Page 2 of A War of Three Kings

I definitely know that voice. It isn’t enough to coax me from my stupor. Fatigue weighs heavily on me and threatens to drag me down. I can’t let it do that, but for the life of me, I can’t remember why.

“You will cooperate with me, Aldrin, if you ever want to see my granddaughter again.”

I whip my head back, blinking, and finally recognize the High Priestess. The door is shut behind her. It is just the two of us in this room. She has a thick air shield around her as though she is approaching some wild, vicious beast.

I guess that is what I am to her.

I cringe at the sight of that shield. I relied so heavily on my own within the doorway of the temple, when Keira and I confronted the might of her father and his army. My people threaded their magic into it as well, reinforcing it, but as her father revealed my secret and she backed away from me with betrayal painting her face, I loosened my grip on it.

That was all he needed to rip my shield apart. A few cracks.

I underestimated the power and ruthlessness of the Lord Protector, and I will never make that mistake again. What I would like to know is how a man in this realm, parading as a human, has magic more powerful than my own.

“What do you want from me, Naomi?” I croak the words out, unused to talking. I lean my head against the wall, but I keep my eyes trained on her.

“What do I want from you?” She screeches. “What do I want from you?How about you tell me why you had the audacity to hunt my granddaughter into this land? You broke the laws of both realms! She told you she was leaving you for another man, but you came anyway. Do you think you own her? That you have a right to her body and life, just because she shared your bed for a little while?”

The High Priestess’ nostrils flare wide and her bony shoulders are whipcord tight, her fists clenched as though she would claw my eyes out.

I laugh at the mental image. I must be delirious. “We did a lot more than share a bed.”

On cue, she bristles, her dark eyebrows scrunching tight and her mane of white hair flowing around her. “Understand this, Aldrin. You are at our mercy. No one is coming to save you, not even my granddaughter, so you can stop your bravado. Cooperate with us, and maybe you can see Keira, if she even wants to lay eyes on you again.”

“Or you can fucking let me go before I tear this place apart. Stop poisoning me and see what happens. I could destroy you all without lifting a hand,” I growl, but my throat is too dry and my voice too gravelly for it to have the right affect.

“And why would we do a thing like that? No, we like you exactly where we have you. My son has questions for you, and you will do well to answer them, but we must get one thing straight.” She says.

For a heartbeat, a hint of desperation flashes within her eyes, then disappears.

“You will not reveal to him or any other who hasn’t taken the pilgrimage the truth of our magical pregnancies. Do noteven allude to the fact that those offspring have a fae parent, especially not where Caitlin is concerned. If you do, I will whisk Keira away to the far reaches of the kingdom and you will never see her again.”

My throat closes up at the thought, and panic speeds my heart. I desperately need to see Keira, to touch her and hope she will listen to me, but I am so scared of what I will find in her eyes the next time I do.

“You should understand one thing, Naomi. Iwillfind Keira, wherever you take her.” I lean forward over my knees, my lips pulling back in a snarl. “You may hold me now, but you won’t keep my magic restrained forever. The only way I will leave this realm is if I hear the command from her mouth. Save us all the trouble and let me speak with her.”

“I want your oath that you won’t reveal the secrets of the pilgrimage,” she snaps.

I throw my head back and laugh, the sound deep, throaty and unhinged. “Why in all the darkest realm would I give away my last bargaining chip? You must think me stupid.”

She stares at me, eyes narrowing as the cogs turn in her head, but a knock comes on the door.

A guard pops his head into the room and Naomi shoots him a dark look. “High Priestess…er…the Lord Protector is demanding to see the captive now. He is quite…impatient.”

Naomi turns back to me. “Choose your next move carefully, Aldrin.”

I give her a predator’s grin and revel in the way the color drains from her face.

Multiple guards pour into the room. Two pull me from the bed and half carry me under the shoulders, their fingers digging painfully into my arms. They reek of sweat. These humans are afraid of me, despite my weakened condition.

The world tilts around me as the blood rushes from my head, but I keep my footing.

The corridor is narrow, cast in dim light with very few fire orbs hugging the ceiling. We pass door after door, but I cannot hear anything beyond them. The wards rippling over each of them are so heavy that my people could be screaming in their cells and I wouldn’t know it.

My muscles ripple with the need to break away from these guards and tear open the doors. To free my people. To see that they are still alive. I owe it to them as their king, their leader and their friend. But I can’t walk without the guards’ support, much less fight them off. I grind my teeth as a fire of rage builds within me.

I am brought to a large room and immediately hit by a wall of smoky heat from a crackling fireplace and the mouth-watering scents of a banquet.

The extent of the chill that has seeped into my bones becomes evident as my flesh tingles painfully. Starvation rears its ugly head, making my stomach cramp.

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