Chapter 10
Daisy
The slap rang out before the pain across her cheek registered.
“Wake up, you vile human.”
The stone slab had been straightened, and she hung from the chains, her feet dragging against the ground.
A male fae stood in front of her, and another stood back by the door of her opened cell.
Deep night had fallen, only a silvery slice of light coming from her window.
It was just barely enough to make out the fae within her space.
They each wore a sturdy tunic of forest green, belted at the waist with two sheaths each for long knives.
Embroidery ran across their breasts and down the sides, leaving the stomach area mostly bare.
Their sleeves flowed with a material similar to silk, showing more embroidery, which matched what circled the bottom of the tunic.
Something like tights covered their legs in deep black, ending in supple leather boots.
The fabric was cut simply and looked of moderately good quality, but nothing at all like the Celestial she’d seen in the human world.
Unless she was mistaken, their attire and presence here suggested they were a middling sort of servant.
Not someone with mindgazer magic. Not that it mattered if they planned to drag her to the king or some other noble. Or take her for themselves.
Her stomach fluttered as she remembered what Tarian had said. She hoped someone had alerted him and he could get here in time if anything should happen. Otherwise, she’d kill whom she could and hope for the best.
A mask of shadow did not cover their faces, but strange black lines crept from their eyes and over their cheekbones.
More spiderwebbed up from the high collars on their necks and along the edge of their jaws.
She didn’t know if that was ink or something else.
Their skin looked sallow, but that might have been a trick of the light.
“Get her. Hurry up,” the one at the cell door said. “This place stinks.”
She didn’t notice the key until the fae in front of her had lifted his hands to the manacles.
Metal clinked before it released, and he stepped around her hanging frame to do the other.
She dropped fully to the ground, hitting her knees against the stone floor before rubbing at her wrists.
She glanced up in time to see that leather boot, freshly polished but nearly worn through, swing toward her.
She rolled as quickly as she could, but the blow connected with her side, knocking the wind out of her.
“Get up!” he barked.
Fucking fae. These didn’t have any more patience than the blue ones that had abducted her.
She treated the situation similarly, doing as they wanted but letting out sounds of panic and fear as she did.
The one near the door walked through, his eyes tight after seeing the mangled corpse still on display. A rickety wooden ladder waited near it, but either they hadn’t gotten around to freeing the body, or Tarian had magically made it so they couldn’t.
Two creatures that were this castle’s version of prison guards waited in the shadows. Darkness obscured their faces, but they were watching the situation.
“Your betters will be hearing of this,” the fae who held Daisy hissed at them. “This is your job, not ours. We should not have to come all the way in here to get the human. You’ll be destroyed for this, mark my words.”
The fae who held Daisy tensed as he yanked her out of the cell, his face long as he looked at Tarian’s display. It seemed the prison guards had taken the warning to heart. They didn’t want to end up like their comrade, regardless of who was giving the orders.
The prison guards didn’t respond, and the fae kept grumbling, pulling a handkerchief out of a pocket Daisy hadn’t noticed and placing it to his nose. He led the way toward the tunnel Lennox and Kayla had taken her through earlier. Or was it yesterday?
They each breathed a sigh of relief once they were far enough out, taking in lungfuls of air. The one in the lead ran his fingers through short-cropped hair. They didn’t spend much time, if any, in those dungeons.
Around a couple corners and they headed a different direction than Daisy had been before.
The interior of the halls looked similar, but the walls were starting to spread wider apart.
The ceiling began to climb. Paintings hung along the walls, bloody affairs with crimson splatter and broken weapons.
Servants increased in number, their clothing equally fine as those who were escorting Daisy and sometimes more so, with more embroidery and occasionally pearls or other shiny objects sewn into the fabric.
Daisy’s stomach churned as they turned another two corners, the finery of the halls becoming obvious and ornate golden and onyx chandeliers dripping from the ceiling.
They were taking her to someone important.
