Chapter 10
SAPHIRA
Danica was waiting in my rooms the next morning as I returned from a rather uneventful breakfast with Meiryn, Lorien thankfully nowhere to be seen.
I drew up short on the threshold of my room, staring at the young brunette as she shot to her feet in a rustle of drab teal cloth, her grey eyes going as round as full moons.
“Saphi!” Danica was across the room in a heartbeat, flinging her arms around me and squeezing me tightly, trembling as she hugged me hard enough that it was difficult to breathe.
I didn’t chastise her for trying to squeeze the life out of me, not when she was shaking badly and I scented the fear on her.
I wrapped my arms around her slender shoulders, squeezing her just as tightly as she buried her head against my shoulder and sobbed.
The initial relief that she was fine, and that Sylvan had kept his promise and now I could protect her, fell away piece by piece with each heavy sob that shuddered from her.
Dipping my head, I pressed my cheek to hers, and rubbed her back in slow circles, unsure how else to calm her and comfort her.
I didn’t know what she had been through in the short time she had been in the Summer Court, and the fact that she had been destined for Lorien’s stable of females conjured images in my mind I feared might be true.
When her sobs hushed to sniffles, I carefully pried her off me and pushed her back to arm’s length, gaze scanning her from head to toe, seeking any sign she might have been treated as abominably as Everlee had been.
“Did they do anything to you?” I scanned her again, but she looked fine, other than her bloodshot tired eyes and the tears that glistened on her rosy cheeks. “Did they hurt you?”
I wiped those tears away, erasing all trace of them as she gathered herself.
She shook her head, her chestnut jaw length hair swaying with the motion, and sniffled.
“The guard who brought me here said I was meant to be a gift for the heir, and I know he’s that horrible fae male who keeps coming to my cell in that dungeon to stare at me and taunt me.
I thought… I didn’t know I was coming to see you. What are you doing here?”
I listened hard, cocking my head as I stretched my wolf senses outwards, blanketing the area. No movement nearby. No heartbeats. No ears to listen in on us.
I guided her to the bed and sat down on the turquoise covers, sinking into them, and waited for her to sit beside me before I told her everything that had happened in hushed whispers.
A brief version of events, but I think I covered it all.
How Lucas had rejected me. How Kaeleron had bought me.
That Morden had come for me. That we had freed the pack and had tried to find her and Everlee before they could be sold and taken.
And that apparently my real father had been the king of this court and I was now the heir.
“Everlee.” Her grave expression cut at me. “I heard things… terrible things.”
I caught her arms near her shoulders and nodded, letting her know I was aware of what had happened to our friend, and that she didn’t need to speak about it unless she wanted to.
“She’s fine. Safe. She’s at the Shadow Court now with Chase and some of our pack.
She’s fine, Dani.” I felt as if I was lying to both of us, trying to make us both feel better, because I didn’t know what had happened to Everlee after I had run after that fae who had been the one to do those terrible things to her.
I couldn’t imagine the terrors she had lived through or how the abuse she had suffered at Luthryn’s hands had affected her. I was glad he was dead, and I hoped that Chase and Morden were taking care of her, and that in time she would slowly come back to us.
“Lucas got what he deserved.” I rubbed Dani’s arms through the sleeves of her dress, struggling for the words that clogged my throat, tightening it. “But we lost many… my… parents included.”
“Oh, Saphi.” Dani hurled herself at me again, squeezing me so hard that the tears fell.
I battled my emotions and my grief as I held her close, breathing in her familiar scent in this unfamiliar world, using it to comfort and ground me.
I wasn’t alone now. I had an ally in this strange new world, one I would keep close to me and protect, and somehow, I would find a way to get her away from this wretched place.
“Morden is safe too,” I whispered into her hair.
Four words that seemed to break her.
“You’ll see him soon.” Those words were an unbreakable vow, one I would keep even if it killed me.
Dani sniffled and nodded, rubbing her damp face against my shoulder, and then sat back, wiping the tears from her eyes as she kept nodding, as if just by doing that she could find the courage she lacked.
I rubbed her knee, compelled to comfort her, reminding myself that she hadn’t been trained to fight, that she was as innocent as she looked. It was my duty to take care of her now. To be her sword and shield. To see her home safely.
