Page 27 of Royal Ransom

“Oh, we never left the castle,” he said dismissively. “We simply came below it. The founders had such grand imaginations. I doubt I’ve uncovered even half the tunnels and secret war rooms they built into this place over the years. I have half a mind to transform it into a fortified palace for my Queen. She’ll forgive me one slip for a well-built defensive position in the mortal world.”

Under the Academy, I thought, recalling old layouts I’d seen in the library. Searching for Astrid had been a long and grueling process, and I’d spent more time than I wanted to admit hunched over books, praying for clues. This must have been one of the decommissioned potions labs from the 1940s, before the Academy’s most recent renovation.

If I was in the Academy, then Tally was still close by. Unless Basil got the drop on her, knocked her unconscious, and dragged her through a portal, she would be coming for me. And I didn’t think Basil was the backstabbing sort. Right, so I just had to keep Cirro talking.

“Why would Janara need a base in the mortal world?” Anyone with even a sliver of genre savvy would have known not to answer the question. But Cirro was an idiot—a young,cocksure idiot who loved to hear the sound of his own voice. So, I wasn’t surprised when he did.

“She plans to recreate the old Faerie kingdoms once she has defeated Autumn.”

I blinked at him in shock. He couldn’t be serious. I knew Janara had screws loose, but I never imagined even she would be arrogant enough to thumb her nose at the mundanes in such an epic fashion. Bringing back the Seelie and Unseelie courts by making Autumn a vassal state would force the otherwise peaceful seasons that weren’t involved in her war to defend themselves and the mundanes alike. Forcing faeries into the spotlight was going to get many humans and monsters hurt. But Janara wouldn’t care as long as she ended up the queen of all in the end.

We had to stop her. Now.

“She’ll get you when I’m done,” he said simply, as if I hadn’t spoken earlier. I could have shouted at him, and he wouldn’t have taken notice. He wasn’t even listening to me anymore. “Don’t worry. You’ll die soon enough. After I’ve gotten the information she wants from you. All will be forgiven when I hand her Olwen’s location.”

It would be a cold day in hell before I turned Tally over to this ponce. I also refused to die at his hand or Janara’s. If I died, it would be taking down Janeth and the other war criminals she associated with. My fate was to go down in a spectacularly bloody confrontation against vampires, not dissected on a metal table like a frog.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Cirro stride back into view, holding a shiny knife in his right hand. The sight of it made me thrash against the table again. The bonds were just as unforgiving as before, and the table seemed impossibly colder, as if Winter itself were trying to reach through my skin and gouge out my spine. I was tempted to shout obscenities at him,but it would only draw a panicked Tally to my position. She needed to have the upper hand.

I was going to suffer at Cirro’s hands. What else was new? Everyone else had gotten their licks in. Might as well give the third-rate Winter Sidhe a shot too.

I reached out in my thoughts, trying to catch her attention without completely thrusting my essence into her head. It was jarring when someone just randomly dropped in on you. Besides, if this was going to hurt as badly as I suspected, I didn’t want her experiencing it vicariously.

“I was captured and I’m being held in a decommissioned potions classroom. Do not ride to my rescue, even if you hear me scream. A rescue attempt has to come from your head, not your heart, Tally.”

The moment of silence that followed hollowed me out. I felt my last morsel of hope shriveling into oblivion. Maybe Basil had dragged her away? Maybe I was alone with Cirro? If that was the case, his smug face might be the last thing I ever saw. He was closing in with the knife, wearing a strange mask over the lower half of his face. It was light blue with odd-looking strings that looped behind his ears. I’d never seen a garment like it, and the sight made me even more uneasy. What was it for? To keep bloody spray off his face?

“I know that, Mav,”Tally said, her mental voice strained. I thought she might be running. “I was a cop for years. Once I deal with this smelly bastard, I’ll come find you. I need you to hold on as long as you can, sweetie.”

Sweetie. She’d never called me a pet name before. It somehow meant more to me than the dozens of others I’d been called over the years. Because she mattered so much more than anyone else. That was when I remembered she’d said she was dealing with something.

“What are you running from?”I asked.

“Big, furry, and has a bad temper. Probably a yeti, but the lights are off, so it’s hard to tell. What’s your guy like?”

“Skinny, young, and way too sure of himself. He’s Winter Sidhe, so he has enough power to get away with it, but you could hand him his ass easily.”

“Of course,”she said, as though I were stupid to think otherwise. It only made me love her more. There was nothing sexier than a powerful woman who knew just how dangerous she could be. If there wasn’t a threat of a serious magical ass-whooping if I messed up, was it even worth starting the relationship?

The connection went silent as Tally withdrew. And just in time. Cirro had reached the side of the table.

“Gah!” I cried out as the knife made a swift cut along my stomach. I bled freely, and Cirro made no effort to staunch it. I gritted my teeth to keep from screaming, but I barely managed to contain myself. He lifted the blade, now coated in crimson. His pale eyes gleamed in the knife handle’s reflection.

“Tell me where Olwen is, and I’ll let you slip into unconsciousness. Force me to get creative, and you won’t have any fingers left to count with.”

I believed him. But I also believed in Tally. So I leaned up as far as the strap would allow, my hand shaking as the bonds tried to clamp off my circulation. Everything in the room was freezing except for the cut on my stomach, which pumped red blood enthusiastically into the frigid air. I gave him the only answer he was ever going to get from me.

“Go fuck yourself, Cirro.”

Chapter Seventeen

Maverick

My blood had formed a glittering mosaic on the ground.

Every time a crimson drop hit the frozen floor, it puffed up in steam. The blood froze on contact with the stone, transforming the drops into tiny ruby crystals. I might have found it pretty if the mosaic weren’t growing alarmingly large.

Cirro was bent over me, sawing at my middle like an inept butcher. The man had clearly only seen the mundane’s idea of horror films because there was no technique employed at all. He was probably going to kill me out of sheer incompetence before any rescue efforts arrived.

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