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“Oh, don’t worry.” Her finger was moving down over his abs. “That wasbefore.” She whirled to look at me. “But you know what? I have never wanted to be with a weak man. Don’t you think a corpse-eater should prove his worth? Should we see his skill on the battlefield?” Her cheeks glowed with a radiant silver light. “Here is my magnanimous offer. I will let one of you leave the kingdom.” She fluttered her long, black eyelashes. “But only after a duel between the two of you. Torin, darling.” She slipped behind him, stroking a hand down his muscular shoulders. “Tomorrow, your job is to fight this Lost One before a crowd of my subjects and run your sword through her. If you prove yourself to me in the way that I require, I will let you return to your sad, withering kingdom.”
My chest tightened. “You need him to kill me?”
“Don’t worry, my little wretch,’” she said soothingly. “If you should stab him, I will allow you to leave. If you want. And I don’t even need any extra favors from you. Really, you are a lucky girl.” Her amber gaze slid between Torin and me. “Do you know what? My subjects have been bored lately, and I’d love to entertain them. They will be thrilled. They don’t have all the frost and starvation to contend with that you do in Faerie,and their lives are so comfortable, it gets tedious.” She smiled. “They needbloodshed. So, tomorrow, you will both fight. And one of you must skewer the other for it to end.”
She bit her lip coquettishly and fluttered her eyelashes at Torin. “But I have never liked to share. When I see something I want, I don’t like anyone else to have it. Torin, darling, if I catch you going anywhere near the Lost Unseelie, there will be consequences. Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be castrated? To be ripped apart by horses pulling your limbs in every direction? Would you like to find out?”
Torin wasn’t responding anymore. He just stared at her, his eyes darkening to a midnight blue.
The queen gingerly stepped away from him and drummed her fingertips together. She turned to Morgant. “Before you bring them to their quarters, heal the Seelie king. I want him to be healthy before they fight. And since someone will be impaled tomorrow, let them stay in a tower room this evening. Separately, of course.” She cut Torin a sharp look. “I have made myself very clear on that point, haven’t I? I am commanding you not to go anywhere near each other.”
I felt dizzy, short of breath. “And if we refuse to kill each other tomorrow?”
“Lost One.” She cocked her head, and her expression was almost maternal. “I plan to throw you off the tower. I think it’s merciful, really. You are a traitor, but you are Unseelie. But Torin? As an enemy of our kingdom invading our lands, I believe most of my subjects would say he deserves a very slow, humiliating,and excruciating death. And Lost One, wouldn’t it hurt you to watch it before you plunged from the tower walls? Love can hurt more than the worst tortures we can devise.”
Her softly spoken words hung in the air like a death knell.
16
AVA
My heart was still slamming against my ribs as Morgant led me through the castle with its vaulted halls of stone and vines.
A slow, humiliating, and excruciating death…
Sconces jutted from the walls, made of something that looked like smooth bone. Their warm candlelight danced over Morgant’s white hair, his enormous frame, and the wood walls. If it came down to it…
If it came down to it, I would absolutely not be able to take him in a fight. Nor could I take down Torin, so I had exactly zero plans for tomorrow. And even if Icouldstab Torin, I didn’t want to.
At least we’d bought ourselves some time, I supposed. More time to find out if he’d found the Veiled One. More time to charm the queen, or whatever it took to get out of here alive.
Morgant’s boots echoed off the stone floor, and he turned to look back at me. “You are lucky our gracious queen didn’t rip your heart out. She is giving you thegift of a chance. And death by the sword is certainly preferable to anything else she might dream up.”
My mouth felt watery, like I was about to vomit. “Let’s find out how lucky I am tomorrow. Morgant, where is Torin?”
He bared his canines in a show of aggression, but I had the feeling his heart wasn’t really in it. “You must stop asking your questions. I’d advise you to leave well enough alone. The queen ordered you two to stay separate.” He cut me a sharp look. “Rest, so you can kill him tomorrow. You may be a traitor, but you were one of us once. And I want to watch you kill their broken king.”
My stomach twisted. I was skilled at fencing, yes. But Torin had spent his life training with the best swordsmen of Faerie, fending off challenges from petty kings and their sons for half his life. Slaughtering them to defend his throne. He probably had dozens of deaths at his hands.
At last, we reached an arched wooden door, and Morgant pushed it open. I breathed in the humid air, scented of basil, lemon, and mahogany. Blue wooden arches swooped over me, and steeply peaked mullioned windows were inset into the walls, overlooking the kingdom of stars and red leaves. Firelight on a stone hearth danced over a bed and a claret rug spread on the stone floor.
It was a million times nicer than the dungeon, except for the heavy pall of icy dread hanging over me.
Morgant stood in the doorway and folded his enormous arms. Shadows danced over his leather-clad body and long hair. “Where did you come from?”
Frustration simmered. “I thought you said Mab already knew.”
“She has not informed me yet.”
“Well, I have no idea. My family could have been glamoured in the human realm for hundreds of years, for all I know.” I dropped onto the bed and let out a long breath. “I honestly doubt I’ll get any sleep tonight.”
The fact that I was even talking to the queen’s torturer was a sign of my desperation.
His brow furrowed, and he pointed to a copper bathtub near the hearth. “There are herbs there to calm you before you sleep.”
“What can you tell me about the duel tomorrow?”
“If Her Highness wanted you to know any details, she would have told you. Shealwayshas a plan, and she does not make mistakes. All you can do is rest tonight and kill the king tomorrow.” Morgant pointed to a dark wood dresser. “Clothes in there. Your door will be heavily guarded. Do not try to leave.” He stepped closer and lifted my chin, his eyes piercing mine. “Do not try to see your Seelie dog, or you will both die. And then I get the pleasure of putting the cur out of his misery. It will be worse than death by a sword. You understand?”
