Page 10 of A Deception of Courts

I was a king, and it was time I faced the responsibilities that came with that title.

I didn’t wear the Icethorn crown but I felt the burden of its weight upon me. A constant reminder which ensured each foot stepped ahead of the other. Deep in my mind, there was another face. I had thought of her every day.Jesibel.

Duncan, Kayne, Althea and even Seraphine knew of the fey woman I’d met within the prison. Her face represented all those captive. It was always at the forefront of my mind, as this plan had materialised out of a single idea.

Free them. Save them.

“In and out,” I said to our group. My features hardened into a mask of determination. As I had before, I conjured an image of Jesibel in my mind, as if I included her behind the intention of my words. “Our people have been kept from their homes, their loved ones, for long enough. It’s time we set them free. As they should be.”

Althea bounced between one foot and the other. “It’s prison break time.”

“Aboutfuckingtime as well,” I exhaled, brows heavy with worry but lips quirking into a grin. “Remember, stick to the plan. And take as many Hunters down as you can.”

CHAPTER 4

The huddle of human guards didn’t have the chance to notice our arrival until it was too late. We dealt with them with ease – and by dealt with, I meant slaughtered. With every life taken, my skin itched with the guilt harbouring in my soul. Duncan took the lead down the remaining steps. Blades met flesh, and blood splattered violently across the sand-dusted ground. Their dead bodies were left stationed beyond the iron gate at the bottom of the steep, narrow steps. Although the Hunters didn’t notice our swift arrival until our blades had already pierced their chests, the imprisoned fey saw everything. And yet not a single one gave us away until the job was done.

Deep in the underbelly of Lockinge, the Hunters wouldn’t have heard the struggle that’d occurred far above. The prison felt like another realm entirely, hidden away beneath rock and stone. The world above could’ve been destroyed and the hundreds of captives in this place would never have known.

I surveyed the crowd of fey before me, eyes scanning frantically across every face. Even if I didn’t wish to admit it, I already searched for Jesibel among them. I was thankful that Althea took charge, snatching a key from a slaughtered human and stabbing it frantically into the lock. She was careful to close it behind us. Until we spoke our piece, no one could leave. Everyone, for the success of our plan, had to be on the same page.

No warning could have prepared her for what waited beyond the gate she opened. Althea knew what lurked down in the pits of Lockinge, but the scowl she wore suggested she couldn’t have imagined this. There were so many people. Perhaps even more than there had been when I’d last visited.

“Please, gather around and listen,” Althea shouted as she swept into the prison, us following in tow. Her voice brimmed with command, but there was a soft undertone that couldn’t be ignored. It had its desired effect. The fey closest to the gate parted, like water around a stone, as she made her way inside.

I sensed their desperation to flee now that the chance was there. I just needed them to hold off a little longer.

I watched from behind Althea as the expression on the fey’s faces relaxed in recognition. Unlike when they looked at me, they saw Althea for what she was; the princess of the Cedarfall Court.

A cacophony of confused murmerings and shouts greeted us.

“Wearehere to free you,” I called out, arms raised as if that could calm the crowd. Slowly, I watched the faces morph around me. Hope sparked behind tired, glazed eyes. “But to ensure each of you makes it out of this place alive, I’m going to need you to listen. For those who cannot hear, spread my message.”

Althea stepped aside, turned her body, and gestured me forwards. As her attention shifted to mine, so did the multitude of captives. “King Robin Icethorn speaks to you, listen if you wish to survive.”

That did it. Like a ripple across a lake, some order settled over the gathered crowd.

I swallowed the lump in my dried throat. There was an overwhelming urge to bring my fist to my lips so I could cough and clear it. I feared worse and expected I would give in to the violent crash of waves in my stomach and vomit from anxiety alone.

Althea had told them who I was, and now they looked at me expectantly. Pushing my discomfort to the attention aside, I lifted my chin and adorned the mask of the king they expected.

“We thought they’d killed you, Robin,” one of the fey admitted. It was a man I recognised from my short stay. He pushed his way through the wall of bodies, to the annoyance of those around him.

The last time I’d seen him, he was gasping for breath after Jesi had sprung upon him, slapping his neck and breaking his nose all within a blink. His dark beard was as wild as before, and the shadows of a blue bruise still haunted his now crooked nose.

I stiffened as he approached. Duncan noticed and stepped close to my side, which had the fey male coming to a halt. Then he noticed Kayne, Lucari and, worst of all, Seraphine, who lingered at the back in hopes she would be forgotten.

“He’s finally sent for us all, hasn’t he. Is the Hand tired of keeping us down here? Has he come for his final tithe?”

“We have nothing to do with the Hand,” I replied, watching as the stillness of the crowd slipped into disorder. “We come on behalf of Wychwood.”

“The realm that chose to forget about us? What good are they to us?” he barked two questions in quick succession, spit flicking over his dried lips where it clung to his wiry beard. The man lifted a calloused finger and pointed to Seraphine, who hardly recoiled at the hate that contorted his face. “She always comes to collect us. The Twins only come when the Hand needs us.”

I pinched my eyes closed, wincing at the reaction I imagined would cross Seraphine’s face. Twins. Not anymore. Her sister had died all those nights ago. It was a topic that Seraphine had warned to be left alone. I only hoped, for our sake, she didn’t react.

“Why not ask your prison guards why we are here?” Seraphine snarled. “Oh wait, they are dead, aren’t they? Shame, perhaps they would have clarified that we are here to save you, you ungrateful–”

“Not,” I said, making my word as sharp as a newly forged blade, “now.”

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