Page 7 of Kings and Monsters

How long had it been since she had been that comfortable in anyone's company? How long since she had shared a joke with people she loved? She used to be like that with the Seren Du brothers before their world burned. The four of them had been inseparable. Now, she didn't recognize any of them, not even herself.

Bleddyn had a new family to care for, and there was no denying just how much they loved each other. It radiated between them and made her feel cold and uncomfortable. She needed to find the damn crossing and get some space between them. She could see the questions burning behind Bleddyn's eyes, knowing that something was different about her, but unable to figure out what. He wouldn't be patient forever. Hewould start demanding answers, and she would have to decide what she should tell him.

If I had known you lived, I never would have left the Aos Si without you. Bleddyn's words came back to curl around her mind. She had thought he'd abandoned her, just as he had abandoned the Unseelie, because he didn't want to face the queen. Now she wasn't so sure, her years of resenting him taking on a different light.

Bleddyn was back, and she couldn't find it in her to tell him the truth—that she reallyhaddied that day, filled with arrows and a lance in her side, and that she had been reborn into something else entirely.

CHAPTER THREE

Nimue had been separated from Balthasar as soon as they had crossed back into the Aos Si. The Seelie guards were instructed to keep him away from the eyes of the courtiers. Nimue wasn't given the dignity of being secretly escorted into the cells. She had been dragged through the halls, the queen pulling her by a leather leash. She had been paraded in front of these courtiers before, and while they still jeered, their mockery seemed forced and subdued.

Something has definitely altered in the Seelie Court.Nimue studied them with a cold pride, knowing to keep her expression neutral no matter what they subjected her to. The underground courts, where the air usually hummed with power were noticeably colder, with furs replacing the courtiers' silks. The intense beauty of the Seelie fae had begun to dim, except for the queen. She was brimming with dark, glittering power stolen from Unseelie prisoners.

Aeronwen, Bleddyn had called her. Nimue wouldn't be surprised if there wasn't anyone left alive besides Bleddyn who knew her true name. And he'd made sure that he said it loud enough that the entire army had heard. It wouldn't take longbefore the court gossips got ahold of that piece of information, and then trouble wouldn't be far behind.

She's going to be so busy deflecting hexes, she's not going to be able to see straight, Merlin's voice mocked in her head. Nimue didn't dare smile even as his imagined amusement warmed her.

After being forced to sit in shackles at the queen's feet while she regaled them with her victory, Nimue was finally led down to the dungeons.

"Beat her and toss her in the pit. I have more entertaining prey to see to," the queen commanded.

Nimue tried not to look relieved that she wasn't going back under the lake. The darkness she could handle as long as she was dry.

"I'll take her from here. She can barely stand and won't be sport enough for two," the golden-haired Seelie guard told his companion. "You have more exciting games to play tonight. What was that pretty handmaiden's name again?"

"I can't even remember," the other guard laughed. "She's new, and that's all that matters."

"You had best hurry before someone else beats you to her."

"I owe you one, Fintan. Be careful of this one. Who knows what tricks she has? She is Eurion's child after all."

Like Hell I am. Bleddyn had made her a Seren Du, Nimue reminded herself. It would only make it worse for her if the Seelie ever found out.

The other guard headed away, and she was nudged forward with the butt of Fintan's spear.

One beating instead of two, Nimue thought.They would want to hope that the queen didn't find out.

The Autumn Queen's oubliette was a wide pit of inky darkness capped with an iron seal to stop any of the prisonerstrying to use their magic to break out. Fintan tied a rope around a post and gestured at Nimue.

"Climb down, or I'll have to throw you down," he said without any real malice. "You are lucky there are no decaying bodies down there. The previous occupant left with the queen and never returned with the army."

"Bleddyn Seren Du took her from the queen," Nimue said, and picked up the rope. "You had best be afraid and get out of here while you can. Trust me, he's coming for you all and will bring the rage of the Unseelie with him."

"Perhaps that wouldn't be a bad thing," Fintan replied, his blue eyes earnest compared to his bored tone. "Now get in."

"No beating?" Nimue raised an eyebrow.

Something softened in the guard's tight face. "You look beaten enough for one day. Now get in before I change my mind."

Nimue slid over the lip and climbed slowly down the rope, her hands raw and bleeding by the time her feet hit the ground. If he had dropped her in from that height, she would've broken at least one of her legs.

"Thank you, Fintan," she said softly, her voice drowned in the cavernous silence of the pit. Above her, the rope disappeared, and Fintan lowered the hatch, locking her in darkness.

The stone walls around her were smooth but dry. She walked slowly, one hand resting on the wall, the other out in front of her as she made a slow circuit of her new prison. The walls and floor hummed with wards to stop people from being able to use their magic. Nimue could feel the shape of the invisible nets around her. The queen was nothing if not thorough. Yet, something was off.

Nimue went to her hands and knees and began searching, trying to locate the discordant break in the hum of the spell. A slate paver rocked under her hand. Nimue rocked it again, herfingernails catching the lifted edge, and she pulled it free. She thought she'd find dirt. Instead, it was a hole.Who was the silver-haired prisoner she had seen during the battle?

Slowly, Nimue lowered her hand into the space, feeling around for anything hidden. Her fingers brushed fabric, and she pulled out a tightly rolled, woolen cloak. There would be no way the queen would've allowed such a kindness to a prisoner.

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