Fae Champion (Royals of Embermere #2)

9. A Pretty Distraction, an Agent of my Enemy

9. A PRETTY DISTRACTION, AN AGENT OF MY ENEMY

The tunnel Finnian shoved me into was wholly black and, thankfully, high enough that I could walk without crouching. Its rough stone walls reminded me of the twisting caves the dragons claimed as dens within the Nightguard Mountains. The darkness was so encompassing I would have easily believed I stood in the center of a mountain.

As fast as I could while ensuring I didn’t stumble, I made my way through the passageway, dragging my hands along its sides, feeling for a door. Under different circumstances, the blindness might have unnerved me. But given what I’d endured the last several weeks, relief fluttered through my chest, light as the touch of butterflies, even though I certainly knew I wasn’t yet safe.

So long as I was within the mirror world and within the queen’s reach, there was no being safe . Not for me, probably not for anyone. However I managed it, I had to grab Xeno and Saffron and return to Nightguard. The dragon protectors wouldn’t let them take me a second time.

That buoyant relief sputtered.

Or would the dragon shifters hand me over just as they had last time? Even once I told them how badly I’d been treated?

No matter, wherever I went would be better than here. I’d find a way that the queen bitch wouldn’t kill any goblins in my name and start a new life somewhere else. Anywhere else.

Rush .

The urgent thought arrived, unbidden and unwanted.

Rush was nothing more than a pretty distraction. An agent of my enemy .

The familiar reminder landed with a hollow thud and rapidly swept from my mind—where my thoughts, seemingly all on their own, conjured up Rush’s handsome face and tantalizing body. He was moonlight personified. His eyes, his hair, his light tattoos…

He was gorgeous, strong, fierce, and yes, I was drawn to him like bees to flowers dripping pollen.

But my existence in Embermere was a true matter of life and death, and what I wanted—what my body craved—didn’t matter. Not enough anyhow. It shouldn’t.

It couldn’t .

Once I escaped the queen’s clutches and was far, far away, I’d forget about Rush. Maybe I’d accept Xeno’s advances. He was kind, fun, loyal, and handsome, and we’d be happy enough together. Before long, I wouldn’t remember Rush at all.

Lies . Lies, lies, lies.

I tsked at the useless loop of my concerns, the sound sharp and echoing in the tunnel. Now was not the time for matters of the heart. Especially not with Rush. Never with the fine drake, Rush Vega.

It was thirst, I assured myself. Trauma, hunger, sleeplessness, that’s all any of that was.

My fingers snagged on an indentation. I moved past it before backtracking and running my hands along the outline of what was definitely a door opening on the left side of the passage.

My heart sped up again. I had no idea where this doorway led, other than to Rush. It was definitely the idea of my possible escape that had my heart thumping hopefully, not the man.

But when I found a doorknob and turned it, the door didn’t give. It was locked.

It’s all right , I told myself even as I began to worry that I’d put my trust in the wrong person. Finnian had kind eyes, but that was practically all I knew about the man. He worked for the king, which meant he ultimately worked for the queen, and he’d been one of my original kidnappers. He could be testing my obedience, and since I failed—of course I did—he was delivering me to her for my execution. Now that she had proof of my willingness to escape, it would be off with my head.

I walked faster now down the passage, my arms outstretched to either side, my fingertips already sore from the friction.

Reed had been there too, as a lookout, and I trusted Reed.

But you barely know him either. His benevolence could be a trick. The fae are known for their skill in deception .

I found another door. It, too, was locked.

I rushed through the tunnel, which seemed to grow smaller and tighter by the passing minute. My breaths came faster, and so obvious was the change that I had to force myself to slow down, to breathe deeply, to calm myself.

Finnian never said it was the very next door that Rush would be waiting behind .

Everything was still okay.

I tripped and stumbled. I caught my fall against the wall, the impact jarring my wrist.

“Dammit,” I growled, shaking out my hand. My wrist bone throbbed. “Just what I needed.”

But when my fingers snagged across the next doorway, this one on the right, I forgot all about my wrist.

