Page 64 of Chaos Tempted

My influencer magic isn’t working at all. He won’t be swayed. “As you wish. May I, at least, check on mymates?”

“Go.” King Nathaniel waves me out of his office. “But be careful with any further accusations, or you might find yourself in the cell with them.”

I rush out of the room. How can my father, who was so ecstatic to meet me a couple of weeks ago, be the same man who just threatened me?

After catching my breath, I ask the door guard, “Can someone show me to the dungeons to check on the elves? King Nathaniel said it is alright if I do so.”

The guard calls a passing soldier over so he can escort me.

On the way to the dungeon, Commander Rhys catches sight of me. “Princess?”

I smile, but I’m not sure if having Rhys around is an asset or a liability. “Commander,” I say with a polite nod and keep walking.

But Rhys steps in our path and searches my face. “Where are you going? What’s happened?” He glares at the soldier, seeing I’m about to be taken down to the dungeons. His hazel eyes flare with protectiveness. His red hair seems to flicker like a flame.

“I’m checking on the elves,” I say, readying myself to continue as I’m eager to see my mates.

“Oh.” Rhys seems to sigh with relief, as if he sensed the tension with the king that might have also landed me in the dungeons. “I can take her the rest of the way,” he informs the guard.

I give him a sidelong look as we make our way down the dark stairwell.

“What is going on here?” Rhys whispers to me.

I don’t answer him but ask instead, “Why do you care?”

He frowns, but seems to understand my defensiveness. “Something feels odd. Actually, it’s felt odd since your arrival a few weeks ago, but more so now.”

“What do you mean?” I don’t want any guards to hear this conversation, so I stop and wait to hear his answer.

“Princess Twyla has been acting strange. More aloof than normal. The king has been angry and unpredictable since you left. And not just because of what those men did to you. I feel the tension of a war pressing on the realm. The elves have been wanting a war too, haven’t they?”

“Notmyelves,” I say indignantly.

“Yourelves?” Rhys stops his descent and stares at me. “You say that as if you own them.”

Knowing that humans don’t approve of multiple partners, at least out in the open, I answer with a classic Elven half-truth. “They are my family.”

Somehow, he hears the whole truth. “You have mated with them? All three?”

I don’t hear any judgment in his voice, so I nod. “We need to get them back to the fae realm, or King Magnus might use the prince’s imprisonment as an excuse to start the war now. It appears he wants it.”

We continue down the stairs and finally enter the lower level.

A prison guard looks us up and down. “What’s your business here?” He looks ready to toss me into the cells.

“King Nathaniel has given his permission for the princess to visit the elves,” Rhys says, exercising his authority.

“Hmm.” The guard steps aside. “The prince is in the far back.”

I hurry down the hallway to a thick wooden door with metal bracings. I glance at the heavy lock. If I’m to break them out, I will need to locate and steal a key. I peer through the small barred window. “Eldrin? Jaden? Oakes?”

Eldrin’s face moves from the shadows, but only by an inch or two. “Wynstelle?” he asks, his voice almost as an exhale and nothing more. His eyes are haunted, sunken with black circles of impending death. His usual glow is almost completely drained from his flawless skin.

I feel a surge of panic.How could he have lost his vigor so quickly? In just a day?

“What’s wrong? Have you been poisoned?” I ask, placing my hand in the slot, trying to touch him. Then I yank on the door handle, to no avail.

Chains clank as he tries to reach me, too. But his hands can’t move far because of his restraints.

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