I jumped at a sound to my left, and I whirled to see a stone-faced Korrigan stepping out of the tunnel. Behind him were the guard who had been on temple duty and several others I couldn’t see. Damn it. They’d gotten here fast, which meant the Seelie people would arrive any second. It was about to get crowded in here, and I needed to get out before that happened.
More people spilled from the tunnel, and at the front was a blond male with a glacial expression. I saw why the Seelie guards had been so afraid to summon Queen Anwyn’s head of security. Up close, he was terrifying. I suddenly felt like a mouse dropped into a cage with a cobra.
I darted to the steps that led outside. In my haste, I brushed against the bowl of crystals atop the pedestal in the center of the room. The glass bowl rocked, and the crystals clinked against the sides.
I took two more steps before someone slammed into me, taking me down hard to the cold stone floor. Black dots swam before my eyes as I was rolled roughly onto my back and found myself looking up at Faolin’s shocked face.
Chapter 19
Faolin stared at me like he thought his eyes were playing tricks on him. “Jesse?”
“What treachery is this?” Bauchan towered over us. He held a sword in one hand and looked seconds away from plunging it into me. My heart banged painfully against my ribs, and I could barely hear over the roaring in my ears.
“Stay your hand, Bauchan,” ordered a commanding voice. Korrigan strode forward. He didn’t hold a weapon, but his glare could have sliced me to ribbons. “Jesse James, what are you doing in the temple?”
Bauchan didn’t wait for me to answer. “She was cloaked by a glamour. No one is strong enough to do that here, least of all someone like her.”
Korrigan nodded gravely, and his eyes pinned me. “You will tell us how you came to the island and how you were able to hide yourself from us.”
I swallowed dryly and croaked, “A drakkan brought me.”
“Impossible,” Bauchan spat. “Drakkans cannot be tamed.”
I looked at Faolin, who still held me down. “Gus. He’s outside.”
Comprehension flashed in his eyes, and he lifted his head to look at his father. “It was the young drakkan she rescued in the human realm. The same one that carried her off the day we went to town.”
One of Korrigan’s men ran outside and returned wearing a stunned expression. “She speaks the truth.”
Korrigan’s lips formed a thin line, and I could tell he didn’t believe me. “Did this drakkan somehow make you invisible?”
I glanced at Faolin and back to his father. “No.”
“What then?” Bauchan demanded.
“I can’t tell you.”
“Insolence!” Bauchan loomed over me. “I have ways to make you speak.”
Faolin shot to his feet and blocked Bauchan as he reached for me. “You will not touch her,” he growled.
Bauchan stood chest-to-chest with him. “You have no authority here. On this island, she is subject to a different rule of law that is neither Seelie nor Unseelie. I have the right to interrogate her about her crime.”
“There is no evidence yet of a crime,” Faolin replied, undaunted.
“No crime?” Bauchan laughed harshly. “She entered the goddess’s temple cloaked in magic. I can think of only one reason someone would do that.”
Faolin jabbed a finger at me where I lay on the floor. “Do you forget who she is? Jesse nearly died returning the ke’tain to Faerie. She is the last one who would attempt to steal it. And there is no law against cloaking yourself with magic in the temple.”
“There is no law because it should be impossible,” Bauchan shouted.
“Enough.” Korrigan’s voice echoed off the stone walls. “Bauchan is correct. No one, not even the king or queen, is strong enough to create an illusion like that in this temple. I do not know of any object that can do it, but that does not mean one does not exist.”
Bauchan gave a triumphant nod and waved one of his men over. “Search her.”
I shrank away from them as horrific images of being strip-searched flashed through my mind.
Faolin blocked the guard with his arm. “I will search her.” He leaned down and took my hands, helping me to my feet. His eyes flicked to mine before he began to methodically pat me down and check my pockets. I held my breath when he reached into my coat pocket that held the cloth sack containing the fake ke’tain. He drew the sack out slowly and frowned at me as he loosened the string and tipped the plain blue stone onto his palm.
“What is it?” Korrigan asked.
“Nothing but a stone.” Faolin passed it to his father and resumed searching me.
Korrigan studied the stone. “I feel no magic in it.” He gave the stone to one of his men who carried it to Bauchan.
Bauchan rubbed the stone and examined it like it would suddenly reveal its secrets. When it didn’t do as he wished, he turned his accusing eyes on me again. “Why do you have this? What does it do?”
“It doesn’t do anything,” I answered, relieved when my voice didn’t shake. “It’s a pretty stone I found. I’ve been saving it for my brother.”
Faolin straightened and held up my laevik crystal. “This is all she has on her.”
His father took the crystal. “There is nothing special about laevik.”
“You missed something,” Bauchan accused Faolin. “Remove her clothes.”
“No!” I pulled the edges of my coat together as Faolin stepped protectively in front of me.
Korrigan scowled at Bauchan. “She will be taken to Unseelie where a female guard can perform a search in private.”
“Do you expect me to trust you with this investigation?” Bauchan said with a sneer.
“Do not question my integrity.” Korrigan seemed to grow in size, and his eyes took on a dangerous light. “You are welcome to have one of your females assist in the search, and you may participate in the interrogation. But Jesse is Unseelie, which puts her under my authority.”
Bauchan’s jaw hardened. “When her guilt is proven, Seelie will demand justice.”
“If she is guilty of a crime, the king will demand it as well.” Korrigan looked at Faolin. “Take her to a holding cell. Bauchan and I will join you after we inspect the temple wards.”
Faolin nodded and took my arm in a firm grip. Wordlessly, he led me down the tunnel I’d used earlier. In the room below, he placed his free hand against the wall, and a portal opened.
We stepped through and emerged in a small room I’d never seen before. It was devoid of furnishings, and it had a narrow archway that opened to a hallway. We navigated a series of similar hallways until we came to a winding flight of stairs.
I shivered when we descended the stairs. The level with the holding cells was deep below the ground, and with every step, I conjured images of dungeons and torture chambers. It didn’t help that Faolin was silent the entire time, leaving me to wonder what horrors waited for me.
We reached the bottom level, and my pulse kicked up a notch when he steered me down another hallway that was more of a tunnel. He stopped us at a solid wood door and opened it to reveal a long room with a crude table, two chairs, and three doors along the inner wall. Each door had a small window at eye level with a purple crystal above it.