Her gut said it wasn’t Tarian. That it was someone who wanted to have fun with a strange new addition to their cages.
Based on what the guards had said, it was likely the king.
She kept her hands from tightening into fists. They hadn’t restrained her. That was a stroke of luck. She could do great damage very quickly when in a tight spot.
Zorn’s voice rolled through her head. If you can save yourself, don’t wait. Being on the run gives you better odds than being locked in a box.
Her gaze flicked down to the knife sticking out of her captor’s sheath, ripe for the plucking.
Her own knife had been taken again when she was put back into the dungeon.
She could snatch this one before they locked her in a room and use it before they knew it was gone.
The king’s magic wouldn’t save him as he died from a quick-acting fatal wound.
If it was the king—hopefully, it was someone with less status and power. Less danger.
Adrenaline seeped into her blood, carefully contained. She ensured her movements stayed consistent and hoped to fucking hell the magic meant to contain her thoughts had started working.
She felt a prickling sensation at the back of her neck, a heightened awareness pulling at her.
Pressure throbbed around her, someone’s focus tracking her.
Someone’s gaze bearing down. She’d gotten very familiar with this sensation in the magical world, needing to know when someone planned to take out or “give a lesson to” the Chester who didn’t belong.
A male of medium height and build walked down the side of the hall toward them.
He held ancient-looking scrolls with tattered edges, rolled up and shielded protectively within his arms. His jacket was a fine thing, with gold embroidery on deep green fabric layered in places with red edging.
Loose pants in fine silk flowed down his legs, ending in pointed slippers of velvet.
She couldn’t tell if any of these materials were the same as in the human realm, but they were something similar.
A gold chain hung around his neck, an oval locket resting on his breast. Eight gold earrings pierced each lobe of very large, pointed ears that stuck far out from his head.
Eyes so pale they almost looked white surveyed her.
He continued to slow in his walk until he stopped altogether, noticing her shoes and then her clothes, her hair and then her face, studying her like she was a fascinating book. Or scroll, in his case.
The fae escorting her passed him without so much as a glance. Nor did they put their heads down in respect. He could’ve been a ghost despite his obvious wealth. His gaze stuck to her, though. Her eyes. He’d finished looking her over and was imploring her to glance in his direction.
She had no idea if he was a mindgazer, or if the magic supposedly employed to protect her thoughts was working.
Just in case, she started mentally singing her favorite song, imagining the musical instruments and focusing on the lyrics.
She finally met his eyes, ready to drop her gaze if he took offense.
Almost immediately, she felt a strange tickle in her mind, like a feather stroking the surface. Yeah, definitely a mindgazer.
She thought of her favorite bird as he watched her, his gaze delving into hers. His pale peepers, a very pretty color when up close, with dark blue speckles and a hazel ring around the pupils, glimmered with knowledge. With a question.
She had no answers. Not for him, or any of them. But goodness, weren’t the feathers of a flamingo so lovely and pink? They got that coloring from their food. And the ostriches, with their plume of— Actually, llamas were cool, weren’t they? Some could be very surly, though—
Her mental babble was cut short when the fae who held her arm jerked in surprise.
She whipped her head around to see Tarian stopped at the mouth of the hallway, his body pointed to the right but his head turned her way.
It looked as though he’d been passing by when he glanced this way, then stopped.
The image of him took her breath away.
His clothing was made of material as fine as the male with the scrolls, but the cut was so much more interesting.
A high collar on his tunic jutted close to his jaw and cinched in at the base of his neck.
Silver designs entwined within, sparkling and shining in the hallway lighting.
Another collar nearer his shoulder looked like hardened leather, or rubber, even, sitting atop a flat piece that curved slightly at the edge of his shoulders.
Another piece of the same material covered his upper arm, all of this swirled in golden braids, lines, and accents.
It made his already broad shoulders seem that much bigger and looked like armor. Sleek, gorgeous armor.