“Sounds like the king is a little inept,” I grumble.
“It’s easy to ignore warning signs when you’re in pain,” Greg tells me. His eyes blink brightly, and I stare at the kid. Seriously, who is this guy? He’s got the size and style of a 10-year-old, but he speaks like he’s 47. It makes no sense.
“I know that you’re right,” I tell him. “But that doesn’t change what has to happen now.”
“Okay,” Greg says. “Here’s what I know. Wyatt has an office. There’s a door that opens to a balcony on the side of the castle. A moat surrounds the castle. It’s possible to get across, if you know how.”
“Am I correct in thinking that you know how?” I ask.
Greg smiles and stands up a little bit straighter.
“Of course,” he says. “I know everything about the castle.”
I glance out the window. The moon is bright in the sky now. It’s very late, and very dark, and in just a few hours the sun will start to rise again. If I’m going to do this thing, I need to do it now.
“Okay, kid,” I say. “Tell me how to get inside.”
Greg smiles.
“With pleasure,” he tells me.
Cha
pter 9
Edward
I can smell the second the woman enters the cell beside mine.
Fairy.
Not just any fairy, either: she’s a dark fae, like me.
Most fairies can’t tell when a dark fairy is in their midst. That’s what makes us so powerful. It’s what makes us so strong. We’re almost invisible to the naked eye. Unless someone is specifically looking for us, it’s easy for us to pass as normal faes. It’s one of our gifts.
But to each other, that’s never a possibility.
The guard closes the door, locking her in. She doesn’t make a sound. Doesn’t say a word. In fact, she’s completely silent long after he leaves. I wait, patiently, to hear her cry out, but she doesn’t. She does nothing. It’s quite unnerving. I press my ear to the stone to hear what she’s going to say or do, but I can’t hear a thing.
Then I realize that’s because she’s not moving. What is she doing in there? I hear the second she starts pacing her cell. She begins walking around and I wait, carefully, to see what she’s going to do next. After what seems like an eternity, she stops at the wall next to mine. She runs her hands over the stone. I can hear it.
What the hell is she looking for?
Suddenly, a sound echoes throughout the dungeon as a single stone slides loose from the wall and I see two bright, blinking eyes staring back at me.
“Hello,” she says.
It’s her.
The woman from the cell beside mine.
What the fuck is she doing?
“How did you do that?”
“What? Get rid of the stone?”
“Yes.” Did she manage to get tools in here past the guards?