“Still here.”

“What else can you tell me about mate bonds?”

He was quiet for a bit, thinking it over. “Just about as much as any other unmated fae in the court.”

“You and Hiko never…” A stupid question. Of course they hadn’t tried. The prince was supposed to find a female to continue his line.

“I don’t think it works this way.”

“I’m sorry.”

Another silence filled the dungeon. The only sounds piercing the air was a dripping of water somewhere off to my left and our breathing, a creak or two as Regar adjusted his position on the cot and a clunking from farther down the hall. The clunking picked up, piercing the stillness in uneven rhythm.

“For fuck’s sake, would you stop that, Ferro?” Regar shouted across the shells, but it only grew louder until it vibrated through me, feeding my irritation and anxiety.

I wouldn’t be able to sit still for much longer. Even with my body broken, I would go after every single fae who’d played a part in Isay’s capture.

I needed to get out of here. And fast.

Minutes ticked by, clunked more like it, my determination feeding my anger. I was going to murder every single one of them.

I would tear them to pieces and bathe in their blood, take everything they had and leave nothing behind. I would become their biggest nightmare.

With that thought burning through my brain I pushed my body off the bed, ignoring every aching part of it, and stumbled my way over to the gate. Locked as it was, there wasn’t much I could accomplish by trying to push my way through.

Rocking the bars violently as the metal burned my skin I made more noise than Ferro on the far side of the dungeon. I pulled at the bars, but they wouldn’t bend. I slammed my shoulder into them for the little good it did. I kicked at it repeatedly with my boot, exhausting myself further, without any effect on the barrier.

“What are you doing?” Regar had gotten off his cot as well and stood as close as he could get with the bars between us.

“What does it look like I’m doing? I’m getting out.”

He raised a brow. “How’s that working for you so far?”

Not successfully. I slammed at the bars again. “I need to get out! I need to get her out!”

“We will, we fucking will. But not like this. Nobody’s gotten through those bars.”  He sighed.

“You’ve got a better idea?” I didn’t mean to shout at him; he was my only friend since Hiko had apparently left us in here and Sinister did whatever the fuck he did when he wasn’t feeding on damaged girls in alleyways.

As it was, Ferro had become my number one enemy.

I was back to being as furious as I’d been in the courtyard pounding on the asshole’s face. I hoped I’d at least broken his nose, but I’d been unable to assess the damage I’d made.

Regar did not have a better idea, which is why I continued my riot. I couldn’t afford this anger cooling off, because I was afraid it’d land me back to a shell of a man, broken and absolutely useless.

I was making so much noise that we didn’t hear the footsteps before the queen stood right before my locked prison door.

I stepped away from the bars, clenching and unclenching my fists as we stared at each other. She assessed my sanity while I searched for a reason she’d pay us a visit.

Finally, she spoke up. “Grath does not know what it is like to have a daughter.”

I stayed silent, so did Regar.

“He compares Isay to Hiko, and therefore approaches her kidnapping from an angle I do not approve of. In his eyes, there is no permanent damage that the Felrothians can do without bringing the council’s fury down on them. In his eyes, we have time to wait and hear their demands. In his eyes, the longer we wait, the stronger standing we’ll have in front of the council. He hopes to win back their feeding grounds.”

“Isay is nothing like Hiko,” I replied, my tone seething. Leaving her to the wolves was a wretched move. Doing that in front of his wife, and the girl’s mother, was idiotic.

Queen Siya gave a sad smile. “I’m glad she’s got you to look after her.  That being said, I need you to go and bring her home.”

Chapter 33

ISAY

IT WAS DARK AND DAMP, AND I WAS FINALLY LEFT ALONE AFTER several hours of torment. My body ached, but I had expected to hurt more. I’d been able to whimper through most of the spectacle to Lord ShitAss’s dismay.

He grew bored with me and left me hanging by my wrists. My feet had been firmly planted on the ground but couldn’t support my weight any longer. Chains around both my wrists and ankles made sure I wouldn’t roam the dungeon on my own, even though another lock separated me from the hallway behind my cell.

I wasn’t hurting quite enough for someone who’d just been through a complete hell. Even the throbbing aftershock ebbed as I suspended limply from my restraints. Gone. Just gone.

It wasn’t anything I’d done, or anything that my newly acquired powers had accommodated for. I would’ve felt that.

The darkness left behind a signature stamp that I started to recognise. It had protected me against Lord Terwyl’s touch when he’d attempted to feed on my pain and terror. He couldn’t grasp any of it no matter how much he’d tried.

Wrath made him cut me deeper, hit me harder, but no matter how much I screamed, he couldn’t feed on me.

The ring? Gone. Who needed a protective ring if you had delther’s darkness flooding your veins? Nobody could touch me like that ever again, unless my barbs were out, the only weakness this new protection seemed to have.

The lock clicked open, and I jumped, making the chains clink. My heart-rate picked up, and I forced myself to take a deep breath as I pried my eyes open to see my visitor.

“You don’t need to fear me, girl,” a gentle voice said.

I managed to take in the woman wobbling inside while carrying a wash basin. The water sloshed before she placed it on the table I’d been strapped to earlier.

She added, “Lord Terwyl says your devos is unreachable. If he can’t get to it, no one can.”

“Untrue,” I whispered. I knew someone who could get to me. Someone who I didn’t mind getting to me. He’d been incredibly tender and careful, but I knew… I knew Karmuth had gotten to my emotions even with the shield up.

The woman dropped a cloth in the water, twisted it dry, and stepped closer to me. Despite her assurance, I winced as far away from her as the chains allowed.

She clucked her tongue. “You are only hurting yourself further. Let me clean up some of those cuts. The chemicals he poured on your open wounds will not help with healing.”

Rubbing my teeth together, I allowed her to wash the blood off my cheek. As her fingers brushed my skin gently, we both startled. I couldn’t quite put my finger on it, but there was a familiarity about this woman. By the way she pulled away and studied my face, I knew she’d felt the same.

“Who are you?” she asked as I thought the same exact thing. I was not brave enough to voice my question, however.

“I’m Princess Isay of the Vindica, and your court will not get away with this.”

“You are not Vindican,” the woman scolded me, shaking her head and resuming her cleaning of my wounds. “While there is darkness within you, you’re most definitely born of light.”