“I don’t know,” I answered at last, sliding onto one of the barstools while Laurie slipped behind the counter. “What I do know is that he’ll want me back—badly. There was some kind of spell he planned to do, and he needed a powerful Nightmare to complete it. Belanor tried it with Gil, and that’s how he died.”
The backdrop behind the shelves of liquor was a long mirror, and I watched my reflection as I talked about Gil. There was a haunted cast to my eyes.
“Preparations for Belanor’s coronation are being made as we speak. He’s already getting what he wants,” Laurie murmured, more to himself than me, I thought. His finger tapped the bar absently. “What else could he possibly want that he’d resort to dark spells for it?”
I lifted my head and gave a weary shrug. “He never told me. Now that I’ve answered some of your questions, will you please share how we’re going to pull off this daring escape?”
Laurie raised his brows and set down a bottle of whiskey. He lifted a sleek glass to his lips, half-full with amber liquid, and took a savory, leisurely drink. After he’d swallowed Laurie said, casual as could be, “Why, Miss Sworn, I thought you would’ve figured it out by now. We’re going to walk right out the front door.”
CHAPTER TEN
For the next hour, I pressed Laurie for answers.
I tried to find out more about our escape, where Finn was, why Laurie had said that we were going to the fundraiser, and a dozen other gaps in my knowledge. But he dodged every question with the skill of a faerie and the charm of a prince. He asked some questions of his own, distracting me, dancing around me as if we actually were standing in a ballroom, our battlefield made of gleaming floors and glittering chandeliers instead of mud and smoke-smeared skies.
“Would you like a drink? Wait, no, I suppose that would be a bad idea while you’re still dehydrated. You Nightmares are as delicate as humans sometimes, I swear.”
“Are you sore after the healing? Shall I send for the royal masseuse? Their name is Avery and I swear there’s something supernatural about those fingers.”
“You’re certain you’re not hungry? I could call my assistant. She’ll probably slaughter us both for waking her at this hour, but she’d at least bring food with her. She’s nothing if not efficient.”
“Would you like a tour of the suite? It’ll save you the trouble of snooping later.”
This last question was how we ended up back in Laurie’s bedroom again. I’d been trailing after him everywhere he went. Watching Laurie in his own space was riveting, to say the least. He moved from task to task, topic to topic like a butterfly within a field of wildflowers. Making a drink, looking for a book, sending a text. All the while he verbally sparred with me as if it were effortless, focusing on multiple things at once.
Eventually, though, my fascination gave way to frustration.
“What is it with you?” I demanded. I was on the bed, where I’d sat with an exasperated sigh as he went to the dresser. “Do all faeries just get off on keeping everyone around them in the dark?”
Maybe Laurie heard the true note of aggravation in my voice; he turned from the dresser and came to kneel in front of me. Behind him, the fire made a popping sound. Sparks flared and faded into the quiet, casting an orange gleam over Laurie’s shoulders. “Would you like a bedtime story, Your Majesty?” he murmured.
I frowned at him, wondering why he’d gotten on his knees. “Sure,” I snapped. “Tell me a goddamn bedtime story while an innocent man is possibly dying in the dungeon.”
Ignoring this, Laurie began massaging my calf. I snatched my leg back instinctively. He just plucked it away from the baseboard and resumed kneading, sliding his fingers up my pantleg to massage bare skin. “Once upon a time, there was a young prince,” Laurie said. “He was the firstborn son of a great ruler, which meant that he always knew what his future looked like. He spent all his days striving to become worthy of it. He shaped his very identity around it, in fact, becoming so obsessed with meeting expectations that he stopped thinking about things like mercy or kindness. He believed being a strong king would bring him love, you see. Not only the love of his people, but also the love of his family, as well. Eventually he gave up on that silly dream. By then, however, it was too late to become someone else. He continued to trade in secrets and strategies. He filled his time with bargains and games. Until, one day, he met someone who reminded him of what he’d forgotten. Of what he had allowed himself to forget.
“Come, I’ll show you where the towels are,” Laurie said, finally setting my leg down.I blinked at the abrupt ending, the whiplash change of topic. “Is that it? That’s the story?”
But Laurie was already up and striding to the door. I swallowed another sigh and followed him once again. He led me toward the bathroom as if I hadn’t already seen it. There was one thing I hadn’t seen, though—there was a narrow section of wall between the two doors, and as we passed, I finally noticed the picture frames hanging there. I faltered, staring at them, and my annoyance slowly faded.
It was the first thing about Laurie that seemed completely normal. Human. Though the frames were as stylish and tasteful as I’d expect of him, the pictures themselves were ordinary. Snapshots of his past, his memories. Several were black and white. There was one of Laurie atop a horse, shining bright amongst a hunting party. Another was Laurie and Lensa in what looked like the 1920s, sitting at a table in a club, both holding cocktails aloft.
I kept looking, and my gaze latched onto one of the faces peering back at me. It felt like my heart held its breath. Collith.
It was the first time I’d seen his face without the scar. I stared at the grainy image, and even now, after everything that had happened or gone wrong, I was drawn to him. This version of Collith seemed less… burdened than the one I knew now. His smile was wider. His posture was relaxed.
Was all of that because of the faerie who stood at his side?
It was obvious Collith and Laurie had been at the palace when this picture was taken—I recognized one of the hallways we’d stolen down tonight. But they stood there in the light of day, arms slung around each other’s shoulders, grinning at the camera like they had a secret no one else would ever know. They wore the clothing of fae courtiers, making it impossible to discern the year this was from.
I whirled, pressing my finger to the glass. Laurie stood in the doorway to the bathroom, watching me. “What is this?” I demanded. “It was obviously taken here at the palace. He… he made it seem as though you met while he was living among humans.”
“And so we did. After a few months, Collith returned with me to the Seelie Court. He and Naevys lived here, as my guests.”
“What happened? Why did they…” The question faded in my throat as I realized I already knew the answer to that particular mystery. Collith and Laurie had had sex for the first time, and the Seelie King’s reaction to learning his lover’s dark secret had been as explosive as mine. Undoubtedly fearing for their lives, Naevys took Collith back to the Unseelie Court and pleaded for Sylvyre’s protection.
I wondered what sort of price she’d paid to get it. When faeries were involved, especially faerie kings, nothing was free.