by Karen Lynch
Conlan went to kneel on Faris’s other side. “It doesn’t look good.”
Faolin stood, and in a second, he was in front of Rogin, grabbing him by the throat and lifting him into the air. “I am going to end you.”
The elf kicked and clutched at the hand choking him, but he was no match for Faolin’s strength. His face turned purple, and his eyes bulged.
“Faolin,” Lukas barked.
The two of them exchanged a long look and seemed to be engaged in a silent battle of wills that ended with Faolin dropping Rogin. The elf fell to his knees coughing, and Faolin’s murderous gaze clashed with mine as he returned to his brother. He lifted Faris effortlessly into his arms and carried him from the cage, sparing me another look of pure hatred before he left the basement.
Conlan followed Faolin, and as he passed my cage, his angry, wounded eyes met mine. I could feel the accusation he directed at me, but I didn’t know what it meant. I didn’t understand any of this.
Rogin groveled on his knees to Lukas. “It wasn’t me, I swear, Prince Vaerik. It was her. I tried to help him. I called you, didn’t I?”
“Vaerik?” I choked out. If I hadn’t already been on my knees, my legs would have given out in that moment. Lukas was Prince Vaerik?
No. I didn’t believe it. I refused to believe he’d lied to me, that every one of them had lied after I’d tipped them off about the assassination plot on Vaerik’s life.
Lukas’s glacial eyes met mine and held, but it was like looking at a stranger. I didn’t know this person who stared at me with such contempt.
“Lukas?” I whispered hoarsely. “What’s wrong?”
He walked over to stand in front of my cage. “Drop the pretense, Jesse. We found the tablet.”
“What tablet?”
“The one you had hidden in the basement of your building.” He fingered the hilt of the sword he wore on his hip. “You should have hidden it better and used a stronger password. Faolin was able to break yours easily.”
I shook my head, confused. “I don’t own a tablet.”
He crossed his arms. “And I suppose you didn’t take the pictures we found on it. Pictures of me taken over the last two months, along with a spreadsheet tracking places I’ve been. I’m actually impressed because we had no idea you were following me that long, waiting for your perfect opportunity.”
“Opportunity for what?” I was struggling to keep up with him, my mind stuck on this mysterious tablet he thought belonged to me.
“You can stop with the innocent act,” he growled. “I read the notes in your spreadsheet about the best ways to get close to me. You forgot to add the one where you told us about the little plot to kill me at the gala. That was a stroke of genius. You even fooled Faolin with that one.”
“Stop,” I yelled. “I don’t know where that tablet came from, but it’s not mine. You have to believe me.”
His mouth twisted into an ugly sneer. “Give it up. I won’t fall for your innocent wiles again. You’ll be lucky if I don’t allow Faolin to kill you for what you’ve done.”
I recoiled from the malice in his voice. “I haven’t done anything. Why won’t you believe me?”
“The evidence of your guilt speaks for itself. And this is the most damning piece.” He reached inside his coat and withdrew a photograph, which he held up for me to see. It was a photo of Faris that had been taken recently, based on his sickly pallor.
I shook my head. “I didn’t take that picture. I never laid eyes on Faris until yesterday.”
“Yet you know his name.”
Anger built in me, smothering the fear. “I know his name because I spent half of last night in his cell talking to him.”
“Lies,” Rogin spat. “He’s been unconscious for days, thanks to her.”
I lunged at the bars and grabbed them with my shackled hands. “He’s lying! Faris told me they had him wrapped in iron for months. I swear on my life that he was awake yesterday.”
“You mean you had him in iron, don’t you?” Rogin asked in his oily voice. “The reason you’re in that cage is that I found out what you were doing and put a stop to it.”
“Ask Faris. He’ll tell you,” I told Lukas.
“How convenient,” Rogin jeered. “Ask the one who will never wake up. You are even more calculating than I gave you credit for.”
I turned imploring eyes on Lukas, who only stared back impassively. I wanted to beg him to believe me, but I could see in his hard expression that he’d already decided I was guilty. Nothing I said or did was going to change his mind.
I opened my mouth to tell him about my parents, who lay twenty feet away from us, but fear for them kept me silent. I didn’t know this ruthless person before me, and I couldn’t trust him with their safety. What if he believed they were guilty along with me and he left them to Rogin’s mercy? Rogin would have them killed before the day was out.
“You have something to say, Jesse?” Lukas asked with a callousness that pierced me. But if he expected me to cower to him, he didn’t know me at all.
I locked my gaze with his. “So, you came back from Faerie and decided out of the blue to search my basement, where you just happened to find this evidence against me?”
“We got a phone call from your friend here after you tried to double-cross him.”
“And you believed him?” I shouted. “You took the word of this low-life drug dealer over me? How could you? What have I ever done to make you so willing to believe me capable of such a horrible thing?”
Lukas opened his mouth, but he’d had his say. It was my turn.
“I trusted you. I let you into my home with my brother, and I even thought we were friends. Stupid me.” Tears burned the back of my throat, but I’d die before I let him see me fall apart. He didn’t deserve a single one of my tears.
