Page 58 of Lady of the Nightmares

At the base of the stairs, there was indeed a small cellar, filled almost entirely with barrels of mead. At the back, a rounded door stood hidden by the shadows of a stack of empty crates. Scion walked straight toward the door and yanked it open without any preamble, as if he’d been here many times before.

My eyes widened as I beheld the long, twisting tunnel only just visible under his arm. “I don’t suppose you’re going to tell me where we’re going, are you?”

He looked down at me. “I would have thought that was obvious, rebel. This leads to the thieves’ guild.”

“If you know that, why didn’t we simply go straight here in the first place?”

He looked appalled and heaved a sigh as he ushered me into the tunnel. “One king does not simply burst in on another in his own kingdom.”

The door slammed behind us, and we started down the tunnel. My body tensed for a moment at the memory of being confined. I took a deep breath in and out, trying to force my brain and body into alignment. I was not trapped; I was simply inside. Inside in a small, dark space. With Scion.

To my relief, it was a very short tunnel, and already I could see the exit. All too quickly, we stopped in front of a rounded front door engraved with patterns of leaves and vines. I held my breath as Scion slowly stretched out his hand and knocked, my mind racing with possibilities. Voices and footsteps sounded in the room beyond, and my entire body tensed. If everyone inside was like Kaius, I wasn’t sure I’d survive the hour.

With a bang that shook the very stone around us, the door flew open. I blinked, startled by the sudden light flooding the tunnel, and looked up at the man framed in the doorway. Behind him, I could see the better part of a large, warmly lit warehouse room and a few curious faces peeking in at us.

Scion, unruffled, stepped forward to say something, but I beat him to it.

“It’s you!” I blurted out before anyone could speak. “I remember you.”

22

SCION

THE CUTTHROAT DISTRICT, INBETWIXT

“Sorry?” Cross asked, eyes widening on Lonnie.

She took a step forward, and I instinctively threw an arm out to catch her. She huffed out a breath as I trapped her around the middle and held her back from doing something idiotic that I would no doubt have to intervene in. “Calm down, rebel.”

She laughed harshly. “If you should be calling anyone that, it’s him. He’s the one who works for Dullahan.”

Cross looked back at us, and his mouth twitched behind his mustache, and then he tipped his head back and guffawed. “Me? You’ve got a screw loose, lass. Suppose that’s to be expected, though, if you’re runnin’ with him.”

I shook my head and met my friend’s pale green gaze over the top of Lonnie’s head. “Hello to you as well.”

“Evening, mate,” he replied. “Have to say, I didn’t believe it when Kaius said you were here, and with a human no less.” He stroked his beard. “Perhaps I should apologize.”

Cross was nearly as tall as I was, with tanned skin and broad shoulders. His hair was a bright copper, several shades lighter than Lonnie’s flaming red, and curled slightly around his ears, hiding the small pointed tips. He wore a full beard, unlike most High Fae, which gave him a less refined look and disguised his appearance somewhat so he could more easily blend in among any crowd—human, Fae, or otherwise.

Lonnie glanced between us, anger and confusion warring in her eyes. “I remember him,” she insisted. “I met him at an inn in Everlast. He’s a rebel.”

“In the true sense of the word? Maybe, but not how you mean it,” Cross answered as if she’d been speaking to him. “Now, are you coming in or not? One shouldn’t linger on doorsteps. It’s bad luck.”

It was my turn to roll my eyes. “We’re coming,” I grumbled. “One moment.”

He gave me a salute and walked backward away from us back into the guild den. “Godspeed, mate.”

Lonnie’s eyebrows pulled low over tantalizing honey-brown eyes. “I’m not wrong,” she hissed. “Or crazy. It was only a few days ago. I’m sure I’ve met him before.”

Well, that was a fucking twist of events.

“He’s not a rebel,” I told her. “Of that, I’m completely certain.”

That was about the only thing I was certain of, though. There was always the possibility she was wrong or lying about seeing Cross before, but for some reason, I didn’t think so, which begged the question: what was he doing in the capital, and why wouldn’t he tell me?A question to be answered once we get inside.

“But—” Lonnie began again.

I heaved a sigh. She was so fucking stubborn it was going to kill her one day.

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