Page 30 of A Throne of Blood & Vengeance

The hair rose on the back of my neck. Something was here. I was sure of it.

A soft chuckle came from the darkest corner of my cell, and then the shadows moved.

I was on my feet in an instant. On instinct, my hands dropped to my thighs—only, I didn’t have any daggers strapped there as usual. I had nothing. Absolutely no weapons to defend myself, and it wasn’t like anyone would hear me scream.

Damn it! Of all the fucking times for Vail to take a walk!

Shadows drifted through my cell, shifting around until they formed a vague outline of a person. A person with pointed ears.

I started to step back against the wall but stopped myself and moved forward instead. Being against the wall meant being trapped, I wanted to have room to move if needed. What I’d do with that space against a wraith, I had no idea.

“Din tros.” The title slithered between us as the shadowy figure gained more form until I could clearly make out the features of their face. Long hair trailed over their shoulder, whisps of shadow curling at the ends. When the wraith spoke again, his words had a distinct masculine tone, and he used the common tongue instead Seelie. “If I wanted you dead, I would have cut your throat while you slept.” He raised a hand, and the slender fingertips morphed into beast-like claws.

Panic at the fact that he was right caused my already rapidly beating heart to go even faster. The wraiths were nothing but Seelie Fae trapped in shadows, but for a few seconds at a time, they could make those shadows solid.

A lot of damage could be done in that short window.

It’s why they were the most dangerous of all the monsters in Lunaria. They could only be killed if they were solid, which meant you had to wait to strike until they were about to kill you. Fighting wraiths was not for the faint of heart.

“Alright.” I willed my heart to slow down and straightened my shoulders. “If you’re not here to kill me then I assume you’re here to talk.” Chin held high, I stepped forward until only a couple of feet separated us, putting me easily within their reach. “You clearly know who I am—the granddaughter of thetrueSeelie King—I believe it is only fair that I know who I am speaking with.”

Shadows swirled as he cocked his head. It was hard to read his expression because so much was lost to the dark shadowy colors, but I thought he was surprised. Both at my fearless demeanor and how casually I talked about my ancestry and the Seelie monarchy.

Which was good because I was still scared out of my mind and had very little to go on when it came to Seelie politics. All I had were the claims from a freaking sentient crown and the fact that this Fae referred to me as the forgotten queen.

But if he thought I knew more than I did, perhaps he would be freer with what he spoke. Fake it ’til you make it. Kieran had taught me that strategy.

“I am Serill.” His voice was even clearer now with an almost musical quality. Normally when the wraiths spoke, it sounded like multiple voices layered over each other. It made it challenging to understand them. I could still hear traces of that, but I had to almost strain to notice it. I didn’t know what it meant that he was able to speak so clearly now. Probably nothing good.

“Pleased to meet you, Serill.” I extended a hand out between us, concentrating hard on keeping it from shaking. “You may address me as Samara.”

He looked at the hand for a moment before his lips curled into a grin. I forced myself to remain calm as he reached out to rest a hand beneath mine, shadowy fingers that I could sense but not feel wrapping around it. Then he bowed, and for a split second, his hand became solid as cool lips kissed the back of my hand.

A shudder threatened to race up my spine, but I squashed it and kept a pleasant smile fixed on my face as he rose.

“Even locked in the dungeons, still a queen of old. Despite everything, the blood ran true it seems.” He gave me a sly smile. “More so than with the prince.”

I assumed thedespite everythingwas a reference to my mother’s side of the family, and he got in a dig at Draven too. Nice.

“Perhaps it is the blood of my mother’s people that strengthened me beyond what the Fae could ever dream of.” I arched a dark brow. “And given the prince’s heritage, I see it as a strength rather than a hindrance that he is his own person and not ashadowcopy of his parents.”

The Fae chuckled. “Truly, you are a delight. It has been some time since I’ve conversed with one as clever as you. It makes me remember the olden days.”

It was a trap. He wanted me to ask what he spoke of. To reveal just how ignorant I was of Lunaria’s past, and even knowing this, I desperately wanted to ask. Was he referring to the early days when the Fae had come to Lunaria? Or where they had been before? What in all the hells existed beyond the oceans surrounding our small continent?

“Perhaps I can have you over for tea sometime while you reminisce,” I said breezily instead. “As you can see, my accommodations are not quite up to par for socializing at the moment.”

“Indeed.” He walked over to my cell and trailed his fingers across the bars. The shadows slipped through and around them easily. I was a little surprised that the iron in the bars seemed to have no impact on him. Maybe in their wraith forms, iron didn’t bother them? I wondered if that meant that the enchanted silver weapons we used against the wraiths would be less effective on them if they fully reclaimed their Fae forms . . . I’d have to mention it to Vail so the rangers could be prepared. No matter how I felt about Carmilla and her plans, I didn’t want our people to die fighting the wraiths or the Seelie Fae.

Serill turned to face me, his back to the bars and his hands clasped in front of him. “What if I told you we are not the villains you’ve painted us as? That we are merely trying to survive like you?”

“I’d ask if your survival required our death,” I replied calmly. “Because from where I’m standing, the wraiths have been responsible for more Moroi deaths than all the other beasts of this land combined.”

“Your concern is valid.” He nodded. “But you must understand that our previous deal was with Queen Velika, and it was her idea to raid the outposts as we did. We needed those obsidian stones, and she wanted some population control. The food supplies of the Moroi are getting dangerously lower every year as your population swells.”

Not a lie, but not entirely accurate either. We had to take riskier chances while growing crops, often planting in areas with no wards to protect the fields or the workers, but we were managing. Rangers protected the workers during the day, and they retreated to the outposts before the sun fell.

I didn’t know if he was telling the truth about Velika. At the very least, she had known about their slaughter of the outposts while obtaining those stones and had done nothing about it. She was dead. It didn’t really matter if it’d been her idea or not.

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