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I would remain alone. It would give longevity to Ari’s illusion if he only needed to cover himself and Sofia.
Time crept by in disorienting waves. Surely it had been half a toll. Then again, for all I knew it had only been two ticks of a clock.
I jolted when soft footsteps padded down the narrow staircase from the upper levels. All hells, this would be our test. I hurried to the bars of my cell, prepared to do anything as a distraction to keep whoever was coming from looking too closely at the other two cells.
A figure entered the cavern and paused near the doorway, lighting one of the candles in an iron sconce. I blinked against the dim light and scanned the familiar face.
Deep ocean blue eyes held mine against her pale features. Her hair was braided over one shoulder, glossy and ink black. At the point of each fae ear, she had a silver stud pierced. The woman wore thin vambraces and a leather jerkin over a thick woolen tunic, and her boiled leather boots to the knees.
She was the guard who’d joined the prince when Kase was still a prisoner here. A woman I thought was Sofia’s friend.
A traitor in my eyes.
She swallowed and held up a tray. “I was told to bring food.”
I narrowed my eyes. “Already taking orders from Niall?”
“He will be my princess’s husband, in turn, he will be a lord over soldiers such as me.”
“He’s a sniveling bastard, so I wonder what that makes you if you do his bidding without batting a lash?”
Her lips thinned and she slid one of the plates of dried cheese and flatbread through a narrow slot on the bottom of the bars.
Slowly, she made her way to Sofia’s cell. Her shoulders slumped as she whispered, “Sof.”
The illusion of Sofia stared blankly at the woman. She said nothing. No mistake, Ari had no idea the woman was even here, so the illusion picked at her long fingernails, utterly ignoring the guard.
“I did not know this would happen,” the guard whispered.
I snorted my disgust. “What did you expect? They would give her a warm bath and a bleeding gown to wear?”
With more venom, the guard peeled away from Sofia’s cell and stomped toward Ari’s. She held his gaze. Ah, yes. I recalled their tumultuous interactions now. They were not fond of each other.
“Eat.” She snapped and slid the plate under his cell.
“You should say please,” I said. “Manners do go a long way, even when you betray your folk.”
She gripped one of the bars of my cell with such force, I could almost believe she could bend it. “It is because of folk like you beginning foolish wars that I must make difficult choices.”
“Difficult choices. Was it a difficult choice when your side slit my friend’s throat? Or when they tortured young ones? Is that what you call difficult? I call it spineless.”
She was a beautiful fae, even with her features contorted in . . . something. Couldn’t be remorse. For if a traitor were remorseful, they certainly wouldn’t keep betraying, keep torturing those they called friends.
“If you would simply . . . cease this battle . . .” She paused, shaking her head. “You would be preventing a great deal of pain.”
“For whom? Do you not realize what the Black Palace does to our people here? They are sold, tortured, and abused. There is already a great deal of pain. I will not stop fighting for a place where folk can live a true life. Not one forced to come from the gutter, from thieving, killing. I will not stop.”
“You don’t understand,” she said almost desperately. “The more wars that are fought, the more the ones he wants on the throne are not successful, the more dangerous—”
“Leave, Saga. No one wants to hear your excuses.”
My heart backflipped when Ari’s voice came from the cell over. How did he know she was here?
Saga closed her eyes for a few breaths. When she opened them again, I could’ve sworn a glaze of tears coated the color. “You should eat. Tell Sofia I won’t mention the troll burrow leading to the prince.”
My mouth parted. Saga was already halfway up the staircase before my words caught up with my stun. She knew what we were doing.
“You hide things,” I called after her. “Your true thoughts.”
