I curled into a ball and distracted myself with thoughts of Lukas. I knew he was out there searching for me, but did he know where to look? Would he fall for the lies and believe I had fled on my own, or would he know Seelie was behind my disappearance? And even if he did suspect Seelie, what could he do about it without proof of their involvement? Hadn’t they gotten away with the ke’tain theft for that same reason?
My mind shifted to much less pleasant thoughts, and I let out an involuntary whimper at the memories that assailed me. I had no idea how long Queen Anwyn and her men had used the dannakin on me, only that it was Aedhna’s cool hand that had kept me from going insane from the pain. What I didn’t understand was why Aedhna had allowed this to happen to me when one appearance from her would have stopped it. Was it some kind of test to see if they would break me?
They hadn’t. I would never forget the look of rage on the queen’s face when she realized no amount of pain would make me give up my secrets. She had screamed at me and spittle had flown from her mouth as she ranted and threatened to destroy everything I cared about. Even her two guards had stared at her like she’d gone insane.
Despite my discomfort, I slept again. The next time I opened my eyes, the faint outline of the sky was visible through the windows. I stayed where I was, miserable and cold, while the day broke and the morning light slowly filled the room.
It wasn’t until I heard the scrape of the door that I rolled over to see who had entered my prison. I expected the queen and her guards, but it was a dark-haired female in a plain dress like the ones the female elves wore in Unseelie. She came up short when she saw me watching her, causing the guard that accompanied her to run into her back.
“I have brought fresh clothes for you.” She held up the bundle in her hands.
“Thanks,” I rasped and followed it with a burning cough. My throat felt like I’d gargled with broken glass.
She set the bundle on the floor and fled without another word. The guard followed her, and the door closed with a loud click.
I let out a breath, grateful they’d left me to change without an audience. Standing, I went to pick up the clothes. My body still hurt, but I was able to undress without much difficulty. I made a face as I tossed my damp pants away from me, and I sighed when I donned the clean, dry clothes. The air in the room was warmer, and it was a small relief to finally stop shivering.
The door opened again, and I couldn’t stop my body from recoiling when Bauchan entered carrying a pair of shackles. Queen Anwyn had taken delight in telling me how good her head of security was at making people talk, and what a pity it was that he’d needed to stay in Unseelie to keep up appearances.
“Hold out your arms, and do not try anything,” he ordered. What did he think I was going to do? I had no weapon and barely enough strength to keep from swaying on my feet.
I did as he said, and he shackled my hands in front of me. Taking my arm in his bruising grip, he marched me out of the room and down the tower’s winding stairs. We left the tower and navigated a maze of hallways that all looked the same to me. Every one of them had a white floor that resembled marble, white walls, and wooden doors. Occasionally, we passed a small table holding a vase of white flowers. The only color came from the glimpses of sky and trees through the windows we passed.
We stopped at a set of double doors with a guard on either side. Bauchan didn’t spare the guards a look as he opened one of the doors and shoved me inside. It was a large living area done mainly in white with some splashes of color in the tapestries on the walls and in the rugs on the floors. Large windows gave a panoramic view of the river and beyond.
The room had a feminine feel to it, and I didn’t have to wait long to see its owner. A door opened, and Queen Anwyn entered wearing a long blue gown that trailed the floor and a small jeweled diadem that caught the light as she moved. Unlike me, she looked well rested and fresh, and her face practically glowed with health and beauty.
She saw me and smiled as if she’d hadn’t spent hours torturing me yesterday. “Jesse, you are a marvel. Anyone else would be a mindless lump after that interrogation, and yet here you are.”
I didn’t respond. If that bothered her, she did not show it. She reclined on a chaise and motioned to Bauchan, who pushed me forward and forced me down onto a chair across from her. He stayed behind me, out of my sight but close enough for me to feel his threatening presence.
“Bauchan brought me the news that King Oseron believes you are hiding somewhere in the human realm. Prince Vaerik and his guard are going there today to search for you.” Queen Anwyn paused to let that news sink in. “No one is coming to save you. The sooner you accept that, the sooner we can move on to more important things.”
I folded my trembling hands in my lap. “Like you stealing the ke’tain again?”
She had said enough during my torture session to make it clear why I was here. If I was going to be subjected to more of that, I was determined to get answers to the questions that had plagued me for months. Everyone in Faerie had to know or suspect by now that she was behind the theft, but no one had evidence to bring against her.
Queen Anwyn didn’t bother to deny it. “Yes.”
“Why?” I implored. “You saw what happened when the ke’tain was taken from Faerie. Why would you want to do that to your own world?”
Her mouth twisted. “It was never my intention to harm my world. I took the ke’tain to save Faerie.”
I shook my head. “That makes no sense. You had to know that removing something so powerful from Faerie would upset the balance of magic between the two worlds.”
“Of course, I knew that,” she snapped. “The ke’tain was only supposed to be in the human realm long enough to cause minor instability. Then my men would recover it and return it to its rightful place. Our mistake was including humans in our plan. We will not do that again.”
“I don’t understand,” I said more confused than ever.
“My men took the ke’tain to a human known for selling valuable Fae objects. His job was to keep it safe until another human named Davian arranged to buy it from him. In turn, Davian would return it to me.” She huffed in irritation. “It would have worked out well had the first human not lost the ke’tain.”
“I know all of that. What I don’t understand is why you wanted to make the barrier unstable.”
She scowled at my interruption, and for a moment, I thought she wasn’t going to answer me. Her actions had caused so much harm, and people had died. I’d nearly died, and I deserved to know why.
“I have never understood the fascination faeries have for your world.” Her lip curled. “It’s dirty and contaminated, and humans are so frail and prone to diseases. After my son was born, I knew the only way to protect him and his future was to cut off all contact with your world. I warned Oseron that this filth might one day spread to our world, but he dismissed my concerns. I cannot seal the barrier alone, and Unseelie has refused to do it.
“When Rhys came to me and said he wanted to explore the human world, I knew I had to take matters into my own hands. I had the ke’tain taken from Faerie to show how fragile the balance of magic is and to prove Faerie is not safe as long as the barrier is open. I will do anything to protect my son and my world.”