Page 88 of Hidden

Momentum carried them to the far end of the room, where the high table had once stood. Lila steered Gareth to the right once she was finally able to get out of the crush and find a spot against the wall. Her father sank to the floor, almost boneless with fatigue. He needed more healing, but Lila felt weak-kneed herself.

She looked around. No one was fighting in here, just milling like cattle in a pen. The table with the food was only a few yards away. Lila edged toward it, not letting her father out of her sight. Even through the chaos, the scent of food was tantalizing, reminding her she’d spent too much energy and eaten too little at dinner.

Barely looking at what she took, Lila stuffed bread, nuts, and slices of hard cheese into the pockets of Ademar’s fleece jacket. Then she popped a piece of nut-crusted brie in her mouth. The flavor exploded on her tongue, and she could feel the nourishment hit her bloodstream almost the moment she swallowed. She took another bite and grabbed an almost-full wine bottle that stood on the table. She hurried back toward the place her father sat, head bowed and hood pulled down to hide his face.

“Here.” She pulled grapes and cheese from her pocket and offered them to Gareth, realizing she was parched. She paused to take a drink from the bottle.

And nearly spit out the wine. The two gargoyles who served Galeeta were approaching her father with a menacing tread. Lila scrambled forward, putting herself in their path. Galeeta was just steps behind the two monsters. Lila fell back out of pure dismay, nearly stepping on her father.

The gargoyles closed in protectively, flanking her mother. The chaos in the room had notched up a degree, with more people shoving to find a spot.

Galeeta put a firm hand on Lila’s shoulder. Her gaze flicked from the wine bottle to Lila’s clothes to the crumpled figure on the floor. Her mouth flattened in anger. “Where did you go? What have you done?”

Howls sounded from outside. Galeeta gave her a hard look.

“I didn’t invite them,” Lila pointed out. “But there are some things you should know.”

Her mother pushed Lila aside, not bothering to reply. Lila was forced to skitter sideways to avoid the nearest gargoyle. She’d barely found her balance when Galeeta bent to examine the cloaked figure beside the wall, her emerald ballgown pooling around her feet.

“Who are you?” she said to Gareth, who was eerily still.

“Mother…” Lila began, but Galeeta held up her hand, cutting off any more words.

Her mother’s gaze drifted down to Gareth’s feet, which were encased in a filthy but familiar pair of slippers. Her father’s captors hadn’t even allowed him to find shoes before he was dragged away.

Galeeta visibly swallowed. By the Abyss, Lila thought. Some part of her knows.

“I wrote the invitations to this banquet,” her mother began. “I know every guest here, and you were not invited.”

Slowly, her father lifted his hand and pushed back his hood. His pallor was evident in the brightly lit hall. His gaze swept over her elegant dress and jewels before searching her face. “Hello, wife.”

The gargoyles were the first to react, springing away with a soft squawk of surprise. The sound vanished beneath Galeeta’s cry of horror. Her mother collapsed to her knees beside him.

“Gareth!” her mother’s voice rose with surprise. She touched his face, shivering a little as her fingers found the unexpected roughness of his beard. “Oh, Gareth.”

Galeeta fell on him, holding him hard. Tears turned her eyes to glimmering stars as she turned to Lila. “Where was he?”

“What is going on here, Lady Galeeta?” Farras emerged from a knot of fae nobles who huddled a dozen yards away. They were dispersing now with purposeful strides, presumably to carry out Lord Farras’s orders.

Lila shrank back as Farras came forward, using his spear like a walking stick. She’d heard it was his weapon of choice, wielding it on foot or on horseback with equal ease. Light flared on its silvery tip, as if it held more than a hint of power.

Then her gaze fixed on the diamond-shaped metal amulet on a thong around his neck. Was it the object he’d taken from his henchman earlier that night? She reached to sense its power, expecting something dangerous. It was nothing of the kind, but a cheap shield against fae compulsion—the kind anyone could buy if they knew the right witch.

As he neared, his attention remained on her parents. Lila edged closer and noticed the gargoyles did, too. They were ready to protect Galeeta, even against this lord of the fae.

Her mother held Gareth close, though her features settled into a bland mask. “Lord Farras, you’ve already brought my husband back to me. How did you get him free of the king so soon?”

Farras looked as if he’d swallowed a porcupine. He glanced around, his eyes narrowing when he caught sight of Lila. “How did you do this?”

Before she could answer, Ademar emerged from the crowd, hurrying forward as fast as he could with his cane. “There you are, Mother. What … Father!”

“Hello, my son,” Gareth replied.

Ademar spun to face Lila. “Where was he?”

She stared Farras in the eye. “In the cells beneath this way station, near the pack of wolves that Lord Farras spelled into a fatal sleep.”

Galeeta’s mouth dropped open, speechless. In contrast, Ademar rounded on the lord, his face flushed with rage. Lila’s whole body clenched with fear.

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