Page 51 of Royal Captive
“When I want the opinions of a half-breed, I’ll ask Fallon’s pet. Certainly notyou,” Fennis spat back, not bothering to glance at the son who’d spoken.
The male fae stewed where he sat, but went silent. Feyanna shot him a sympathetic look, putting a soft hand on his back.
“We’re not here to talk about the children actuallyworthsomething,” Fennis began again. If he noticed the flinches and angry tension building in front of him, he didn’t care. “We’re here so this half-breed will tell us all about his visions and what he sees. He will trade all information about the prophecy for the life of his human pet.”
The eye of every fae pivoted straight to him. My mouth went dry.
“What?” I protested, turning toward him as well. “How do you know what—“
“My guards heard you and the human girl talking in your cell and in your sleep. Tell me what visions haunt your dreams. At least they will be of use to you and the girl.” He settled back in his throne, clearly satisfied that I’d happily hand over all of my information.
But he’d just done a little bit of that himself, unknowingly.
“Prophecy?” I asked. This was the first time I’d heard of a prophecy, but it made an aching amount of sense. Was that what all of my visions and Viana’s whisperings had been about? The dreams of fire and ash, of death and destruction, were they part of the screams that dogged Viana’s dreams as well?
The feeling of powerlessness threatened to drown me completely. A prophecy? No wonder I’d felt so hopeless and without direction. A prophecy meant there was nothing Icoulddo.
Completely powerless, just like you thought.
I wanted to believe it desperately, if only to finally have answers.
Plus, I didn’t see any harm in telling him about them—I didn’t even understand them. How could anyone else?
“Just … just fire. And ashes and death. Everywhere there are bodies piled up, charred and burning. The stench of burning flesh—” I broke off, bile rising in my throat. I could still smell it if I thought about it. Taking a breath of air, I continued.
“There is a figure of a woman. I don’t know who. I’ve never known who. She stands among the rubble and those left alive flee before her. That’s … that’s all I know,” I ended abruptly, feeling like it all was a bit anticlimactic. I kept that last bit to myself; the voice that drifted over the entire scene, telling me it would all burn.
“And this woman in your dreams … Do you believe it to be the human traveling with you? This … queen?” Fennis asked intently, leaning forward while both hands gripped the edges of his throne.
I had thought about it constantly since meeting her on the balcony when I was drunk and desperate. Her voice had jarred my soul, because I recognized it from my dreams instantly.
But Fennis couldn’t know that part.
“Based on what I’ve seen, it is impossible to confirm who she is,” I said truthfully, my face straight.
Fennis’s eyes narrowed. “Very well.”
His attention turned on the rest of his children as the discussion devolved into politics, who was marrying whom, and other court drama that dulled my wits and numbed my senses.
“Don’t fuss. I hear Shyllon and Alihandro have taken quite the shine to your companion. She’ll bewelltaken care of,” Fallon assured me, giving me a patronizing smile like I was a child in need of cheering.
My answering grimace had her roll her eyes and turn away, leaving me to my melancholy.
I didn’t know how I could stay in Fennis’s good graces other than keeping Fallon happy, but I did know one thing: he could never know that the voice of fire and brimstone in my dreams was the same voice Viana had heard her whole life, intermingled with the screams of the dying and burning.
“It will all burn.”
Eve’s voice.
Seventeen
EVE
My longing for action wasn’t as great as my need for sleep after a hot bath. It only took me a few minutes to work the knobs after remembering how Shyllon had done it before. Waking up, however, wasn’t nearly as easy as falling asleep had been.
“Rise and shine, Princess!”
I startled awake as someone unceremoniously ripped the covers from my body, exposing my bare legs to the cold chamber air. Another servant was already tending to the fireplace in the corner, coaxing a new fire to form.
