Page 32 of Prince of Never

‘We ain’t done with ’im,’ the goblin bit out, yanking the blade from the table.

Haddock shook his head rapidly, mussing the filthy floor with his curly blonde hair.‘No sir, your lord of darkness sir, I’ve cheated them most grievously of their money and they most certainly have chief claim to torture me for a good few hours.I’d not want to rob them of that right, sir, even if you’ve some business with me, which I could most assuredly attend to the moment I have finished with being tortured, sir.’

I bent down, took a hold of his shirt and jerked him to his feet.‘Stop blabbering,’ I growled.His companions were eyeing me with wariness now, clearly having heard Haddock’s ramble.My glamoured disguise was simple, nothing that couldn’t be perceived with close inspection, but he shouldn’t have been able to see through it so quickly.Perhaps this was an oracle who had the abilities he claimed and not one of the more common frauds.

‘He has business to settle with us,’ the goblin ventured, part menacing and part hesitant.

‘If you gut him first, he won’t be answering any of my questions,’ I said.‘So I’ll take him now, and you can gut him when I’m done.’

They didn’t object when I began dragging him away from the table, likely because they weren’t confident in whether I was just some hooded stranger or a prince in disguise.

I hauled Haddock Sloan out of the tavern while he blubbered incessantly about how I had the wrong satyr, how whatever I’d heard he’d done was all exaggerated, and how he was close friends with what sounded like every high fae noble he’d ever heard the name of, until I shoved him against the outside wall.

‘You’ve been gifted the power of sight and you’re using it to cheat at cards,’ I said as he slumped to the ground.

‘Shh,’ he hissed, then seemed to remember who he was shushing, his eyes widening.‘I mean to say, if you could speak a little lower about such things, I’d be most humbly grateful, your lordship...eminence...sir.A fae must make a living and that living would be sorely jeopardised if it was common knowledge...’

‘And yet, you sell your services as an oracle.’I crouched down before him so I could look him in the face, and he cringed away from me.‘In fact, you made some interesting predictions recently that had a lot to do with me.’

‘I’d no idea...no idea if it was anything that would offend you, my lord.I’d most definitely never dream of predicting anything that would injure or anger you—’

‘Do you think I’ve come all the way here to listen to you grovel?’I cut in over his torrent of whining.‘You gave information to one of my men about a girl in the human realm.’

He scrubbed at the spindly beard on his chin.‘Ah.Yes.The...uh...prophesy girl.’He slunk a little closer to the ground, grimacing as he looked up at me.‘The one who’s going to bring about the downfall of the Unseelie Court.’

‘Yes,’ I said through my teeth.‘That one.I want to know exactly what it is you saw.’

‘Oh, right, right.’His face cleared and he straightened up as he began to pat at his coat.‘It wasn’t much more than a glimpse, really.My sight usually comes in flashes, images, that sort of thing.Not those epics you’d be used to from the star reader.I keep a copy of all of it.’He fished a floppy leather book out of a pocket, but hesitated before opening it, his eyes darting to my face again.‘I keep it for...ah...’

‘I’m not interested in your blackmail schemes.’

He nodded vigorously and began to thumb through the pages, giving me glimpses of scenes and faces, some sketches, some painted in full colour.‘Of course, of course.Let’s find your girl, then.Ah, here.’He opened the notebook wide and handed it to me.It was a double-page spread rendered in fine detail by a skilled hand.And it was clearly Imogen.She wore a long black coat and walked with her hands in her pockets, her blonde hair unbound, a bag slung over her shoulder.I stared down at the image, resisting the urge to run my fingers over it, to smooth my thumb over the lines of worry between her brows.It was jarring, to see her depicted like this, to be able to stare at her without preparing myself to look away if she saw me, to run my eyes over her slowly and just take her in.

‘The, uh, background was clear as daylight,’ Haddock said, and I reluctantly dragged my attention to the rest of the painting, to the bronze bust behind her, the banner depicting a shield with a ship above it.Her university.This must have been how Arun found her.

‘And you definitely saw her in connection with the prophesy,’ I said slowly, still not looking at him.‘It wasn’t just in connection with me?’

‘The connection felt clear at the time, but I could double check it, now that you’re here in front of me.Give me your hand.’

Lifting my gaze from the page, I glowered at him.

‘It’s not ideal,’ he said, laughing nervously and turning his palms up before him.‘But touch works best.’

Without dropping the glower, I jabbed an elbow at him.

‘Of course, that works too.’He wiped his forehead with his sleeve, then laid a hairy hand on the skin of my forearm.‘Definitely the downfall of the Unseelie Court,’ he said after a moment.‘But there’s something else.Just let me...’His eyes glazed over and his jaw slackened.‘She’s your mate!’he burst out.‘She’s—’ but he choked on the end of his sentence as my fist closed on his throat.The book in my hand crumpled and flaked, unravelling until it was falling from my fingers in streams of dust.

‘You should unsee that,’ I snarled.

He nodded vigorously, scrabbling at my hand.‘Agree entirely!Private things!Not something I want to know!’

‘The easiest way to ensure you forget it would be to dissolve your brain in your head.’

‘You could, you could!’Sweat was beading on his forehead and dribbling down his face as he choked out the words.‘But the power of sight....might be helpful when you’re up against fate.’

I drew him a little closer, my eyes narrowed as I read him, before I released my hold on him and he slumped to the ground, clutching his neck and heaving in a lungful of air.

‘There are other oracles,’ I said as I watched him in disgust.

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