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“Yeah, I know. A blind man can see you were set up.” The anger in his voice was oddly gratifying.
“Is there any way to clear my name, you think?”
Than hesitated, and my stomach clenched with anxiety. “I don’t know, kitten. It won’t be easy.”
There had to be a way out of this nightmare. “What do you think I can do?”
“First, we must get out of here before we can prove your innocence. We need allies and a way to show Gwerin what a bastard Prys is. They need to see their misery is because of him and the ruling class.”
“That sounds like a… revolution?”
Than said nothing, but his body tensed, telling me that was exactly what he meant. My head spun as I contemplated the idea. Revolution. The word sounded like out of the history books, not something that had anything to do with my life.
Finally, Than’s voice rumbled through my whole body. “Yeah. I reckon it does.”
I must have stayed silent for too long, trapped in my thoughts.
“Are you alright, Beth?” Than’s voice was gruff with concern.
“I’m fine,” I said, forcing a firmness into my voice I didn’t feel. “Just processing.”
“I understand it’s a lot—,” he began, but I interrupted him.
“I need this, Than. I need to understand what I’m up against. To plan. To fight.”
That night, I lay in the freezing cell, listening to Than’s even breaths. My mind was a relentless whirlpool of thoughts and fears. Even if we managed to escape, how would we survive without money? Than had years’ more experience than me, but even he’d been caught.
But I had something now I didn’t before. I had a mission. To escape. To clear my name. And to take down the bastard who was the root cause of all my problems.
Chapter nine
BETH
Everynight,everymorning,was the same as the one before. The snatches of sleep I fought so hard for evaporated in the icy air, as shivers rolled over me relentlessly. My teeth chattered as I shuffled closer to Than, desperate for his warmth. But even he was reaching his limits, his skin colder every morning. We didn’t have much time left.
If it weren’t for our daily fresh water supply, we’d have died by now. Disappeared, mourned by no one. The guards hadn’t brought any food for a week now, and the cold seemed to get worse every night. When I opened my eyes this morning, the patches of ice on the walls were an inch thick.
“Tell me more about the Fae power players.” I had to squeeze the words through clenched jaws. My voice was barely audible over the distant screams echoing from somewhere in the dungeon.
“Sure.” Than’s eyes were tired, but he continued. “I told you about the Llwyd family whose head was King Rhys. Now it’s his son, Prys, who will be crowned king.”
He winced as he pulled himself to a seated position, then placed me on his lap. His skin was nearly as cold as the frigid air surrounding us. His lips had a blue tint I didn’t like at all.
Ignoring my concerned look, he counted on his fingers. “Let’s see. There’s the Arfon family. The head is Carys Arfon, who is a cunning crone. Her eldest son Alun is the family’s heir. Then there are the Powys and the Owens—”
Before he threw any more names at me, I asked, “Are they allies or enemies?”
“Both.” His expression was grim. “Alliances shift constantly, based on convenience and personal vendettas. It’s a never-ending chess game between them.”
“Sounds like a nightmare,” I muttered.
“Indeed.” He rubbed my arms to generate some warmth. “They all look human, if they please. But there are as many different Fae as there are races in our world. For example, there are the Water Fae. Some say they can turn into mermen. Their skin is often embellished with swirling patterns, but they can drown you with their thoughts alone.”
The dripping water tinkled, as if laughing at us. I looked at the corner where the noise came from, but couldn’t see anything in the deep shadows.
“How do we survive, even if we make it out?” I whispered.
“By sticking together,” Than replied, his grip on my arms tightening. “And by being smarter than them, learning their weaknesses, and using it to our advantage.”
