Page 22 of A Bond in Blood

And no one to haul me off to the dungeon later.

“Don’t think about it,” Olen replied.

My eyes turned back to him. “I wasn’t.”

“Princess, you’re easy to read. Try and run, I dare you. I haven’t had enough blood tonight. I could use some hearty, mortal blood in my veins.”

“That’s foul,” I replied.

“That’s life,” he snickered. “Keep walking. We have to be back before the moon rises.”

I turned my eyes back to the sky, watching the sun lower further in the sky.

“What happens if we don’t return? Will Lokii turn you into a serpent?”

Olen stopped. His body twisted while what I believed to be his brow rose.

“You mortals put some much trust and belief in theseGods. Tell me, princess, have they ever answered one of your prayers? Have they ever heard your wailing and cries?”

I blinked at him, my hands falling to my side.

“No,” I admitted, casting my eyes to the ground.

“You asked what Ulrich’s duty was,” Olen continued. “That’s his duty. He’s the one listening in the shadows. He’s the voice answering the cries. It’s not his fault if people don’t hold up their end.”

“But—” I began to protest.

He cut me off. “Why do you think the Gods stopped answering, Brenna?”

Olen stalked away and I watched in shock, unable to process what he’d said. Was he right? Was there something else behind this monster his people appeared to adore? Or was I being made a fool—again?

Chapter 6

The weeks of my servicedraggedon. When I wasn’t being forced to follow Olen around, watching him fulfill brutal punishments on behalf of Ulrich, I was forced to lay on the cold rotted floor of the dungeon.

That was until Ulrich called me back to his bedroom each night, or day.

I’d barely begun to get used to the change in how these fae lived their lives. Waking before the sunset, living their normal lives under the light of the moon, and then falling into their beds right before sunrise. At least this was how Ulrich ran his court, given the towns and cities the palace surrounded were always awake and bustling when Olen and I ventured out.

Still, week after week, I ended up back in the dungeon after only a short time beside Ulrich. Due to my continued attempts to end his life. Slowly, to my amusement, his room was emptying of its furniture and any potential weapons.

The war was growing tiresome though. With each failed attempt, I was reminded of my uselessness. My lack of strength, magic and skill. The painful reality I’d lived my entire life.

It was one of the many reasons I preferred the company of mortals over fae. The mortals never expected more than kindness from their princess.

I shifted through the haze of the past weeks, of the events missed in my life at home. The celebrations. Moments in my life with my loved ones that I would never get back. Hours of sobbing on the prison floor in my mourning. Days of trying to predict when Ulrich’s notoriously cruel hand would finally come down on me. When he would finally punish me for my attempts, instead of laughing in my face each time.

The dungeon door slammed open, and I jumped. When I turned around, my eyes widened when I found Ulrich at the caged entrance.

He was, as always, in that damned mask.

“Where’s Olen?” I asked, jumping to my feet.

Ulrich’s head tilted down as his eyes scanned me from head to toe before an amused smile graced his lips.

“Preoccupied.”

“What do you want?” I asked.

---