Page 10 of Prisoner of Darkness and Dreams
“Are you insane?” I bark, eyes darting from the brutalized bearer to the fae prince and his accomplice. The moment I try to get closer, the unknown man steps in front of me.
“That’s far enough, Mr. Wadestaff,” he says firmly. He’s oddly familiar—something about his facial expressions and the color of his hair, but I’m not able to place him before I’m distracted by the begging sobs from the bearer.
“Wadestaff, stop them. They’re maniacs—” More roots clamber across the bed, gagging the cleric so his shrieks are muffled.
I won’t deny the vicious surge of satisfaction at the sight. A high and mighty bearer, laid low, made to feel as weak and helpless as all the other people he’s victimized over the years. Made tohurtas he so richly deserves.
Marina. Gods, Marina, I want to make every single one of them pay for what they did to you.
But that would be suicide. And I haven’t survived this long just to die now.
“Do you want to bring the whole fucking Temple down on our heads?” I demand of the fae prince. “If you kill a bearer, we’re done for.”
Prince Leonidas barely glances at me, bringing his knife once more to the priest’s chest as Polis bucks against his bindings.
I summon my shadows, bringing a tide of them crawling down the walls and across the floor. I doubt Prince Leonidas will be susceptible to their panic-inducing effects, but they can still obscure. I figure the prince can’t keep torturing this man if he can’tseeto do it. Prince Leonidas realizes the same, pulling his knife back with a glare and stalking over to me.
“Enough, Wadestaff. Don’t get in my way, and you won’t end up like him.”
It’s beyond stupid to square off against the Nightmare Prince, but when I think of Vasily, unconscious, and the frightened faces of the women outside, I know I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if I didn’t take a stand. It’s one thing to flow with the tide, to not waste my time and energy bucking up against powers that could crush me under their heels. But this isn’t a situation I can push through by biting my tongue and forcing a smile. This ismy peopleat stake, and nothing will stop me from fighting for them.
“How dare you come intomyhouse and attackmystaff. You have no idea what you’re about to unleash.”
“Forgive me if I don’t quake in my boots at the threats of a common criminal,” the prince sneers.
“I’m talking about the Temple. They won’t just come for me. They’ll punish the whole city for this. It’ll be a shitstorm of retribution dressed in scarlet robes.”
“He’s probably right, Leonidas,” the other man says. “If he and his people are going to suffer for this, he at least deserves to know the reason.”
The prince growls but lowers his knife.
“Morgana Angevire is missing,” the man continues. “We believe the Temple has her.”
The news hits like a slap to the face. I’ve seen how Leonidas is with the princess, and it’s been more than enough to show me I never want to see himwithouther. But now that day has come.Damnation.No wonder he’s going off the deep end. Taking a closer look at him, I notice it now. The prince appears to be in control at first glance, but there’s a unique kind of wildness in his eyes—consuming rage, mixed with a dark, desperate fear. I know that look; I’ve worn it myself. He’s standing on the verge of a world about to collapse because the person he values most in it might be lost to him.
Still, none of this explains who the other man is, or what his role is in all of this. But then I start putting two and two together. The last time I saw the princess, she was recruiting spies alongside the rebels.
“You’re with the Hand of Ralus,” I guess.
“Yes, you could say that.” Despite the situation, the man seems amused by my suggestion, which tells me he’s not just with the Hand—he’s someone important. My brain keeps calculating, reading the room like a book.
“So that information you were so desperate to get from my girls went and got the princess captured.” It’s just a guess, but from the way they both stiffen, it’s clear I’m right on the money. “Well,” I drawl, “forgive me if I don’t faint with surprise. Screwing over innocent people seems to be the Hand’s business these days, doesn’t it?”
“No one regrets what happened to Morgana more than me,” the rebel sayscoldly. I realize with a spark of curiosity why he seems familiar. He looks a bit like the princess. A family resemblance, perhaps?
“Nevertheless,” the rebel continues. “Now we need answers.”
“There must be another way to go about this,” I say, still trying to come up with some way this can go thatdoesn’tend in my district getting burned to the ground. “What about that man of yours—the persuasive one?”
“He’s on his way,” Leonidas grunts. “But I don’t see why we should wait.”
My eyes fall on Polis. I know nothing will stop the prince from carving him down to the bone, because nothing would stopmeif it meant I could get Marina back. Letting him kill a bearer could be disastrous, but maybe if we play this right…I’d have to burn through quite a few favors, but I think I could make this go away withouttoomuch blowback on me and mine. And getting in his way would just make a bigger mess for me to have to clean up. He’s going to go ahead with this, no matter what I say or do. I might as well make sure no one else gets hurt in the process.
“Alright,” I say, reluctantly stepping back. “Do what you need to.”
Leon rounds on the bound bearer once more.
“So here’s the deal, Polis. You tell me where the Temple is hiding the princess, and I won’t add any more artwork to your skin. Harman?”
