“The witches didn’t say anything about wards,” I whispered as I caught up with the prince. “Will your magic come back when we get past them?”
“Quiet, human.”
I blinked, my mouth falling open at his rudeness. I’d just saved his sorry life, and that was how he spoke to me? If I’d known what a prick he was, I’d have gone to the other tomb, kissed the other prince. Would it have made a difference to anything but my dignity? Was that why the wards were up, because I’d somehow broken the curse wrong? How was I supposed to know the difference between identical twins? It wasn’t as though Maelgwyn had carved their names onto their tombs. Still, Idris was right. I knew what lurked in the dark, and the last thing I wanted was to draw them out with idle chatter. Not that my horror at the magic-deadening wards could be classed as idle. The curse was broken, the tower had fallen, yet there was no magic here?
Maybe Idris was wrong. Maybe his power was just taking its time to reawaken after such a long slumber. The witches’ magic would work, and even if it didn’t, the warp crystal would. Wouldn’t it? The words Sage had muttered as she used it couldn’t have been a spell. We had to get back to Nairsgarth.
I chewed my lip as we crept through the dark. The fae made barely any sound as they prowled ahead of and behind me, but my lantern lit up Idris’ silhouette, gleaming softly on his wicked, curved blades, reassuring me that, this time, I wasn’t alone. I’d survived the journey in without help; the walk back would be a piece of cake in comparison.
“It’s a left here,” I breathed as quietly as I could as we came upon a bend.
Idris stiffened at my words, and irritation sparked in my chest. Had he ever been in these tunnels before? Did he think he knew better than me, the human? That he could find his way without me?
“I told y–” something huge and pale and horribly familiar barrelled around the corner, leaping at Idris.
20Mistakes Were Made
Monster and fae collided, tumbling sideways and crashing into the wall with an ear-splitting shriek and a yell. Together, they veered backwards and I, lingering too close to my escort, took the full force of their momentum as we collided with the ground.
With a clatter, my lantern skidded away, and we were plunged into pitch darkness. Footsteps pounded past my head. Deafening shrieks drilled into my eardrums as, for a moment, bodies writhed on top of me, robbing me of my breath, but then the weight disappeared, and something hit the wall with a sickening crunch. I scrambled away, back to where I’d last seen Anwir, and staggered to my feet.
Ahead of me, the fight continued, the stale air full of shrieks and thumps, the hum of metal slicing through the air and the wet hiss of flesh splitting open. Though the creature made a lot of noise, Idris was silent.
Was he winning? Was he silent because he was dead? His attitude hadn’t endeared him to me, but that didn’t mean he deserved to be slaughtered within minutes of waking up. If only I could see, I’d be able to help, but my eyes widened blankly, nothing but black pressing against them.
Where was Anwir? Had he joined his brother, either in victory or defeat? What if they were both dead, and it was just me and the monster?
I tightened my grip on my dagger. Wait, I had two! Without a lantern to hold, I plunged my injured hand to the second dagger. My palm stung and throbbed, but I didn’t care. I’d rather be in pain than dead. I held my blades before me. I might not be able to see, but if anything attacked me, it would have to get past my cursed daggers first.
A wet choking noise bubbled ahead of me, the sound of imminent death. The fight fell silent, and something heavy hit the floor with a thump.
My ears strained and my eyes stung. Who’d won? Was Idris bleeding out on the floor while that thing crept toward me? The fae’s name formed on my tongue, but I bit it back, willing my ragged breath to quiet. The last thing I needed was to attract the monster when it might yet overlook me.
Something touched my wrist.
I screamed.
A large hand clapped over my mouth, silencing me, as metal clattered to the floor, and I collided with the wall with a thud, one wrist pinned, my hands suddenly empty of blades.
“Shut up!” a voice hissed, inches from my face.
Not a monster. The breath that fanned over my face was crisp smelling, like a winter morning, with not a hint of rot.
My body went limp, and when I was released, I sagged against the wall. “Idris?”
“Human.” His voice oozed disdain as his breath fluttered over my skin once more.
He was still close then. Could he see me? Of course, he could, he’d found my mouth easily enough. All I could see of him was a vague, hulking shadow towering over me, but then, I was just a human, with pathetic human eyes.
“Pick up your daggers, but do not wave them at me again.”
Easier said than done. “I can’t see anything,” I whispered, wishing I still had my lantern or even my torch. Or a working phone. Anything to light my path out of this mess. “Why did you take them off me?”
“You were pointing them at me.”
“Not on purpose,” I hissed. “Are you okay?”
I knew I hadn’t cut him; he’d be desiccated by now if I had, but that didn’t mean he hadn’t been wounded by the monster. The phantom ache of claws slashing my belly throbbed.
Idris was silent, and though I couldn’t see a thing, the intensity of his contemplating gaze was evident even in the darkness. The words he’d spoken when I broke the curse came back to me.
What have you done?
What had I done? There’d barely been a spare second to interact with him, but the way he’d disarmed me just now left me in no doubt that he couldn’t care less about me, or any of my kind. Had I awoken some sort of monster? Was he just like his uncle? A human-hating piece of shit? Would he leave me to die in these tunnels? Or worse, was he weighing up the benefits of killing me himself?
When he finally spoke, he somehow managed to make his whisper clipped and hateful. “Keep your mouth shut.”
The hilts of my daggers reappeared in my palms, and I gripped them tight. The prince grabbed a handful of my wrap and half dragged, half shoved me along the tunnel.
“Stop it! I can walk!” I tried to shrug free, but his grip tightened.
“You can’t see, and I told you to shut up.”
“Wait, where’s Anwir? Is he following?” He seemed nice enough. His first instinct when the tower began to quake had been to grab my hand. Was he going to allow his brother to manhandle me?
“He fled the moment that thing attacked, now stop talking before you bring more of them down on us.”
What? He’d just left us? Abandoning me, I could understand. He didn’t know me. But to leave his brother…
