Page 31 of The King of Frost and Shadows

Time blurred togetherdue to the darkness surrounding me and the monotonous days. Tavish had left me alone today and had yet to return.

Being stuck in this room all the time with only my own company, I was certain I was losing my mind. My one solace was that Tavish still hadn’t found the daggers in the bathroom. Granted, he hadn’t been spending a lot of time in his room, coming back only after dinner with cold leftovers for me to eat before going to bed.

Now, I stood at the windows, trying to calculate how far away the edge of the rocky cliff was from here. It was at least twenty feet, which was too high for me to jump from, but maybe I could climb the way to the cliff instead.

Taking a deep breath, I pushed on the glass to lift it open and see what was directly beneath me. I hadn’t been able to move around the castle again, so I had no escape plan from here.

As soon as the window rose an inch, the doorknob to the bedchamber turned.

Shit.

I lowered the window and took several large steps back just as Finola hurried in, her sword drawn. Her gaze locked on me and went to the window. She scowled. “Did you open the window?”

The other night, I’d realized why I couldn’t lie. It was something I’d read in one of the folklore books my family favored. Fae couldn’t lie, so I had to choose my words carefully. “Considering how fast you got in here, does it look open?” I rocked back on my feet, thankful that my toes didn’t hurt anymore, though my middle one was crooked.

“Then what did I hear?” She tilted her head.

I hated the way she looked at me … like she saw so much. It reminded me of Eiric, which meant I needed to redirect the conversation. I remembered how Finnian had been accused of trying to bed one of the servants, so that was a safe place to head. “There’s a lot of noise around here. For all I know, it could have been Finnian trying to get you into bed.” I didn’t know why, but I’d expected Finnian to visit me. He’d been as missing as Tavish.

She laughed. “I do think, Seelie Princess, that if we’d met under different circumstances, the two of us could have been friends.”

I tucked a piece of hair behind my ear, hating how it already felt a little greasy. Though I’d been brought new outfits that appeared to have belonged to servants, I refused to bathe again.

A faint scar still marked my chest from when Eldrin had caught me alone in the bath. I didn’t want to re-create that moment ever again.

“Don’t do something foolish and force Torcall’s and myhands to keep you in line.” Finola sheathed her sword before heading back out to her post, leaving me alone.

I paced around the comforter on the floor, wanting to scream and throw a tantrum. Instead, I went back to thinking. One thing I had noticed was that there weren’t many guards outside, and groups of people often lined up in front of the palace, chanting something, though I couldn’t make out what. Most of the attention outside was focused on them.

Heavy footsteps echoed from the other side of the door, and Eldrin entered the bedroom.

His face was taut, and his lips pressed together as he hovered by the door. “Still no magic?”

“Nope.” The guards came in every hour to see if they could sense my magic returning. Apparently, fae could feel the magic inside each other, though they might not be able to tell exactly what it was. So far, my scent and blood were the only things that labeled me fae. “Did you not believe the reports that are no doubt getting back to you?”

“Sometimes, I need to see things for myself.” He wrinkled his nose and sneered. “But you should really bathe.”

My stomach hardened. He knew why I wouldn’t, and he loved it.

“Well, I have things I need to attend to with Tavish about our people.” He blew out a breath. “But it would be really helpful for him if you could harness your magic and fast.”

I laughed bitterly. “Oh, I’ll get on that. I’d love to help him out so he can kill me.” Even though Tavish returned each night, the distance between us had grown, and a stupid part of me missed him. I craved the buzz of his touch and wanted to taste his lips again, but that wouldneverhappen.

Besides, he seemed more thanfine.

“Dragging out your fate is foolish. But what else should I expect from a sunscorched?” Eldrin rolled his eyes and left.

If I ever got out of here, I vowed to come back one day and kill the pompous asshole.

I bit the inside of my cheek, trying to channel my rage without causing a ruckus that would result in one of the guards checking on me again. The sweet taste of my blood filled my mouth, and my breathing turned rapid. I felt like a caged animal.

Suddenly, I heard a loud scream. It sounded like Eldrin calling for help.

I hurried to the door and pushed it open, planning to ask the guards what was happening, only to see them flying down the hallway toward the noise.

Leaving me unguarded.

My pulse pounded.

---