“You’ll be one of my handmaidens now. That will give you protection within the castle. I want you to stay here in this room with me. We can share a bed. It’ll be like being back at the pack, when we’ve had sleepovers.” I smiled at her, one that I was sure touched my eyes when hers brightened.
She sized up the bed we sat on. “It’s more than big enough for the both of us. We all could fit in it.”
I chuckled. “I don’t want to share a bed with Morden or my cousin, thank you very much.”
Her nose wrinkled. “I don’t want to, either. Morden snores and hogs the bed. I’ve had to live with him and every morning I’d find him splayed out on his bed like a big old starfish.”
I laughed again, the sound and action of it lightening my heart.
Gods, it felt good to be with Danica, to be back with someone from my pack, rekindling my connection to it and my old home.
It was good to have an ally again, someone on my side in this place, but I couldn’t shake the feeling I might find an ally in someone else too.
“You mentioned they were holding you in the dungeon?” I said.
She nodded and rubbed the last of her tears from her cheeks. “It’s a horrible place. All damp and smelly, and cold.”
“Did you see anyone else being held captive down there?” My heart began a rapid pace as I waited to hear her answer.
She shook her head. “No. I was the only one down there.”
Disappointment swept through me. “There’s no other section to it? Like a door or something you maybe couldn’t see around?”
Another shake of her head. “It’s very open, and very empty. My senses are getting sharper now and the only people I could feel on that level were the guards when they came to shove food at me, or that male.” She caught my look and added, “You look sad to hear that. Why?”
I heaved a long sigh and tried to push away my disappointment. “I was hoping maybe I might find Kaeleron’s brother there. He was taken by this court a long time ago. I guess it was too much to hope he would have spent all those centuries in the castle dungeon.”
“I’m sorry,” she said.
I shook my head this time. “It’s not your fault. I’ll just keep looking in the books and keep my ears and eyes open. I’ll find out what happened to him.”
Just because he wasn’t being held here, it didn’t mean he was dead. There was still a chance he was alive, imprisoned somewhere within this court, and that I could find him for Kael.
“Don’t leave this room under any circumstances unless it’s with me, okay? And stay away from Lorien and the others.” I patted her knee as I stood and she caught my wrist.
“Where are you going?” Her grey eyes pleaded me to stay.
“Just to the library. I won’t be long. You’ll be safe here, Dani. I’ll ask the guards to send you some food and you can enjoy the quiet and the view from the terrace. It’s rather spectacular.”
She curled her lip. “I doubt that.”
“Try it. Who knows, you might see Lorien and you can throw one of the vases at him.” I swept my hand out, rolling my eyes at the sheer number of them that cluttered the room with their bright displays of flowers. “I’ll steal you something sweet from dinner if you manage to hit him.”
She grinned and released my arm. “It’s a deal.”
I smiled, ruffled her hair, and went to my nightstand, grabbing the thick wad of parchment and the pen I had come here for.
I waggled it at her. “I’ll return with some juicy intelligence we can go over.”
She saluted me and I chuckled as I walked to the door, and stepped out into the corridor.
I closed the doors behind me and stared at the handles, wishing I knew how to use magic.
If I really was part fae, I might be able to use magic.
One of those spells that made sure no one could enter the room but me—the sort Kaeleron had used on my room more than once—would have been useful right now.
It would have set my mind at ease at the very least.
I would have to settle for ripping apart anyone who dared to enter my room without permission, using my claws and fangs to send a message to anyone else who might think about crossing the threshold to get to Danica.
The gallery style corridor was brighter now, the source of the light in this realm having moved around the castle while I had been with Dani. I looked down into the horseshoe shaped courtyard far below me, and paused as I spied three males on the paved area adjacent to the small formal garden.
Lorien.
He sparred with two males who looked to be around his age, not pulling his punches and grinning whenever he landed a blow that drew blood.
I rolled my eyes and moved on, hoping he would be occupied for the whole day so I could avoid him.
The library greeted me with comfortable silence as I pushed the doors open and closed them behind me, every book in it seeming to beckon me.
I ignored them and went to my chair, glad to see no one had moved my stack of books.
If Meiryn was right, then we were the only ones who could enter this place, although I had my doubts about that. Maids probably kept it clean.