Chapter 16 Hannah #2
I met his gaze without flinching, even as Thea tugged at my arm. “I’m sure I’ll find the time eventually.” I matched his tone. So we were back to him being ice cold and detached. Got it.
The violet around his pupils darkened in a way that sent a strange pulse through my chest, but he turned away before it could linger. “Yes, soon.” Then, sharper, to Thea, “Make sure she has whatever she needs.”
Thea inclined her head with easy grace. “Of course.” She patted my hand. “Come on.”
I let her guide me toward the door, though I couldn’t stop myself from glancing back once more. Kai had already turned his attention back to Keldren, his posture rigid and shadows gathering at his feet like they were waiting for instruction.
Ashren caught my eye, and the faint smile tugging at his mouth said he’d noticed everything. And then there was the briefest shift of his attention toward Thea, something softer passing between them before it disappeared.
The door shut behind us with a heavy thud, cutting off whatever came next.
“That was magnificent,” Thea whispered as we climbed the narrow staircase. “Truly. The look on his face when you told him you’d find the time… I thought he might actually lose that carefully controlled temper of his. Though I imagine the interrogation itself was the more satisfying part.”
“It was.” My legs remained unsteady as the adrenaline crash continued to catch up with me. “I just didn’t expect the aftermath to hit this hard.”
“I know.” Her grip tightened in support. “You handled it perfectly. Now we let him stew and get you something to eat.”
That part sounded a lot better.
We stepped out of the dungeon corridors into the main castle, and the shift was immediate.
The air warmed, and the light softened into that familiar lilac glow.
It felt like stepping out of one world and into another.
My stomach twisted at the change, hunger hitting hard and fast now that it had something to latch on to.
Thea guided me through the kitchens and past the steady rhythm of movement and noise, until we reached a smaller room tucked just off to the side. A fire crackled in the hearth, heat rolling through the space as she steered me into a chair at the small wooden table.
“Sit.” She placed her firm hands on my shoulders. “I’ll get you something proper.”
I sank down and didn’t argue.
She disappeared into the kitchen, then returned moments later with a tray. A bowl of thick stew, steam curling up from chunks of meat and root vegetables, a piece of crusty bread, and a mug of tea that smelled like honey and something warm and spiced.
The first bite hit my tongue, and I groaned. It was rich and savory, layered with flavors I couldn’t name but instantly loved. I didn’t even try to pretend I had manners, taking another bite and then another like I hadn’t eaten in days.
I’d met the cook during my time here, while Kai had left me behind before the kidnapping.
“Saja outdid herself.” I continued chewing, aware that I must look feral.
The way Saja cooked reminded me of Aunt Maureen.
I'd have given almost anything to have one of her grilled cheese sandwiches and homemade tomato soup.
“She’ll be pleased to hear that.” Thea settled across from me with her own cup of tea, watching me with quiet satisfaction.
She smiled, and her gaze drifted toward the fire.
“You know, when Kai and Ashren were first brought here, this is where we ate. The three of us, crammed into this little room, half-starved and freezing, just trying to feel safe again.”
She blew on the surface of her tea. “We were a mess back then. But you never forget where you’re from and how it started.”
I swallowed hard, the truth of the words stealing a breath.
I took a slower bite and nodded. Neither of us had revealed the worst parts of our pasts.
It wasn’t because Thea was hard to talk to, and it definitely wasn’t because I lacked opinions.
Some things were just too heavy to drag out into the light unless you absolutely had to. “No, you never forget.”
She took another sip. “Some days are harder than others.” She placed the cup back on the table, and her fingers traced the rim of her mug. “The memories don’t fade, but they do get easier to carry… eventually. And you never forget your people, no matter how they came into your life.”
I took another bite of stew, enjoying the warmth that spread through my chest and chased away more of the chill the dungeon had left behind.
“Back home, I used to think that, if I just worked hard enough, kept my head down, and stayed out of trouble, things would eventually get easier.” I shook my head, a humorless breath slipping out of me.
“Turns out it doesn’t work like that. Some people hurt you because they can, and other people would walk through fire and glass to protect you.
Problem is, there are a whole lot fewer of the second kind. ”
Aunt Maureen had been that for me. She’d been a pain in the ass, but I had no doubt she’d have killed or died for me. She was the kind of person who could make you feel loved and called out in the same breath.
“Yes.” Thea lifted her mug in a toast. “And regardless of what found us or what we survived, we’re still here and fighting.”
“Still here,” I echoed, lifting my tea to meet hers.
