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“What happened?”
“I visited the dungeons.”
His eyes widen. “Whatever for?” he asks calmly, but I hear the growling disapproval in his tone nonetheless. I’ve known this male most of my life. He’s like a brother to me.
“I met a vampire last night, and I was curious about him.”
“And?”
“I found him.”
“In the dungeons?”
I nod.
“You met a vampire last night whom we then secured in the dungeons. They’re called criminals, not vampires. Did he hurt you? Is that why we put him in the dungeons?”
The planter wobbles. Thinking that someone hurt me upsets him.
“He didn’t hurt me.” Though he could’ve killed me. “He freed some prisoners and left with them, and, judging by your demeanor, you already knew about it. I just wish someone had told me a little bit more about our dealings.”
D’Artaron seems confused. “No prisoners were freed.”
“Sure they were. I saw them walk out.”
“We move them around from cell to cell, but no one left the dungeons.”
I witnessed at least a dozen of them stepping into the shadows. “Have you checked with the guards down there?”
D’Artaron snorts at the implication he hasn’t done his duty promptly and with the efficiency of a super fairy.
“And how did you evade guards from the dungeons and here?”
The family portals are a secret. I bite my lip.
The commander shakes his head. “How many of these portals are there that I don’t know about?”
“You’ve uncovered most of them.”
The commander grumbles disapprovingly.
“So nobody reported missing prisoners?” I ask.
He shakes his head. “Missing prisoners aren’t unusual down there. Monsters roam the dungeons, Fleur, which is why it’s not a place for any princess, certainly not one with magic that attracts them.”
“What if the dungeon master is in on the escape and just hasn’t told you?”
“We have fae guards down there and vampires who spy for us. Everything is as it should be. Except for you.” D’Artaron offers me an elbow. I take it, knowing where he’s going. I’m following because arguing with the commander is futile.
“You like villains,” he says.
“I do not.”
“You always have. It’s why I never stood a chance.”
I bark a laughter. “You never stood a chance because you married your duty to my brother, and I don’t share.” And also because the commander carries the kind of powerful magic our kingdom must replicate. I can’t give him children.
I don’t bring up that reason, but rather change the subject. “Give me a span before you tell the king.”
