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“The guilds,” he repeated, falling back into step with me. “Assassins, mercenaries, the followers of Phillipa Blacktongue—”
“Who?” I asked again, interrupting him.
“Whores,” he replied flatly, glancing down at me as if to gauge my reaction. “There’s the thieves in the house of Doublecross and several more groups that I could not readily name.”
I almost forgot to be hateful as my curiosity took over. “Are the guilds the reason you haven’t conquered this city?” I asked as we turned a corner onto another street, equally as crowded as the first.
Not that I thought they should do so; it simply seemed like the kind of thing the Everlastswoulddo. They ruled by right of power, after all, and what was power if not controlling the largest city?
“No, we simply don’t want to. The land isn’t worth the headache that would come from managing it.”
“Why?”
“I’m sure you’ll see for yourself shortly, rebel.”
* * *
I hadno idea where we were going as we wove our way down the crowded city street, and I refused to ask. I was too angry about the situation overall. About the shadowy rope digging into my arm, the gown that was getting ruined every time I stepped on the hem, the fact I wasn’t even allowed to see Bael before we left. I might not be in a cell, but I felt just as imprisoned as I had before and entirely stupid for ever thinking I had a leg up on Prince Scion.
He’d said he wanted to remind me who held the power. The message was received and my hatred entirely renewed.
The longer we walked, the thicker the crowd seemed to become, and the more eyes followed us. Scion seemed to notice as well because his shoulders tensed. “I suggest you stay close, rebel. Cutthroat is dangerous, even as far as Fae cities go.”
“You say that like I have a choice,” I muttered.
Regardless, I hadn’t planned to wander away from Prince Scion—not yet, at least.
More and more eyes turned to look at us, and I looked down, watching the street to avoid all the prying eyes. I barely paid attention to where we were going until Scion finally came to a halt. The shadow-rope pulled me tight against him. “Ooph.”
He looked down at me with an expression similar to assessing a dead animal in the road as I righted myself again and smoothed my dress.
“We’ve arrived,” he said, sounding just as bored as he had in the forest.
I ground my teeth. The least he could do was argue with me—I had nowhere to vent my frustration, and I feared what might happen if my anger were allowed to bubble over. “Where would that be, my lord?”
His brow ticked up in something like annoyance. “The home of the Lord of Inbetwixt. I cannot say we are exactly friendly, but he should, at least, give me use of my own soldiers to find my brother.”
I shook my head. Whatever he wanted, I supposed. I hardly cared, and I didn’t get a say, anyway. I was merely hoping for a bed and something to eat.
We’d stopped in front of a large, white stone building, somewhere between a palace and a town house. It was well-kept, three stories, with a garden to the left and what appeared to be a rooftop veranda. Still, if not for the red and gold banners hanging from the upper windows and the fact that it was slightly larger than the surrounding homes, I wouldn’t have ever known that this was the house of the most important male in the province.
Most of the houses in Inbetwixt seemed to be made of sturdier stone than the ones in Everlast, and the city as a whole felt a bit more solid. With the exception, I supposed, of the obsidian palace. The jewel of the capital, the palace was impossible to compare to the home of the Lord of Inbetwixt. There was no contest in size or stature. The palace was perhaps six, maybe even twelve times larger, and I was sure when we ventured inside, the decor would be nothing as compared to what I’d stolen from the Everlasts.
Scion ascended a short flight of white stone steps toward a door with a single footman standing outside. I followed, unable to do anything else with the rope around my arm.
“Do you really intend to meet with the Lord and Lady like this?” I hissed.
“Like what? It is not my fault you dressed inappropriately.”
I glanced down at my too-ornate mulberry gown and made an angry noise in the back of my throat. “Perhaps if you had not kidnapped me, I might have chosen something else.”
“I do not have the energy for this, rebel.” He looked down his nose at me. “What is your concern?”
“You plan to drag me in front of other nobles like a dog on a rope? Do you not realize that will reflect worse on you than me? I had not realized you wanted all to know what a tyrannical monster you really are,my lord.”
His lip curled, looking almost flattered. “Yet again, you fail to understand our culture. I’m not sure anyone would bat an eye.”
“Take it off,” I demanded.
