Page 34 of Across an Endless Sea

“Trade would’ve ended in survival.”

She snorts. “But raiding achieves gloryandsurvival. Not to mention slaves, which are a convenience that Elatha and his forebears have always been particularly fond of.”

“And lots of pointless death.”

“Bargains with the fae can’t be trusted. We would all have found ourselves fairy slaves or dead soon enough, anyway.”

I pinch the bridge of my nose with my fingers. “Let me guess, now you’re all too deep into this to stop. Elatha wants the glory of winning the war.”

“Now you’re thinking like a prideful monarch.” Prae spins back around with an approving tut. “Plants are wasted on most Fomorians, anyway. The majority of them wouldn’t know which end of a hoe to stick in the ground. We’re warriors. Ironworkers. Not farmers.” She huffs. “Now I have work to do. Sit over there and stay quiet.”

“Can I explore?”

Prae stiffens, then mutters. “No sense. What in Ancestors’ name makes you think exploring the enemy’s fortress is a safe activity?”

“Well, the alternative is sitting in a room full of deadly iron…”

“I cleaned out my store cupboard for you, didn’t I?”

I frown. “I’m not complaining.” I suppose a cupboard is a small step up from a jail cell, after all. “I actually expected worse…”

“You can thank Caed for that. He’s convinced the king that you’re so weak you’ll fall over at the slightest touch.” I grimace, and she raises a brow. “You owe him for that. Try not to earn him another hundred lashes at dinner.”

“Dinner?”

“Every night, you’re to dine with the rest of us in the grand hall.” Prae shrugs. “King’s orders.”

I imagine he’ll demand I bow to him again. And when I can't, another innocent fae will die.

“You told him to kill fae to make me comply,” I growl. “Why?”

“Because otherwise he would’ve punished Caed.” Prae meets my eyes without a hint of guilt. “The oath has really screwed with my cousin’s mind. If Elatha had harmed you, Caed’s powers would’ve gone haywire, and he would’ve accidentally challenged his father—or worse.”

I shake my head. “Caed had no trouble burning me, or dragging me along after his drake like an animal.”

“Yet he also slipped your shackle off for three hours to allow you to heal the damage.” Prae raises a single brow and looks pointedly at my bracelet. “Whatever you’ve done to my cousin, you need to undo it. Before he loses his common sense and ends up banished to the Deep Caves.” She gives a tiny involuntary little shudder.

What is it about the Deep Caves that she’s so frightened of?

Wait…Caedunshackled me and let me heal?

Filing that information away for later, I take an indignant breath. “I’m not to blame for his actions. He took an oath. If he feels bad for breaking it, that’s on him.”

A low growl fills the air, barely audible. “I never broke my oath.”

I never even heard Caed come in, but I whirl and he’s there—irritatingly perfect blue abs directly in line with my face. He’s not even wearing his coat today, just a kilt, gloves, and sandals. He’s taken the time to braid two small sections of his waist-length hair out of his face, but the rest of it is brushed out long and smooth, different from the warrior braids I’m used to seeing it in. Along his arms, those horrible bands gleam in the forge light, and I shy away instinctively.

“Do you even know what the words of the oath are, little queen?” Caed demands. “I can’t imagine any of the others found time to tell you in between mooning over you.”

I bite my lip and tear my eyes away, meeting his pretty turquoise eyes with my own. “Well?”

His mouth opens, then closes before he huffs out a breath. “It doesn’t matter.”

“Doesn’t matter?” I echo, then huff out an annoyed sigh. “You know what? I don’t care. If it allows you to treat me so poorly, I suppose it can’t mean much.” I shove away from the mat and head back to my cupboard. “Now, I have a headache. I’m going to—”

“So you don’t want a tour?”

My whole body freezes. Slowly, I turn my head to stare over my shoulder at Caed. For his part, he looks just as shocked by the offer as I am, but he doesn’t recant it.

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