Page 56 of The Fae Kings' Bargain

“Toren,” she said. His head whipped back around. “Quieter. Please.”

Even as his eyes continued to burn, his expression softened. “I’m sorry,” he murmured.

Ria licked her dry lips. “Wrists.”

Frowning, his gaze trailed downward, and his lips whitened when he saw her wrists. “Who bound you?” he snarled.

“Guard? Maybe,” Ria answered. “This time.”

Toren froze, the fight for control obvious to her even in her muddled state. When he reached for the rope, his fingers trembled against her skin whenever they brushed. Unfortunately, a hint of his power leaked through, too, and she whimpered against the increased pressure in her head.

He drew back. “Ria?”

“Your magic,” she whispered.

She hated the pain that brought to his eyes and the way he stiffened against it. But what could she do? He wouldn’t want her to suffer in silence, nor would she do so. Not again.

Never again.

Carefully, Toren reached out once more, but all she felt this time was the tug of rope as he picked at the knot. It seemed to take forever. But once the rope fell away, she let her arms settle at her sides. So much better. Ria sighed in relief and gave Toren a grateful smile. Unfortunately, he’d averted his gaze.

“Not your fault,” she said.

His eyes burned into hers once more. “Mehl said much the same, but you’re wrong.”

“Where?”

“Mehl?” he asked. “He’s searching for the spy.”

Ria let her eyes drift closed. “Secret tunnel.”

“All we found was an abandoned dress,” Toren said, his tone going tight.

Well, that was unfortunate news. Ria’s handiwork might have slowed Tes down, but the woman was still out there somewhere.

And now Mehl was in danger.

Chapter26

Shadows and Light

Without Toren there, Mehl could move faster and with more stealth. His husband was far from helpless, but he was no trained warrior, either. That always had to be taken into account. Working alone also meant there was no risk of triggering Toren’s magic if Mehl used his own. So he allowed his senses to open and expand until he could scan ahead and around for signs of life.

In the distant past, it hadn’t caused trouble for Mehl to sweep their surroundings with magic, but the closer he and Toren had grown, the riskier it had become. The worst of it started the last decade or so when Mehl had needed to channel more of his husband’s magic. That energetic link was no doubt to blame.

One of many reasons Toren had other bodyguards when outside the family wing.

The tunnel descended ever lower, passing from floors filled with guest rooms to those of the servants. At that point, not even Mehl’s magic helped a great deal, for there were many servants asleep in their rooms at this hour. He slowed, searching for anything out of place. Every person he scanned appeared to be sleeping—or otherwise occupied—in their beds, no hint of unusual magic or unexpected tension.

Unless he wanted to question every single servant, he would have to rely on that as truth. But how far could the spy have gotten? If she left the secret passages, she would be noticed quickly, especially if she was in her underclothes as he suspected. Neither the uniform she’d worn at dinner nor the clothes she had on as an envoy would fit under a servant’s dress without being noticeable. The gowns weren’t particularly low cut, but the high-necked line of the former two outfits would be quite obvious.

Perhaps it would be more productive to consider where the spy might have acquired her stolen dress. The amulet providing passage through the family wing had likely come from Prince Ber, since he was the only one with the potential to modify it, but the current fashion in maids’ gowns was less likely to have made its way to the Centoi. If she hadn’t stolen that dress from an individual, she would have purloined it from either the laundry or the servants’ storage closet and might have stashed her other clothes there in the process.

Both rooms would have been easy to access after she escaped the dining hall through the servants’ areas, but only the storage closet had an entrance to the secret tunnels. Not that the servants were aware of that fact—it was nestled at the edge of a shelf and was a narrow squeeze to reach. According to Toren, that section had been planned as the royal seamstress’s suite when the castle was built millennia ago, so the access point had been added.

Funny how things shifted even amongst the seemingly timeless.

Mehl slowed as he neared the entrance to the storage room. A sweep of his senses had a smile curving his lips. There were fewer people around at this time of night, yet he detected a presence in the very room he sought. Coincidence? It was certainly possible that some industrious soul was working in the room holding excess clothes and accessories for the servants, but it hardly seemed to be the most likely explanation.

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