Page 112 of A Deception of Courts

Duncan flinched, recoiling from my words as a sour expression pinched his face. I sensed he wished to say something back. Part of me wanted him to. Whatever retaliation was promised by his parted lips soon dispersed, and he took up walking ahead of me the final distance to Rinholm’s boundary.

That would’ve been the moment to tell me not to worry, but even Duncan knew those words would be wasted. I should be worried – for him, for me and for our plan. His act, although valiant, didn’t matter, considering Daveed never made it into Rinholm castle. Now, that choice left us vulnerable.

The castle was smaller than I expected.

It was less a behemoth of stone like Imeria, and more a modest manor set in the heart of acres of fields. The castle wasn’t surrounded by a city like Aurelia, either, or embedded into the mountain face like the ruins of mine. It was nestled away from civilians and would’ve once been a place that encouraged peace among its visitors.

As we stepped beneath the hulking shadows cast down from the Draeic that flew high above us, I couldn’t help but recognise that peace was far behind us.

I straightened my back as the hive of Hunters revealed themselves beyond Rinholm’s main entrance. The metal gate towered skyward, its design reminiscent of vines and flowers in full bloom. At its top, the vines developed sharp-pointed thorns. I imagined it kept anyone from climbing over because the design continued as far as I could see on either side.

Like the plump, coin-sized bees that danced among the hedge of drooping snowdrops, the Hunters spread themselves out as we took our final steps toward the castle’s gate.

“Lost?” a grizzly voice asked.

I felt the weight of his dark eyes as he looked from me to Duncan and then to the pointed-ear body flung across his shoulder.

“The Hand has been expecting our presence,” I spoke out, forcing as much of Kayne’s confidence as I could by deepening my voice and keeping the trembling at bay. I wasn’t scared of the Hunters. No, I was fearful of what I would do to each of them if I lost control. Thank Altar for Lucari’s iron claws, as they kept my power at bay.

I looked at each one of them, memorising their faces. As their eyes fell on the illusion of the fey body that Duncan carried, I recognised the boiling tempest of hate inside of them. Oh, how I wished to give them something to justify such an emotion. But Ihadto wait. Their time would come once Aldrick was dealt with.

It was a fleeting thought, but I wondered how many of these women and men had been forced into this position, like Daveed.

I ground my teeth together as the man released a barking laugh. It was soon silenced as Duncan discarded Kayne’s body to the ground with a careless thump. Even with the gate between us, the Hunter jolted back. My face looked blindly toward the skies with glass eyes and lips stained blue with death.

“Going to take more than a corpse to let you in ’ere.”

“Then you be the one to tell the Hand we have delivered the Icethorn key to him, and you won’t move out of the fucking way.” This fury was the easiest to call up. “I’m sure he’ll praise you greatly for keeping his bounty from him.”

I was certain I saw fear in the Hunter’s face as he looked down at the body again. “Is he that the Icethorn boy… dead?”

I didn’t know what pissed me off more. Being referred to as a boy, or dead.

“Stone cold,” Duncan growled, asserting each word with the attitude he once imbued as Aldrick’s general. “Hence the delay in our arrival, the scum put up some resistance.”

Panic overcame the guards as they worked out the issue at hand. “Has he bled?”

The question would have been strange, but knowing that Aldrick bled his victims left little room for hesitation as I replied.

“Not a scratch.” I blinked and saw Queen Lyra strung up by thick rope around her neck with gashes across her wrists like jewellery crafted from rubies.

I wondered if Duncan recognised the relief across the Hunter’s face. I noticed it. Then, without another word, the gates opened. Duncan stepped over the glamoured corpse without sparing it another glance.

I followed, keeping my chin raised. “Someone pick it up and follow.”

They scrambled like a pack of wild dogs for the chance to be the one to deliver such a bounty to their master. It took three of them to carry it inside Rinholm, each Hunter wanting a piece of our success.

“Where is the teleporter lad?” another Hunter asked as we entered the cool shadows of Rinholm’s main atrium. I didn’t need to press him further to know he spoke of Daveed. “He left hours ago–”

I kept my gaze forward, focused on the back of Duncan’s head. “That pathetic excuse of a Hunter? Was it you who sent such a tired, weak boy to collect us from Cedarfall? He could hardly stand when he returned to us.Pathetic.”

“If you’ve got a problem, bring it up with the Hand. I’m sure he would love to hear you moan,” the Hunter replied, smiling in jest as he looked at Duncan.

“We shall do just that,” Duncan replied. The heat in his voice had the Hunter swallowing back his laugh. Even he sensed Duncan’s authority as though it oozed from his very skin.

He was playing his part well – an act he was well rehearsed in.

I felt the urge to smile. Not because I cared if the Hunter believed us, instead it was the tickling presence that spread throughout my skull. The further we paced into Rinholm, turning down its long corridors and passing through the barren, silent rooms, the more the feeling intensified.

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