Page 179 of A Vow of Wrath and Ruin

“You can get up now.”

Heat flushed my cheeks.

“Oh, sorry.” I stood, my hands still bound to his.

“A little help?” He held out his hand, and I helped pull him to his feet.

“How’s the ankle?”

“Sprained, if not broken.”

I let out a breath.

“Let’s make a splint for it. You can lean on me. We have to be close to getting out of here.” I found some sticks and used them to brace his ankle before wrapping some old vines around it to hold them in place.

The faint smell of lavender and honey wafted in on the breeze.

“We must be close to the Court of Honey!” Caiden exclaimed. “They’re friendly. C’mon, let’s go.”

43THARAN

“How didyou know where to find us?” Tharan asked, shutting the curtains in his room.

Lucius picked at his nails.

“I wouldn’t be a very good spy if I didn’t know how to uncover secrets.”

“I sent him a raven,” Roderick chimed in.

“And that.”

“Well, tell me what you know.”

“I know that Caiden is missing and accused of murder and judging by the Blood Riders I saw on the way here, Erissa and Gideon are behind it. I’m also guessing you think a Trinity Well is in the Court of Screams.”

“Correct,” Tharan said. “Aelia is missing too. We think they were both taken by Erissa.”

“Seems right. Likely, they’re setting a trap for you as well.”

“They are the trap. There is an ancient ritual site in the Court of Screams. We think that’s where the Well is. We need to get there before Erissa and Gideon do.”

“I’ve got my Shadow Hunters scouting in the Court of Screams as we speak. If they are there, my men will find them.”

“Very good. We have a guide who will take us tomorrow night.”

“We don’t need him. I will take us tonight.”

“When did you travel to the Court of Screams?” Roderick asked.

Lucius arched a brow.

“I’ve been keeping an eye on them for a while. The rest of the council liked to think they were content worshiping their false god, but I think they underestimated them. I think Erissa has had her claws in them for a long time.”

“What makes you think that?” Tharan asked.

“It’s her signature. She likes to make gods out of men she can control. She did it with Gideon and I bet she did it with the leader of the Court of Screams. Although, it could have been one of her sisters from her time in Crom’s inner circle.”

A chill ran down Tharan’s spine. Erissa had tried to seduce him once. Could she have been grooming him to be one of her “gods”? He didn’t want to think about how his life would have turned out had he succumbed to her advances.

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