I drew myself up as far as the cramped cage would allow. “I don’t know why I’m so surprised. You made it clear from the beginning that you were only helping me because it suited your purpose. Well, congratulations, Your Highness. You got exactly what you wanted.”
For the first time since he’d arrived, doubt flickered in his eyes.
Kerr and Iian came to stand beside him, and their gazes swept over me. It must be okay to acknowledge my existence now that their prince had. Just thinking the word made my stomach twist. They were the liars here, not me. My fault lay in being too naïve to see they were using me. That was a mistake I’d never make again.
“What do you want to do?” Kerr asked uncertainly. “Are we taking her with us?”
“Yes.” Lukas answered at the same time that I said, “No.”
The three of them stared at me. Even Rogin looked surprised by my response. But I wasn’t going to exchange one prison for another, especially not when my parents were here. Raisa had promised to help them, and I’d do whatever I could to make that happen.
Iian frowned. “You want to stay down here in this filthy cage?”
I let out a bitter laugh. “What I want is to be at home with my family, and my real friends, and to forget I ever laid eyes on any of you. But we don’t always get what we want, do we?” I cut my gaze back to Lukas. “I think we’re done here. Tell Faris I hope he gets better soon, but he’ll have to forgive me if I don’t send flowers.”
“Jesse…” Kerr said, but I was already turning away.
The shackles clinked against the concrete floor as I crawled to the back of the cage and sat with my arms around my knees. I rested my forehead on my knees and waited for them to leave. I stayed like that until I heard four sets of footsteps ascending the stairs.
I looked around the empty basement, feeling more alone and beaten down than I’d ever been in my eighteen years. Nausea rose in my throat, and my chest felt like someone had kicked it repeatedly, but even though Lukas’s betrayal cut deeply, he hadn’t broken me. He might be a faerie prince, but I was the daughter of Caroline and Patrick James, and it would take a lot more than him to break me.
The hou
rs passed in agonizing slowness. I heard activity upstairs in the house, but no one bothered me. Unfortunately, that meant they didn’t bring me water or food either. I could go without food, but I couldn’t remember ever being this thirsty.
Eventually, the house grew quiet and a new fear set in. Had they left us here to die? It was a terrifying thought, and my only solace was that my parents were too out of it to feel anything.
I wasn’t sure how much time had gone by when I heard a loud crash from upstairs. It sounded like a dozen pairs of feet were tramping around up there. A door opened, and the light came on over the landing. I tensed and watched the stairs. The last time someone had come down them, I’d thought I was being saved. I didn’t have high hopes this time.
Two men in dark suits descended the stairs, and I knew immediately these weren’t Rogin’s goons. They stopped abruptly when they saw me, and I lifted my shackled hands in greeting.
“Agent Curry, I never thought I’d say this, but I’m so happy to see you.”
Chapter 20
“Here you go, honey,” said the young nurse as she set a plastic glass of water on the bedside table for me. “The doctor will be in soon.”
“Thanks.” I picked up the glass and sipped the water, even though I wasn’t thirsty anymore. They’d given me fluids and plenty of water to drink since I was brought in a few hours ago. I just needed something to do with my hands while I lay in this bed, waiting for news about my parents.
I stared at the fat snowflakes drifting down outside my window without really seeing them. The last four hours had been a crazy blur of activity from the moment the Agency had raided Rogin’s house. My parents and I had been whisked off to the hospital in ambulances, where we had been admitted immediately into emergency. I was sure someone had pulled strings when I was treated and moved to a private room within an hour of my arrival.
I hadn’t seen my mother and father since they were rolled in on gurneys, and no one could tell me anything about them. My worst fear was that we’d gotten to them too late. They’d been given goren daily to keep them subdued, and I had no idea what the long-term effects of that would be.
When I wasn’t thinking about my parents’ health, I was fretting over Finch being alone at the apartment. I had to get them to release me today so I could go home and tell him about Mom and Dad. I prayed there would be good news to tell him.
The one thing I refused to think about was Lukas and his men, and their betrayal. It shouldn’t hurt as much as it did, but the pain in my heart was all too real.
I did allow myself to think about Faris, who was the real victim in all of this, and I sent up a prayer to his goddess for his recovery. Aedhna, I don’t know how this works or if you can hear the prayers of a human, but please, take care of Faris. He’s been through hell, and he could use some happiness.
Reaching to adjust my pillows, I winced at the pain in my back, another reminder of my night in shackles in a cage. Oh, and if you feel like doling out some divine justice today, I have a list of names you can start with.
“Miss James?”
I looked toward the door to see an Indian doctor in a white coat enter my room. He appeared to be in his forties with graying hair and wire-rimmed glasses. My stomach lurched at the sight of the folder in his hands because I knew he was here to talk about my parents.
He walked over and held out a hand. “I’m Dr. Reddy. How are you doing?”
“I’m good, or I will be when I know what’s happening with my parents.”
Dr. Reddy smiled. “I’ve been overseeing your parents’ care since they were brought in. They’re malnourished and dehydrated, but none of the scans showed any internal injuries. We’ve started them on fluids and a strong cocktail of drugs to help with the goren withdrawal. They have a long road ahead of them, but I see no reason why they won’t make a full recovery.”
