Page 28 of Villains and Vengeance
I turn back and give him a nod. ‘Yeah, I do, but not feeding won’t help if you’re going the same way as your brother.’
We keep walking and he doesn’t speak. That doesn’t bode well. Jayce is the chatty one.
‘Fae,’ I mutter over my shoulder.
‘What is?’
I gesture at the markings, what’s left of them anyway. ‘This place was an ancient fae colony. Probably from a time before the Council ruled. The fae were fewer in number back then, had trouble reproducing. They’d keep to themselves, hide underground or in small folds in the fabric of space.’
‘Places like the Underhill.’
I make a noise of assent.
‘How do you know that?’ Jayce sounds impressed.
‘I had a granny back in Ireland, older than anyone knew. She used to tell me the fae stories when I was a kid.’
‘Was that before they made you lea—’
‘Quiet,’ I hiss as we enter arania territory. ‘I hear something up ahead.’
I slow my pace and turn off the flashlight. After taking a moment to let my demon eyes adjust to the darkness, I move around the curve of the tunnel slowly and peer down it with my knife in my hand. It’s just a piece of scrap, but it has a razor sharp edge on it and I can definitely use it to do some damage.
As we round the bend, I freeze in surprise and Jayce almost bumps into me.
In front of us is a huge arania. It’s back is to us and it seems to be gathering something off the side of the tunnel. We both stay as still as cameramen filming a nature documentary, keeping our eyes on it as it moves away to one of holes in the side of the tunnel and disappears inside.
‘Holy shit,’ Jayce breathes. ‘Never seen one of those before in real life. You?’
I shake my head. ‘Only a molt in the woods once.’
I turn the flashlight back on and see Jayce’s blank look.
‘A skin,’ I say. ‘They shed as they grow like snakes do.’
‘Fuck. What was it doing?’
I go to the side of the passage. ‘Gathering ghost moss.’
‘Why?’
I stare at the wall. It looks like some sizable chunks of the plant are missing. ‘It’s medicinal,’ I mutter. ‘Used to pack open wounds.’
‘I heard one of Dante’s shifters shot Victoria. I thought it was just some bullshit they made up to cover their asses because she escaped again, but …’
‘No, it’s true. She took Silas down with some garlic spray to the eyes and then the shifters almost caught her, but she climbed up a rope into the ceiling. One of them shot an arrow in her back to bring her down, but she escaped anyway. Dante wants her unhurt though, so when he heard, he slit the shifter’s throat and had him strung up in the throne room. He’s hanging on the wall next to that half-dead pixie if you want a reminder not to fuck with the King in the Mountain.’
Which is why when he ‘asked’ me if I wanted to fight in his ring, I didn’t say no. We aren’t in a position to piss him off. Not yet anyway.
‘Huh. So she’s hurt pretty bad.’
I nod, ignoring the sudden flip of my stomach as Jayce says the words out loud. I press on. ‘This is no coincidence. An arania would have no need for ghost moss. Victoria is somehow getting one to help her.’
Jayce peers into the dark tunnel. ‘How could she do that?’
‘No clue, but if she’s being protected, it would explain why no one can find her and why Axel hasn’t overpowered her and brought her to us.’
Jayce continues to stare into the black hole, taking another step towards it.