She clinked her mug against mine, and a real smile softened her face. “And now you’re here, kicking awful men in their tender bits and making kings pace the halls. What do you think your aunt Maureen would say about all this?”
I snorted into my tea. “She’d tell me not to get a big head, not to count my chickens before they hatch, or to measure twice, cut once.
” I tipped my head, thinking about it for another second.
“But honestly, she probably would’ve cut off Keldren’s dick and fed it to the ducks right in front of him. ”
Thea chuckled. “I’m not sure what some of those things mean, but it’s clear I would’ve liked her.”
An unexpected laugh escaped, a bit raw around the edges. “She would’ve liked you too, which is sayin’ something. She liked hardly anyone.”
We sat for a few quiet minutes, the crackle of the fire and the muffled kitchen sounds filling the room without asking anything from either of us.
By the time I finished the last of the stew and wiped up the broth with the bread, I felt steadier, less hollow, like I’d been pieced back together enough to keep going.
Then Thea leaned in. “You know, I find myself very curious about your little trophy from the Night General. I know you said it broke, but I also happen to know exactly where Kai is keeping it.”
I set the spoon down beside the bowl and narrowed my eyes at her. “Why are you so curious about it?”
Thea took the tray and stepped out long enough to hand it off to a passing attendant, then came back and motioned for me to follow.
“Because the Night General is a mystery no one has been able to solve. No one knows his name. No one even has a useful hint. He moves with authority, speaks like he expects to be obeyed, and yet somehow remains permanently under Bram’s command.
The rumors that come through our network from the Night Court claim that he obeys even when it’s obvious he disagrees with Bram.
” She started toward the service staircase.
“For a while, some people thought he might be Sloane, Bram’s brother, but Sloane is dead.
Kai confirmed it through the old spy network.
So we don't have even a good theory about who the Night General is.”
“He seems…” I followed her and bit my lip. “Complicated. I can’t tell if he’s cruel, calculating, cunning, or all three, but it felt like he wanted me to get away.”
“That kind of confirms the rumors. He must not agree with the sacrifices. But agreement and obedience are not always the same thing.” Her hand skimmed the railing.
“There are moments when I think the Night Court would be far better off if the general ruled and Bram met the same end as Kai’s uncle, though at this point, those two males are as different as night and day. ”
“So he’s just following orders?” I raised a brow because that excuse had never done much for me in any realm.
“Possibly, or maybe it’s more complicated than that.
Loyalty usually is. Sometimes it’s earned.
Sometimes it’s demanded. And sometimes…” She paused on the landing and glanced back at me, her expression knowing in a way I didn’t entirely appreciate.
“Sometimes it’s tied to something deeper than choice.
But whatever the reason, he remains a mystery, because no one has ever seen his face. ”
I blinked. “Ever?”
“Ever. And that helmet style distorts voices even without magic, so he could be anyone.” She pushed open the door and stepped into the hall.
The air was cooler up here, touched with the scents of old books, cloves, cypress, and leather.
“And I do love a mystery.” She crossed to a heavy door with numerous symbols carved into it and pressed it open.
I followed her inside, and that scent that reminded me so strongly of Kai wrapped around me before I could brace for it.
For one disorienting second, I was back in his arms, warm and held and maddeningly aware of the steady beat of his heart against me.
I straightened my shoulders and shoved the feeling away before it could get ideas.
Down, girl. I refused to get distracted.
The room itself looked like strategy had exploded across every available surface.
A large window overlooked the courtyard, and a broad wooden table dominated the center of the space, buried beneath maps, folded letters, and stacks of parchment, some marked by broken wax seals.
Smaller side tables held more papers and several dark glass bottles, while the walls were crowded with constellation charts covered in symbols and notes I couldn’t read.
But it was the desk by the window that snagged my attention because sitting on it was the bundle wrapped in a sock, uneven and lumpy, with a shard of dark glass catching the torchlight.
The ink itself had probably dried by now, though it was hard to tell with the cloth stained so dark.
I crossed to it immediately. I’d stolen it to make a point, and because apparently petty theft was my coping mechanism, but seeing it here made that moment feel strange all over again. I undid the sock and peeled it back.
The base had shattered, just like I remembered, jagged pieces of dark glass nestled together where they’d been wrapped for transport, but the top was still intact.
The fastener curled neatly over the side, and the silver caught the torchlight in a way that made the emblem clearer than it had been before.
It wasn’t just decoration. It meant something.
Thea moved beside me. “Does it perhaps have a name inscribed or some sort of maker’s mark or—”
She stopped so abruptly that I looked up.
Her eyes widened. “Are you certain that this belonged to the Night General, Hannah?”