Page 74 of Hidden

Then he made his exit, leaving her alone with Farras. Lila’s stomach hollowed out with dismay. All she could do was stare mutely at the door.

“He is a talented pupil,” Farras remarked. “He learns quickly.”

“Evidently.” The word came out as a mere whisper.

“I trained him as a boy,” he said. “Riding. Swordsmanship. The beginnings of a proper magical education.”

“I remember that.”

“I’m sure you do.” Farras’s tone had lost its edge, as if he meant to make himself agreeable now. “Those summers at the king’s palace. You learned how to ride on that little white horse Elroth gave you.”

She said nothing, remembering the stables and Farras’s lamed steed.

“Your brother resumed his studies with me a few years ago, shortly after you left for the city. His rapid progress shows how your magical bloodline runs true, from the Grand Duchess, through your mother, and onto her children.”

“Congratulations on finding an apt pupil.”

“I want more than a student,” he said, stepping in front of Lila so that she was trapped against the refrigerator once more. “Don’t be deliberately obtuse. Not if you want your father back.”

“I would rather be dead than have that conversation.”

“A bold statement.”

“Why was my father arrested?”

“Your father is a good man, but not a wise one. He was arrested for possessing the proceeds of illegal trade.”

“My father would never do anything so dishonorable,” Lila replied, somehow staying calm. “That’s not who he is.”

“You may be right. I personally believe he was ignorant of where the gold came from, but the king’s justice will never take that fact into account. Your mother knows that, which is why she sought me out as an advocate to clear his name.”

Lila’s breath caught. For an instant she felt Galeeta’s distress as a physical ache. For all their differences, her parents loved one another fiercely. “That explains a great deal.”

He shrugged. “Such devotion would be charming if all she wanted was to clear his name. But Galeeta wants a place at the king’s table, even if that entails kidnapping a captain of his guard.”

Lila said nothing.

His mouth curled into a predatory grin. “If you recall your pretty horse from that long-ago summer, you should also remember that you were promised to me as my bride. Fernblade blood carries strong magic and my lineage is royal. Our children will have every claim to the Crown.”

Not without treason. “That marriage promise was annulled.”

He held up his hands, weighing two invisible loads. “Join our houses, and I will free your father. Your family will be safe and happy all their days. Refuse me, and I will send them to join the vermin buried in the woods.”

Lila’s mind skated over the ultimatum, unable to take it in, until her attention snagged on the last few words. “What do you know about the wolves?”

He gave a short, hard laugh. “I built this house. I keep it secure.”

“You killed them.” She took a stride forward, forcing him to bump into the steel table behind him.

“I put them to sleep, quite literally. It was a tidy and painless end, if that matters to you.”

“Why?”

“They were prying where they had no right to go.”

“I heard you don’t like getting your hands dirty, but why not kill them right away?”

“Because I could do something more interesting. Because I could test variations of the Sleeping Beauty spell on living subjects.” His lip curled in distaste. “And because I thought the prisoners might be leverage with the rest of the pack, should I need their services. Sadly, their spies didn’t survive long enough to prove useful.”

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