“I didn’t see the sludge, but I felt something inside the room. I don’t know what it was, but it felt ancient, sinister, and starved. It would make sense if it was the princes still locked in the prison.” He rubbed his chin before glaring over his shoulder at the locked door to the feeder chambers. “I don’t presume to know what is happening, but Zahruk wouldn’t trespass against Ryder, and what just took place inside that room? That was a fucking line that shouldn’t have been crossed. If I hadn’t interceded, he wouldn’t have stopped even if you’d demanded he do so. He had every intention of feeding from the energy you house.”
The sigh I surrendered was loaded with relief. “I felt it too, but thought maybe I’d imagined it because of the way he was acting. I think whatever is freeing that substance found the ideal host in Zahruk. Malachi informed me that the princes remained in the prison and that the walls wouldn’t fail or weaken unless the prison itself allowed that to happen. We know that most of the barriers are down already, but could the seelie princes inside the prison be controlling those infected by the sludge?” I asked, tilting my head before releasing a deep breath of air.
“It isn’t impossible, and it would explain the personality issues they’re suffering,” he conceded with a hard, worry-filled visage.
“If the princes trapped in the prison are the ones unleashing the ooze, then it stands to reason they’d be the one extorting those infected. It would also explain what I felt inside that room.”
“That would mean that anyone exposed to the crap would supply whoever unleashed it with sustenance and power. Those who are infected may not even be conscious of the fact that they are being influenced by the sadistic pricks,” he explained thoughtfully, caressing his thumb over his chin.
“I’m more worried about them using those they control for more than just feeding.”
“Which is why we need to get Zahruk contained next to Alden. That was not Zahruk inside that room, Ristan. We’ve flirted before, sure. Zahruk taunts me with his blade or threatens to stab me, but he’s never propositioned me like that. Did you see his eyes? They are a thousand different colors. We need to figure out if it’s the seelie princes or something worse.” I slowly drove my attention through the empty hallway. “One feeder fled that room. We need to find her and figure out what he did and how she escaped him.” I explained what the feeder looked like and watched Ristan’s eyes growing troubled. “You know her, don’t you?”
“She’s not a feeder, Synthia. If we’re thinking of the same woman, she’s Evette, one of two hunters Adam and Adrian sent to check on Alden’s condition. You were in the storage rooms when they arrived, so I granted them permission to look around the palace. I didn’t think they’d come to harm.”
“So, where is the other hunter?” I pried, sliding my attention to the door we had just walked out of, the same one Evette had fled through. “Ristan,” I whispered in horror.
“On it, Flower,” he stated, moving toward the door, but a blinding light exploded and forced us to shield our eyes.
When the light dimmed, I dropped my arm to stare at the woman who’d vanished soon after delivering my children to me. In her arms were several notebooks, but she appeared exhausted and subdued. Ristan slipped behind her and vanished into the feeder room while she approached me with sure, purposeful strides.
“We need to talk, Synthia,” she informed in a regretful tone.
“I don’t have time to deal with your shit or whatever else you are planning to add to my plate, Destiny.” My tone was informal, and bitterness heavily laced each word.
“It’s about Kahleena,” she continued, somehow knowing the only thing that would keep me from walking away from her.
“What about her?” I snapped while crossing my arms over my chest, feeling the babe within kicking strongly against my ribs. I wasn’t willing to hear more tales or lies from her. I didn’t trust her, and she’d yet to prove she was on our side of shit.
“You’re going to want to sit down to hear this. Ryder should be here as well to learn of this firsthand. I have to disclose what I discovered before I am missed and punished for leaving the City of Gods.” She scanned my face, frowning when I merely continued standing before her in silence. “If it wasn’t important, do you honestly think I’d be here? I assure you that I wouldn’t be. If I’m discovered outside of his residence, he can invite whomever he wishes to share with me. His favorite thing to do is host orgies and use me as a party favor.” She made a strangled sound in her chest, which caused me to narrow my focus on the books she held in front of her.
“Ryder isn’t here right now. We can speak in the war room, which is warded and spelled to prevent anything from within being overheard. If you’re wasting my time, I’ll contact Ares and inform him you escaped myself,” I warned icily, heading for the war room without waiting to see if she followed.
Chapter Thirteen
Destiny dropped the stack of notebooks onto the table before scanning the room. We’d placed detailed maps of Faery on the walls, marking each location we’d searched for Kahleena with golden pins and uprisings or minor conflicts with red pins. Silently, she settled into a chair and grimaced when I remained standing.
“Tea?” I asked.
“That would be most welcome,” she replied softly, her eyes refusing to meet mine. “I’m not allowed such things these days.”
My shoulders shook with her words. She’d been helping my mother by feeding me worthless information to ensure Danu’s plan wasn’t thwarted, which had cost us the lives of people we’d loved.
“Spare me the lavish details so I don’t have to pretend to feel bad for you?” I snorted just as a knock sounded, and I pulled the door open.
A woman was standing there, and I used my magic to accept the silver tray holding the teapot, teacups, sugar, spoons, and a three-tiered serving dish of finger foods from her and moved it to the center of the conference table.
Closing the door once more, I leaned back, watching as she inhaled the cookies and sweets without pausing between them. My eyebrow hiked up to my hairline, and I let her finish shoving everything into her mouth. When I opened the door again to order more food to be delivered, my eyes landed on thickly coiled muscular arms crossed over a wide chest. Elevating my focus to a pair of glittering amber eyes, I smiled.
“You’re just in time, Ryder,” I informed, opening the door so that my irate fairy could slip inside.
“How nice of you to grant me access to my war room, Pet,” he muttered, slapping a palm against it to push it open farther. “What the fuck do you want?” Ryder demanded of Destiny, who swallowed audibly before shifting in her chair to face his wrath.
“I’m here because of these,” she stated, pushing the stack of notebooks toward us.
I opened one and scanned the strange symbols scribbled over the thick pages. Turning the page, I discovered more were scrawled throughout the notebooks. Snatching another, my forehead creased when I found more of the same on every page.
“What is it?” I asked curiously, glancing at Ryder, who was wearing a similar look of confusion.