Page 49 of Crown of Wings and Whispers

“You can drop it,” I said, again fighting my instincts to hold my tongue and keep him happy. “I’m not buying it.”

He chuckled, studied me, and then laughed genuinely. “You can’t blame a king for trying.”

I shrugged a shoulder as if to say I barely cared. “It would only be torture for us both. I’d rather we were honest with each other.”

“Excellent.” He headed for his pretentious seat.

“And if I’m honest, I’mstarved. I can’t remember when I ate last.” I had no hint at how long I’d been kept in limbo, and I wasn’t about to ask.

He lifted his hand like a click of his fingers could fix it.

“But what I really want…is a hamburger and fries. American food, you know?”

He nodded, frowned, then headed out again.

“And can you take these beasts with you? Lots of history between us, lots of bad blood.” He didn’t seem moved, so I grasped for anything, remembered Hank’s vicious outburst from earlier. “I’m pretty sure this growling is my stomach…”

Just short of the doorway, Orion turned back to look me over once more. I don’t know what he imagined he saw, but he nodded, clicked his fingers, and the monsters hurried out ahead of him. “I shall return shortly with your American hamburger and fries.”

“Medium rare!”

I thought that was a nice touch, myself.

“Lennon!”

It was Flann…in my head!

“Lennon? Lass. Can ye hear me?”

“Flann!”

“Aye. It’s me. I’m outside the chamber with Griffon and Wickham. We’ve come to take ye away, but the place is sealed against us. Ye must find a way to come out. And Wickham will pop us home.”

“GriffonandWickham?”

“Aye, lass. We were wrong. No one wants ye harmed, no matter what the Seanathair said. I swear it on my life, ye’ll be safe with us. Wickham has promised to let Griffon take ye away as soon as ye’re free.”

“I don’t know. Should I try to get some information from Orion first? He seems to know something about DeNoy—”

“Are the four auld women with ye? The fairies?”

“No. They escaped.”

“We’ll find them. They can help. Between ye and me, I think I know what they are. And I’d bet money they know what lies inside the Fae King’s book.”

“I’m alone at the moment. I’ll try now. If I anger him…”

“We’re here, lass. If ye can just get outside!”

I rose from my chair and strolled toward the wood doors. If Orion caught me, I’d act casual, bored, curious. Or maybe I needed to pee and was looking for a bush to hide behind. Both plausible. Both forgivable. No reason to string me up and slice me open, right? How was I to know who was waiting outside? It wasn’t as if I had a cell phone.

I reached the doors and still no Orion. Maybe he was trying to explain to his minions how to make a medium rare hamburger or how to keep from burning my fries. I pulled on the center handles and both sides of the split door opened freely. I smothered the little voice in my head that warned it was too good to be true. But then I saw a woven mesh of vines as thick as my thumb blocking the enclosed space between myself and freedom.

I couldn’t let them stop me! I closed the doors behind me and got moving, hoping the vines were old and rotten, wishing they would just go up in flames.

And they did!

In shock, I stumbled forward, turned sideways to sashay out between burning remnants, determined to find Griffon again. Now that I had some fresh air in my brain, I realized how stupid I’d been to consider staying. Orion’s power had affected me more than I knew! Facing him again would be a mistake.

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