As I shook, I kept staring at the hallucination kneeling in front of me. Why had my mind conjured a vision of a stranger? A stranger who bore an eerie resemblance to a faerie I’d never want to see again?
The faerie was saying something now. His voice had a pleasant, husky edge to it. Nothing like the oily tones that used to come out of Jassin’s mouth.
When I didn’t answer, the redhead leaned forward to brush a stray hair out of my face. Somehow the touch penetrated the fog of exhaustion around my mind. I’d actually felt that. His skin was cool, like Collith’s was. Now that he was close enough, I could smell him, too. A scent that was faint and earthy.
This stranger was real.
“Oh my God. Don’t leave,” I gasped, reaching up to grab his arm. He was so solid. I couldn’t breathe for the wave of relief that crashed over me. It was just the exhaustion making reality hazy—not drugs or Claude. This was really happening. Jassin was still dead.
The faerie gave me a single moment to gather myself, then he pulled free of my grasp and spoke with quiet urgency. “I’ve brought some sustenance, but you’ll need to eat quickly.”
Jassin’s features were completely gone now, and whatever similarities they shared were overshadowed by the differences. Studs lined the rim of this faerie’s right ear. His hair was parted on one side, revealing that half of his scalp was shaved. He wore the armor of a Guardian, and light shone behind him.
The light. I realized the door was open, and another jolt of adrenaline went through me. Only my training kept me from launching toward it; I didn’t know anything about the faerie kneeling between me and that door.
The thought made me tense again. I’d been so relieved that my visitor wasn’t Jassin or a hallucination that I had forgotten to worry about his actual identity, or why he’d come. I looked at his armor again and felt the faint pinch of suspicion. “Who are you?” I asked.
“A friend.” The faerie set something down next to my splayed fingers. I spared a glance and saw that he really had brought food, the tray it rested upon made of gleaming silver. The plastic tray was gone, along with the food I hadn’t been able to trust.
The briefness of the stranger’s answer told me that he was either short on time or frightened. Probably both. But I couldn’t let this opportunity pass me by, especially since it might be the only one I got.
“Where am I?” I pressed, ignoring the food and how my stomach rumbled at the sight of it.
Impatience flitted through the faerie’s eyes. “Rooms beneath the palace,” he said shortly. “Many of the guests aren’t well, so everything is padded for their protection.”
“Guests? Protection?” I murmured, trying to subtly measure the distance between me and freedom. “Is that the pretty lie you tell yourself to hide the ugly truth?”
“Prince Belanor’s words. Not mine.” The copper-haired faerie nodded at the tray, his face still expressionless. “Perhaps you should focus on that instead of the door. Now is not the right time to escape, trust me. The only reason I’m posted down here is because the detainment floor is so well-fortified. Your strength is better spent eating.”
“Trust you?” I echoed. The Guardian just waited.
Detainment unit. Such a fancy name for a dungeon. It occurred to me that he could be lying, about everything, but what if he was telling the truth? I focused on the contents of the tray, trying to think clearly. It was hard when my head felt so light. This meal was still in sealed wrapping, a subtle reassurance that it hadn’t been tampered with. Was that ham?
I didn’t bother having the internal debate on whether or not to eat it. As soon as the food touched my tongue, I forgot to be self-conscious. I was ravenous, tearing at the bread with my teeth and barely tasting it before the pieces slid down my throat. Water dripped off my chin as I took huge gulps from the bottle that had appeared in front of me, as well.
The faerie spoke while I ate.
“You’ve proven that the usual techniques won’t give Belanor what he wants, so he’s going to change tactics,” he said. A note of warning had entered his pleasant voice.
I laughed mirthlessly and took another bite. “Okay. What’s next? Waterboarding? Electrocution?”
“Something more psychological would be my guess—that’s Belanor’s trademark. He’s had a plan in the works for a few days now. I’ve heard screams coming from one of the other cells.” The faerie got to his feet and backed away, his mouth a thin line. He took the silver tray with him. “I can give you a little time with the music off, but not much. You should sleep while you can.”
“Wait.” I appraised him again, perplexed. “Why are you helping me? Who are you?”
The faerie’s lips tipped upward into a wry smile. “We don’t have time to talk about my reasons. As to who I am, well, I believe you made my father’s acquaintance.”
He’s Jassin’s son, I thought with a sour taste in my mouth. It was obvious. That was why they looked so similar, regardless of the differences in stature. But I still needed to ask, if only to confirm what I already knew. “Who’s your father?”
The faerie stepped back and reached for something out of view, just beside the door. “Before I came to the Seelie Court, I was known as Peeks of the bloodline Sarwraek.”
Hearing that surname out loud made me flinch. The past pounced in an explosion of howls and swiping claws. In place of where Peeks stood, I saw a long-haired figure. Feline eyes shining gold in the torchlight. A silver ring with snake scales.
I was about to compare their faces again when Peeks pressed whatever he’d put his hand on, and the door slid shut with a hissing sound.
“Goodbye to you, too,” I muttered, leaning my head against the soft wall. What if I’d just made a huge mistake, and that had been my first and only chance to escape?
Too late to do anything about it, now. My eyes fluttered shut of their own volition. The absence of that eternal noise felt strange, and suddenly I was struck by an urge to cry. Cry as hard and as long as I could, to let out some of the grief and fear before I had to stuff it all back inside again. I didn’t give in to it. The music may have been dormant, but that didn’t mean the cameras were.
I can give you a little time, Peeks had said. What did that mean? A few minutes? An hour?
I’d take whatever he could give me. If I didn’t get some sleep, my mind would deteriorate even further, along with my body. Absorbing the fact that I’d just met Jassin’s son would need to wait. I curled into a ball again, trying to block out the relentless light.
By some miracle, I did manage to slip into unconsciousness. I went to a place of pure, incandescent darkness that even the bad dreams couldn’t find.
The next time I woke up, I wasn’t alone.
CHAPTER FIVE
The new male in my cell wasn’t Belanor, Peeks, or the other Guardian I’d seen during my time down here.
Though he must’ve heard me shift in surprise, he didn’t react. The stranger sat upright, his legs spread, wrists resting loosely on top of his knees. His head was bent and his eyes were closed. Maybe he was asleep. It was entirely possible, considering the music still hadn’t returned. Either Peeks was keeping it off, or Belanor’s next game had begun.