”
“For you to nourish yourself.”
Faye shifted on her feet. “I’m sorry if I was poaching you. Don’t you think this is a little drastic?”
He scowled at her. “Admitting to your games?”
“Is this a punishment?” When he didn’t answer, Faye clenched her teeth and sat on the edge of her bed. She gazed at the twilight sky through the window, determined to ignore him.
Dishes clattered, and Faye dug her nails into her palm, hidden beneath the sleeve of her robe. A bowl of soup entered her line of vision. Faye glanced up at Sadi. “Eat this, and I’ll take the letter to your sister.”
