Beguiled (The Fairest Maidens #2) - Jody Hedlund Page 0,9

into the sea and feed them to Loch Ness,” shouted a man from behind. Some chorused their agreement while others offered other suggestions.

Irontooth prodded me with the toe of his boot. “Tell me the truth, or I’ll do as they say.”

I bowed my head. I’d kept my identity as a prince of Scania hidden thus far. Once these outcasts realized I was a prince, they would most certainly expel me from the island, and I would have to forfeit my Testing. If they didn’t kill me first.

“Why are you here?”

“Please believe me when I say I am no foe.” I had to try one more time to broker for our lives. However, if I could not save us with my own ingenuity, then I would willingly give up the kingship, for I wouldn’t be worthy of such a role. “I vow that I am your humble servant. I pledge to do your bidding so long as it remains in accordance with God’s laws.”

Once more the outcasts grew silent and waited for their leader’s pronouncement. The damp air crackled around me with their anticipation.

I could feel Irontooth’s sharp gaze upon my bent head, and I prayed he would accept my offer.

“Nay,” he finally said.

As the cheers rose around us, my shoulders drooped with defeat.

“Feed them to the sea serpent!”

“Give me two weeks!” The veiled woman’s voice rose above the others. “And I shall discover his true purpose for being here.”

Calls of disdain and opposition followed the remark.

“If I do not succeed,” she called louder, “then I shall help you turn them into fodder for Loch Ness.”

How had I survived for two months in Blade’s camp without rousing suspicion, and I’d been present in this camp for two minutes and they already wanted to kill me? I suspected this noblewoman was to blame. She’d recognized my status when no one else had. She’d pointed out my duplicity to Irontooth, who now feared my motives for being here.

Why, then, was she attempting to save me? Perhaps she’d thought to earn Irontooth’s favor by bringing me to him but hadn’t expected her master to so quickly sentence me to death. Whatever the case, I was at her mercy and prayed Irontooth would accept her offer.

“One week,” Irontooth said. “You have one week to wrest the truth from them. If not, then we’ll deliver them to Loch Ness.”

I lifted my head and found Irontooth studying Veil, who stood a few feet away. She met his hard gaze without flinching, her shoulders straight, her head angled up as though she was accustomed to giving orders. Would she protest her master’s decision?

She hesitated for another heartbeat before bowing her head in submission.

The moment she was no longer looking at Irontooth, his stare softened, almost turned sad. And I knew without a doubt, he’d do anything for her. If I could win Veil’s favor, I would win his.

Chapter

4

Pearl

“Chain them to the walls,” I commanded, as I hopped down from the bottom rung of the ladder into the cave. Toad and Humphrey and several others pushed the prisoners deeper into the dank cavern we called our dungeon.

Guilt needled me. I’d almost cost these men their lives. I should have known Irontooth wouldn’t be satisfied with anything less than the truth from Mikkel. But perhaps his secrets were too deep to unburden, especially so publicly. Mine were.

When I’d asked for two weeks, I’d known Irontooth would only give me one, and now I prayed that would be sufficient for discovering the real reason Mikkel was on the island.

I held my torch up, giving light to the dark cave with its low ceilings, smooth walls, and the dry pine boughs spread across the floor. It wasn’t the cleanest spot in camp, but it wasn’t as foul as the dungeons under the palace in Kensington.

Humphrey forced Mikkel to the floor and wrapped a manacle around his ankle.

“Bind Mikkel’s hands and his feet.”

Humphrey paused. I knew what he was thinking, that the prisoner would be helpless without his hands. But that was precisely what I wished for—for Mikkel to rely upon me for everything.

I stood back and watched as the men finished chaining the prisoners. Fowler complained the entire time, and Gregor didn’t make a sound. Although Mikkel didn’t speak either, his eyes communicated much more than words, mainly that he was in pain from the injuries he’d received during his run through the gauntlet.

From what I could tell, he’d sustained a gash near his jaw, along with burns and knife cuts on