Page 52 of Truth's Blade

She gave a nod, although she wondered how he’d guessed who she was. She knew she looked like her mother, and everysoldier in the army had met the queen at least once. “This is Jon, Genevieve, and Ricardo.”

The woman who had been lying pressed up against Ivan came awake so suddenly, she seemed to go from prone to crouching in a moment.

“Fuck me,” she breathed. “We were taken.” She reached over and tapped the woman beside her on the cheek. “Jacinta.”

Jacinta groaned, turned over, and the other woman smacked her on the shoulder. “Up.”

Jacinta opened an eye, breathed in sharply, and sat up. “Shit.”

“That’s what I said.” The man who’d woken first looked down at the shackle on his ankle, then back to the wall to see where it was attached.

“He had to double up,” Viviane said.

Their abductor only had two attachments for chains on the wall opposite their cell, so he’d shackled the two men together, and the two women together at their ankles.

While she was talking, Genevieve had moved off the bench, extending her chain as far as she could, and sat down beside her, cross-legged on the ground. As soon as she did, the boys began to move across as well.

Jon suddenly frowned at the first man who’d woken. “I know you,” he said. “You’re Gallain.”

Gallain narrowed his eyes, then knocked his head back against the wall softly. “I did guard duty in Ta-lin and your father was head of command. Captain Lineka.”

This was good. Viviane felt a rush of relief. She hadn’t exactly believed the arrival of the soldiers was a trick, but having one of them recognized by Jonquil was confirmation that they were who she thought they were.

“What happened,” Jacinta asked. “Last I remember, Caro and I were talking about walking down after the lieutenant, and then . . .”

She went silent as Gallain shot her a look and made a cutting motion across his throat, then she gave a nod, her lips pursed closed.

“We were sitting around the fireplace.” Ivan leaned forward. “Talking . . . nonsense. Like dream language, where nothing makes sense.”

“It was a spell.” Genevieve said. “Everything he does involves a spell.”

“And we left . . .” Caro’s words were soft, and she let them trail off. She put her head in her hands. “We were idiots.”

“I think maybe we were idiots because we were under a spell.” Jacinta’s voice was soft, as if she suspected they were being listened to. “I can’t remember much after we turned off the main road.”

Ivan sucked in a breath. “Me, either.”

Gallain knocked his head back against the wall again. “That’s on me.”

“That’s onhim.” Caro glared at the door to the side of them, as if suspecting their abductor was right outside. “Not that I have any idea whoheis.”

“Nasty, is what he is.” Ric’s voice was rough, and he cleared his throat. “He’ll be coming in soon with food and water.”

Almost as if he had been waiting to be announced, the door opened on a screech of rusty hinges, and their tormentor walked in, pulling a small cart behind him.

Again, Viviane saw evidence that this was usual for him, to have a packed prison full of captives. He had organized things so that it was easy to feed them all at once, without having to make multiple trips.

“How long have you been doing this?” she asked as he stopped well short of the soldiers’ reach.

He sucked in a quick, surprised breath at the question, staring at her. “Long enough,” he said.

She had been careful to study him covertly over the few days he’d come in to feed them. He seemed too thin, and he looked haggard. His hair was a mix of brown and gray, and his clothing hung off his frame. He moved as if he was injured, and the thought gave her a searing sense of satisfaction.

His mouth was set in a hard, uncompromising line but the few times he’d spoken, his voice had a soft, melodious tone. His voice didn’t match anything else about him.

He shifted his focus from her to the soldiers, and for the first time, his mouth quirked in a smile. His eyes twinkled, and he looked like he was thoroughly enjoying himself.

“Wondering where the other two you were talking about around your camp fire are?” he asked. “That sometimes happens. One or other gets lost in the forest. Especially if they’re lagging behind.”

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