I twisted the doorknob and pushed?—

The door opened inward into a dimly lit room lined with shelves filled with a collection of colorful glass jars of all sizes. Rush had been pacing the small space. He whirled toward me, his long hair spinning behind him. Without saying a word, those silver eyes of his narrowed as he examined every part of me. His jaw hardened at what he saw .

Much like Finnian, he pressed a finger to those lush, soft, bright lips of his I was trying hard not to notice— so not the time, Elowyn . He shut the door behind me, dropped a narrow tapestry over it—this one adorned with crawling vines, nasty thorns, and stunning flowers instead of dead dragons—and took my hand, tugging me toward the only other exit in the room.

I hissed quietly as pain flared in my wrist.

Once more, he whirled. This time, his eyes seemed to brew a thunderstorm.

I shook my head and offered a smile I didn’t really feel, trying to reassure him. He’d told me not to speak, and I sure as dragonfire wouldn’t be the one to bring about our discovery.

When he still looked like he was trying to decide exactly which assholes to punish for my pain, I waved away his concerns with both hands and put my sore one back in his.

See? I’m fine , I was saying.

He studied me for another series of long seconds before gingerly lowering that hand to my side and exchanging it for the other. Then he led me out the door into an empty hall, through an open threshold, up several flights of inelegant, narrow stairs, and through another doorway. From there, we entered a second tunnel, but this time one of the glowing orbs awaited us inside. We hurried down the passageway, past many doors, until we popped out into a hallway. This one was grander, wider, its fixtures more opulent. Large paintings of elves and other fae, of forests and lakes, hung heavily from the walls in thick, gilded frames. Rush’s head seemed on a swivel with how often he scanned our surroundings. His nerves were infectious. I practically stepped on his heels in my haste to get out of the open.

He pulled us through a door, next into yet another tunnel, and once we were inside he took a moment to lean against the wall—now nicely finished with plaster and illuminated by dozens of hovering orbs—breathing deeply before leading me down it.

Eventually, when I was wondering how large and sprawling this stupid palace could possibly be, he pushed open a final door and shut it behind us.

He stalked across a vast room, checked its several doors and windows, then rubbed his neck. “We’ll be safe here until the others arrive,” he said at a normal volume.

Relief raced through my body, leaving me wobbly. I sank onto the nearest chaise lounge, uncaring that it was a pristine brocade of fine red with gold accents and I probably stank.

“Where are we?”

Rush’s stare was on me again, noticing too much. “In the late crown prince’s chambers.”

My eyebrows shot upward. “We’re in Saturn’s rooms?”

“Yes.”

I jumped to my feet. “There’s no way we’re safe here. We gotta get out of here.” I spun in place but had no idea which direction to go.

“The queen doesn’t have eyes or ears here.”

I studied our surroundings, especially the ceiling line and the corners. “True.” I sat down again but kept my feet on the floor. “So you can see them too.” I chortled while rubbing my wrist and taking in the enormous four-poster bed capable of sleeping giants. “What am I saying? Of course you can. I’m sure I’m the last to see them. They’re creepy, aren’t they?”

That was when I noticed Rush was gaping at me, a look I’d never seen on him before.

“What?” I asked.

“That’s an expression. Are you telling me you see actual ears and eyes? Like, for real ones?”

“Yeahhhhh,” I drew out. “Doesn’t everybody? Pru’s mentioned them before.”

“But goblins don’t see them. No one does. It’s just a thing we know’s going on. The queen sees and listens to everything we do and say. But not with actual eyes or ears. That’s just a joke.”

“Some joke.”

Rush was studying me so intently that I ran my hand over my hair self-consciously, finding the many braids in my hair frizzy and unkempt. I dropped my hand.

“What do they look like?” he asked.

“I just told you. They’re ears and eyes.” I grimaced. “They’re bloody and they’ve got dangly, fleshy pieces hanging from them.” I shuddered. “I don’t even want to think about where they probably come from.”

Too antsy despite my exhaustion, I rose and sauntered around the room. “I started seeing them after whatever happened at the arena, when I almost died. But when I was escaping the dungeon, there were both of them there too, and … uh, the person helping me?—”

“Finnian.”

“Okay, yeah, Finnian, he told me not to speak so we wouldn’t alert the queen of our presence. But wouldn’t she have seen us anyway? I mean, clearly she didn’t, ’cause I’m here—but why not?”