I put a hand to my mouth as emotions crowded my chest. “When will they wake up?”
“Not for several weeks. It’s different for everyone.” He must have seen my dismay because he said, “Goren is not like human opioids, meaning it doesn’t just affect the receptors in the brain. It saturates organs at the cellular level, making the body physically unable to function without it. The detox drugs flush the body over time, but the initial withdrawal is very painful. Keeping your parents sedated now is the humane thing to do.”
I nodded to let him know I understood. As much as I wanted to talk to my parents, I couldn’t bear the thought of them in pain. “Will they be able to come home when they wake up?”
“No. They’ll be confused and disoriented from the drugs, like a patient coming out of surgery, and that will last two or three days. After that, they will be transferred to a treatment facility in Long Island for detox, which can take up to six months. But it’s one of the best facilities in the country for goren detox.”
“Six months?” Heaviness settled over me. “Dr. Reddy, I don’t think we can afford that.”
He smiled, and he had kind eyes. “Your parents opted into the Agency’s medical insurance for your family, which provides one hundred percent coverage. You don’t have to worry about the costs.”
I sagged against my pillows as my body relaxed for the first time since his arrival. “Can I go see them?”
“Tomorrow. They’re in the ICU right now, where we can closely monitor them overnight. If they respond well to the drugs, they’ll be moved to a ward tomorrow.”
I didn’t ask him what would happen if they didn’t respond well to the drugs. I would focus on the positive and worry about the rest when I had to. My parents were safe and getting the treatment they needed. That was all that mattered.
“When can I go home?” I needed to get home to Finch. I couldn’t wait to see his face when I told him the good news.
“Tomorrow.”
I sat up straighter. “I can’t stay here overnight. My little brother has been home alone since yesterday.” Had it really only been a day since I’d been taken from the flea market? It felt like I’d been down in that basement for a week, maybe because of how much my life had changed in the last twenty-four hours.
Dr. Reddy’s brows furrowed. “Your brother?”
Before he could get it into his head to call child protective services, I explained Finch was a sprite. If the doctor thought it was strange that I called Finch my brother, he didn’t mention it.
He pursed his lips. “It’s standard procedure to keep you overnight, but that is just a precaution. I’ll check your chart, and if it looks good, I’ll see about getting you discharged today.”
He left, and I went back to staring out the window. My reverie was interrupted by a knock at the door, and I looked up as Agent Curry walked into the room. Despite the fact that he’d rescued me, he still wasn’t on my list of favorite people. His sour expression said he knew that.
“Miss James, you look better than the last time I saw you.”
“Thanks. I feel better. Shackles aren’t a good look for me.”
My attempt to lighten the mood was completely ignored. I was starting to suspect he didn’t know how to smile.
“I came by to ask a few questions and to inform you that your parents have been cleared of any wrongdoing.” He looked like he’d swallowed a bug, and I could tell it wasn’t easy for him to admit he’d been wrong.
I quirked my eyebrows at him in an I-told-you-so expression, but I didn’t rub it in. The guy had released me from a cage, and that earned him a free pass. This time.
“I’m very happy to hear that. What convinced you of their innocence?”
He walked over to stand with his back to the window. “We found enough evidence in the house to clear them.”
“What kind of evidence?”
“That’s part of an ongoing investigation, and I’m not at liberty to discuss it,” he said in his imperious manner.
Of course not. I toyed with the sheet across my lap. “You never did tell me how you found the house. Did you know my parents and
I were there?”
He nodded. “We received an anonymous tip that three bounty hunters were being held hostage there. After your abduction yesterday, it wasn’t hard to guess who the hunters were.”
“You heard about my abduction?”
“A female bounty hunter was attacked in a public place in broad daylight and thrown into the trunk of a car,” he said dryly. “It made the six o’clock news.”
My first thought was to wonder how Lukas could have seen that and still believed I was working with Rogin. The way Faolin monitored the news, there was no way they had missed it. But then, he’d probably dismissed the abduction and my voice mail as another ploy to trick him.
My second thought was to remind myself I wasn’t going to waste another second of my time or energy on any of them. It didn’t matter what Lukas’s reasoning had been. He’d broken my trust in an unforgiveable way. They all had, and there was no changing that.
I twisted the blanket between my fingers. “Did you catch that piece of crap goren dealer while you were there? That would really brighten my day.”
Agent Curry wore that sour look again. “Rogin Havas has disappeared, along with his sister, but they won’t get far unless they go back to Faerie.”
“Rogin is the one you want. Raisa just got caught up in his mess. She’s the one who kept my parents alive this whole time, and I wouldn’t be surprised if she was the one who tipped you off to where we were.”
The Agent pulled out a small notebook and a pen. “How do you know all this?”
I told him about my conversation with Raisa, and the times I’d seen her in the last month that corroborated her story.
He asked me a bunch of questions, and he was particularly interested when I mentioned Rogin’s connection to the lawyer.
“She said Cecil Hunt was her brother’s partner?” he asked, jotting something down in his notebook.
“Yes. Does that mean anything to you?”
