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“I’d inconvenience you.”
“Oh,” Garrick said, prowling closer. I swallowed, noting that, backed against the window, there was nowhere else for me to go. “You’re not hoping to escape then? Onlyinconvenienceme?”
I ignored his question, answering with one of my own. “Would you have stood by and watched Preston strangle me?”
Garrick’s expression was a mask, his eyes empty. “He didn’t.”
“Do you even think for yourself, or are you such a faithful servant you’re merely his puppet?”
He surged forward, setting his hands on my shoulders, startling me into staring up at his face. Warmth lurked in the depths of his gaze, sparking a foolish, lingering ember of hope in my heart. “I didn’t like that he put his hands on you,” Garrick confessed, his words a growl. It reminded me of his wolf side, and it made my skin prickle. “I—” He struggled to speak. “I hate what he does to you. I wanted to break his fingers one by one.”
Don’t believe him,I urged myself, even as my heart thundered at his touch, at the look in his eyes. The coldness was melting away, exposing something raw and vulnerable. Something that looked like...concern. Maybe even more.
I shook my head, both to clear it and to deny his words. “Then why didn’t you? Why serve them at all? Why not help me escape to Ashwood as we’d planned?”
Sorrow pooled in Garrick’s eyes. “There is no escaping.”
“Because you’re keeping me here on their orders.”
He grasped my shoulders more tightly, and I froze, staring into his eyes. “There is no escaping foreitherof us. They have many hunters. You met some of them—were injured by one.”
My mind tried to comprehend his words.No escaping foreitherof us.Wasn’t he a willing servant?
Garrick’s fingers curled into the fabric of my sleeves, holding me firmly. I couldn’t tell if he was trying to hold me close or restrain me. “I’m not saying to never run. I’m only saying that tonight—tonight I don’t know if even you could make it. Notwhen the entire city is waiting to see you. And now that word is spreading about your Silverfrost blood...the other kingdoms might not be so friendly.”
My breath hitched. “What do you mean?”
“Every kingdom in Brytwilde has a tenuous relationship with one another. Many fae crave power—a taste of magic makes them want more, and any royal who overtook another kingdom’s throne would gain some of the magic of that land. It means, though we trade peacefully to share resources and send diplomats and play at polite politics often, we are often at war with various kingdoms, just like we’re at war with Ashwood now. It means that no kingdom would ever trust the ruler of another if they set foot unannounced on their land.”
“So Ashwood might not welcome me?”
Garrick’s brow pinched. “It’s hard to be certain, but they would have as many reasons to suspect you as to believe you. It was uncertain enough when you were a human crossing the border while they’re at war. But now that you’re the rightful queen of the kingdom they’re fighting? You could be running toward new enemies.”
The world spun, and I couldn’t tell if it was from the way my corset pinched my painful ribs, turning my breaths shallow, or from my own fear. I felt more trapped than ever before. If I escaped, I could very well be running from one deadly situation to another.IfI survived the harsh climate with only the barely-formed skills Garrick had taught me.
Garrick released my shoulders and stepped back, ducking to peer into my face, but I avoided him, stumbling back and leaning against the windowsill. My ribs throbbed. I couldn’t breathe, couldn’t think clearly. “Are you truly their prisoner, or are you trying to confuse me?”
There was a pause. “I’m limited in what I can say—and when,” Garrick confessed. “I...” His voice trailed off.
“It doesn’t matter,” I said at last, not meeting his gaze. “I’d rather take a chance than stay. Staying here will be certain death.”
“You’re a Silverfrost. I saw your magic. You’ll be able to fend off any underworld creature.”
“Preston and Nerissa are suppressing my magic!” The force of my raised voice made my corset strain against my skin even more, and I winced.
“That’s impossible. They told me they wouldn’t, as that would prevent our ability to perform a true test, and fae cannot lie.”
I finally met Garrick’s gaze, finding his mask firmly back in place, the warmth leached from his eyes. I wanted to scream. Who was he? What was true and what was false? What was trickery and what was real? “If you don’t help me escape, my blood will be on your hands. If our friendship ever meantanythingto you—”
“I am bound to serve them, Ren,” Garrick ground out.“They’re my sovereigns.”
“If you think I’m a true Silverfrost, would that not make you duty-bound tome?”
Garrick studied me helplessly. “When a fae vow is made, it is an unbreakable thing.”
“You made a vow?” I demanded. Was that why he’d chosen to betray me? Why he served his cruel master and mistress so faithfully, even though their ways seemed unlike what the man who’d trained and protected me would support? Why he turned into another person when in their vicinity—this cold, emotionless version of himself?
Garrick didn’t speak, only continued to stare, a muscle working in his jaw.