Eyes intent, he stared at me some more before finally blinking. “I’d guess she only looks when she hears something out of place, or that Braque or Ivar hear, because I’m sure whatever she’s up to, they’re up to it with her. But it’s not like I know firsthand, just informed guesses.”

After running a hand along the bed’s thick brocade covering—this one, gold with red accents instead of the other way around—I began searching for a bathing chamber behind one of the many closed doors. “Why’d Hiroshi have to give Braque his face and legs back?” I glanced at Rush with a devilish smile. “Gotta say, I liked him better when he had chicken parts.”

Rush chuckled but became somber again too quickly. “Hiroshi told him he did it to save him from you, so you wouldn’t have reason to slice his throat.”

Surprised, I hmmphed. “Did it work?”

“It did. For now. Braque’s smarter than he looks. So’s Ivar. You’ve gotta watch them. Think of them as extensions of the queen.”

I closed a door to a humongous closet and faced him. “I don’t trust anyone at court.”

“Even me?”

I gulped. “Even you.”

His eyes flared a brighter silver. “Good. Keep it that way.”

His statement stung, though I couldn’t decide why. It wasn’t as if I didn’t know he wasn’t on my side, as if he didn’t make sure I knew, over and over.

I resumed my search so he wouldn’t pick up on my reaction. Without looking his way, I asked, “What are you doing here now anyway? Why are you helping me? Actually, are you helping me?”

I opened a door to a lavish bathing room with a tub spacious enough for several people and a faucet that must pour running water. I moaned and prowled toward the sink. It took me a few moments to discover I had to run my hand beneath the tap to get the water to come out, but once it flowed, I bent … and drank and drank and drank. It was glorious.

Once my thirst was eventually quenched, I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand and peered into the mirror. I was dirty, disheveled, and there was blood I’d forgotten on different parts of my armor.

Sighing, I turned, leaning against the sink. “So what’s going on? What’s the plan here? And do I have time for a bath and hopefully some food? I’m so hungry I could eat for a week. ”

Rush’s arms were crossed over his chest. He wore his fighting armor; it was also speckled with blood. “Tell me they fed you while you were locked up…”

“I’d be happy to, trust me, really I would. But then I’d be lying, and I only lie when it’s absolutely necessary.”

His eyes hardened to slate. His nostrils flared, relaxed, then flared again. When he spoke, his words could have chiseled rock. “You were in the dungeon for four days. You’re telling me they didn’t feed you at all?”

“Nope. No water either. I didn’t see another person till Finnian.”

“I’m gonna kill someone,” Rush gritted out.

“Only if you let me join in on the fun.” I chuckled darkly, but my face fell when I realized how much I’d changed since my capture and subsequent arrival in Embermere. To stop reflecting on my new murderous instinct, I added, “Are you sure it was four days? I counted three, but I had no window to the outside, so…”

“It was four,” he answered stiffly. “It took me all that time to find where they were holding you. The queen made me think you were in the fae dungeon and didn’t hold up to her torture.” He swallowed so thickly that his throat visibly bobbed. “I believed you were dead.”

“You were … looking for me?”

“Of course I was,” he snapped. “I had to fight. We all did. But when we weren’t forced to be at the arena, we were searching for you. It was Finnian who finally found you. Now I owe him, and I don’t like owing anybody.”

“But you do, don’t you?” I asked without understanding all I meant by the question. “You do owe, and big?”

An entire world of secrets appeared to swirl across his eyes before he shut down his emotions. It was as if a curtain fell across those vibrant silver irises.

His hand already on the handle of the bathroom door, he said, “You have time for a bath if you make it quick. We still have a while to wait for the guys to do their part.”

“What’s their part? What’s going to happen?”

He hesitated as if he were going to leave me hanging once more. But then his shoulders relaxed with a visible breath of resignation. “Get going with the bath. I’ll get you some food and then come in to talk.”

My back straightened as if I’d been whipped. “You’re going to come in here … while I’m taking a bath?”

“Unless you have a problem with that.”

“No, no problem. I need answers.”

“Good. See you soon, then.”

He pulled the door closed behind him, and my entire body began to tingle with anticipation. Of what though, I wasn’t exactly sure.