Page 90 of A Kingdom of Lies

What has happened here? What had allowed such twisted hate to spread through the people of this city and leak into the world of Durmain beyond? I’d been so lucky and untouched in Grove for most of my life, and it was clear why Father had kept me there, far away from Lockinge’s poison.

The incline to the castle worsened the closer we got, yet the crowds of humans thinned, which gave me some reprieve. Lockinge was not a city surrounded by walls, but the castle was, as though whoever dwelled within it was granted protection but those who lived in its shadows did not. As we entered beneath its gates, I recognised the glint of sun against metal. Guards watched from positions within the walls and upon turrets. They weren’t garbed in the markings of the Hand but held billowing cloaks of deep scarlet and pointed helmets that could have been used as weapons. Kingsmen, a rarity, weapons jewelled and decorative, a perfect symbol for what they were now. They were nothing but decoration. No longer required as the true army of soldiers now entered the castle’s grounds – this was the Hunters’ playground now.

My legs shook violently as we came to a stop. The Hunters fanned out across the courtyard we had entered, a wave of bodies that stomped feet and called out to one another with excitement. There was a buzz here. I could sense it.

I caught a blur of red hair and spotted Kayne at the front of the crowds. He spoke with the Kingsmen, then he pointed towards me. I felt every eye upon me until the soldiers moved towards the main doors of the building before us and disappeared within.

Kayne cut across the courtyard towards me, his gaze on mine as he muttered something to the hawk that still perched across his shoulder. He finished sharing whatever secrets to the bird before he reached me, and it threw open its wings and flew off.

“I’ll take him,” Kayne said to the large Hunter who still held my chained leash. “Join your fellow brothers and prepare for the evening’s celebrations.”

Unlike Duncan, Kayne didn’t have a natural command about his tone. It almost felt forced. From the hesitation of the Hunter behind me handing over the chains, I could recognise that he felt it too. But alas, the chains were handed over and I had a new owner.

“You don’t understand what you’ve done,” Kayne muttered out the corner of his mouth. He watched the crowd around us, as though he didn’t want a single one of them to hear him. “Duncan does not deserve this. He’s suffered enough. But you wouldn’t care about any of that, would you?”

“Why are you telling me this?” I said, shoulders crying in agony as my hands had been held clasped behind my back for such a long time.

“If he dies because of you, I will personally make sure you suffer the same fate. No matter if your life is protected by the command of the Hand, Iwillkill you.”

It wasn’t a threat, but a promise.

“If you care for his wellbeing then do something,” I seethed, not caring who heard me. “Help him, Kayne.”

Kayne panicked and tugged on the chains, hissing through the side of his mouth. “Watch your words. They’ll personally seal Duncan’s fate before he has had the chance to survive the night. I have spent years trying to help him so don’t speak on something you don’t understand. Even I know when he is beyond saving, no matter how painful that is.”

Kayne suddenly straightened his posture in response to the three new figures who exited the castle and walked towards us. It ceased the little conversation we had between us. One was the silver-clad Kingsman, who didn’t wear a single hint of the Hand’s symbol. Beside him, garbed in gowns that practically dripped with wealth, were two women.

Feywomen.

Their long hair was pulled free from their shoulders, piled upon their heads in woven curls. From a distance it looked like crowns. The noticeable similarity between them both was the iron collar around each of their necks – similar to the one I wore – except theirs presented more like elaborate necklaces than a shackle to drain power.

Fey, walking free and without leashes.

I felt the crowd of Hunters stiffen. Some sneered and others spat at the ground at their feet. But the women didn’t flinch. Their unblinking, vacant stares were kept forward without showing much realisation that anything happened around them.

“The Hand welcomes you, Robin Icethorn.”

The blood drained from my face, every muscle in my body hardening into stone as I listened to them both speak in unison. It was up close that I could see the blue stains of bruises that hid beneath the necklaces and the dark purple shadows that hung beneath their wide eyes.

I looked to Kayne who showed no sign that the scene before me was not an illusion of some kind.

“You must be hungry. Please, follow and we will take you to your rooms. Food awaits you. A wash if you desire.”

Even if I wanted to follow, I couldn’t. My feet were rooted to the cobbled stone ground.

One of the fey women held out a hand for Kayne who welcomingly handed over my leash. She didn’t tear her eyes from me, not even when the chain was placed within her grip.

“Wait,” I spluttered, straining as I turned back to Kayne who started to walk off.

He paused, spared me a glance that reached straight into my soul; his eyes burned with such disgust, it had me swallowing my next plea. Kayne disappeared into the crowd of Hunters with the swish of his cloak, leaving me in the hands of strangers.

“It is best we go inside, Robin Icethorn,” the women spoke as one again, not a speck of emotion in their voice. “The castle will soon be full of Hunters, and it is bestweare kept out of their way.”

I couldn’t resist as they began to walk back to the door, pulling gently on the chain, guiding me towards the castle.

“What’s going to happen?” I said, skipping a step to catch up, all the while searching through the crowds of Hunters for a sign of Duncan. He was nowhere to be seen.

“You will rest, eat and bathe.”

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