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With a final scratch beneath Vynthar’s chin, I mounted my horse. Vynthar slunk through the forest surrounding us, only appearing in glimpses. I could finally breathe easier with him on guard against threats.
The sun was high in the sky by the time we finally made it to the village. Since I was covered in blood and grime and would only draw attention, I waited with Vynthar in the forest while Madinia slipped into the market to purchase supplies.
While she was gone, I told Vynthar about Cavis. Tears dripped down my cheeks, and he let out a low growl.
“Where is the fae prince?”
“I don’t know. Eadric said he’d set a trap for him, Demos, and Asinia in those caves.”
Vynthar seemed to think about that, his black eyes focused on something in the distance. Or perhaps he was just daydreaming. It was difficult to tell.
I turned away, facing the small homes at the edge of the village. “Why…why didn’t you come into the caves with us?” I’d attempted to understand it at first, but now, after everything that had happened, I couldn’t.
If Vynthar had been there, perhaps Thol wouldn’t have died. Maybe we could have saved Cavis. At the very least, he could have helped Lorian, Asinia, and Demos once we were taken.
“Trap.”
“I know it was a trap.” That was my point.
Vynthar stepped into my line of sight, almost poking me in the eye with one of his horns. “Trap for Drakoryx. Wards.”
Ah. The wards would have trapped him in those caves. I shuddered.
“I’m glad you’re here now. Do you know where Lorian and the others are?”
“No. I’m connected to you.”
My shoulders slumped. Still, whatever connection he had to me had likely saved our lives, and I stroked him beneath his chin.
As soon as Madinia and I found somewhere safe to rest, I needed to send some messages. By now, Tibris should be on his way back from the hybrid camp. I wanted an update from Vicer about the hybrids he’d attempted to convince to move down to the camp in the fae lands. And of course, we needed to send a message to the queen. We had to know without a doubt that we could trust her.
And then?
Then we would strike where Regner was weakest.
“You’re going to free them, I know it. Promise me, Prisca. Promise me you’ll free them. And one day, you’ll come back and burn this fucking place to the ground.”
CHAPTER NINE
Regner’s dungeon was well hidden, deep in the southern forests of Eprotha. We’d been traveling north, certain he would have picked a spot farther from the fae lands. Instead, the dungeon was in a forest close to Crawyth—just hours from the caves.
If I thought about how much time we’d wasted, I might slip off the edge of sanity. Yet no matter how I retraced our steps, I couldn’t see any hint we should have moved south instead.
Now, we were hidden in the forest as the sun went down, all of us watching the entrance of Regner’s hidden prison closely for any sign of movement.
It went against all my instincts not to stride directly into the dungeon and search for my mate. But Galon and Demos had been right. This would make the perfect trap.
Body parts had been strewn across the ground outside of the dungeon, as if some beast had torn those bodies into pieces. Asinia had retched, stumbling into the forest to lose her stomach, and even Demos had swallowed at the sight. But his eyes had met mine, and we’d shared the same thought.
If this was the state of the bodies outside the dungeon…
Prisca—
I didn’t even allow myself to finish that thought. “We’ve waited long enough. I’m going inside.”
Galon clamped his hand on my shoulder. “We need someone to guard the entrance.”
“Asinia and I will do it,” Demos said, his jaw clenched. “Just find my sister.”
