Page 96 of Crown of Tides and Fury

My chest caved painfully. “Then you’ve already done it. You’ve given Fallon to Orion.” I spit the words out, wishing they were blades instead. “I hope he at least killed her quickly.”

Again, Griffon gasped. Even in the shadows, I could see his outrage. “As far as I know, he knows nothing about the child!”

I couldn’t hide my relief and closed my eyes for a second or two. Then I shook my head. “And yet your brother lives? How much did that cost you?”

“Nothing.”

“Or nothingyet?”

He grunted like I made no sense, but I could see worry in his eyes when he stepped closer to the gate. I worried too and tried not to imagine how Orion would take advantage of a powerful Fae with wings who now owed him a favor.

“I see you are none the worse for wear. That’s all I came for.” He turned toward the stairs and took a step.

“I assume you still intend to exchange me for Wickham?”

Griffon faced me again, one corner of his mouth raised in a smile. The effect was delicious, damn him. “So youarecurious.”

“Don’t bother. No one will ever consider that trade. I’m not even worth a pawn. At least a pawn could be traded for a queen—or a sister.”

“Not worth a pawn? When you’re clearly important to him?”

I scoffed. “Important to Wickham? He keeps me around out of pity!” I suddenly found myself standing at the bars, trying to catch my breath. “Wickham pretends not to see it…”

“See what?”

“That it was all a mistake. He got the wrong Uncast. Like I said, I was never supposed to be part of this. I’m just…I’m just like those clueless students, earning my tuition, taking advantage of some rich man’s mistake in judgment.”

Griffon winced, then moved back to the gate at a glacial pace, as if deliberating every inch. His judgment proved even worse when he cautiously reached a hand through the bars and laid it along my jaw. He risked me biting him, maybe breaking his arm, just to add his own pity to the party. Apparently, pity was all he had left for me.

I would rather he’d punched me in the stomach. It would have hurt much less.

To cut off that pain, I grabbed his hand and pulled him closer so I could press my silver blade against his throat. “I take that back. I’m always good for a little bloodshed.”

He laughed, though carefully. “Easy, now. Kill me and who will let you out? Who will see Fallon safe?”

“I don’t know. Annag can figure it out. And if I’m taken off the board, the game will go on without me. But you…” I pressed a little harder, knowing the silver wouldn’t affect him. “Removing one of Orion’s allies would surely help the cause.”

“Lennon, I’mnothis ally.”

Our faces were mere inches apart. It seemed the most natural move would be to kiss him, but I couldn’t. I wanted to be done with him, done with all of it. I wanted to go back to the states and forget any of this had ever happened. I didn’t want to be Uncast, I wanted to be a pleasantly oblivious mortal. And I knew just the witch who could erase my memory and make that happen.

My best chance of getting out of my present predicament, however, was if Griffon wanted me far away from him.

I stepped back and returned my blade to my boot. “I get why you brought me here. You want it made clear that you know where your sister died. I get it. But do you know what she did to me? What she had those men do to me?”

“Not precisely, no.” He swallowed, then waited for me to tell him.

I smirked and took another step back into my own shadows. “Let’s just say…I’m glad she’s dead.” My heart jumped when he grabbed the bars. I figured one more push would do it. “I’m just sorry I wasn’t the one to slit her throat.”

* * *

As usual,I hadn’t taken the time to think through my plan. Pushing Griffon so he’d want me far away from him meantheonly needed to get far away fromme, not send me home. And my tracker-destroying-tantrum meant no one would be coming for me—unless they noticed where the signal died.

I ignored the devil on my shoulder suggesting I might notwantto get away.

I eyed the folded metallic blanket on the edge of the cot and wondered if I could stoke my own anger enough to keep me warm through the night, since that bit of tin foil wasn’t much of a barrier against the humidity. If I hadn’t thought to add a vest and jacket before stepping away from the estate, I’d be freezing to death.

This time, I didn’t listen to Griffon’s steps as he left me. My attention was on the other man who had slipped into the shadow-filled dungeon without my notice. He wore a long, open robe over his rich, dark clothes, all of which might have come from another century. I wondered if he might be some sort of clergy.

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