His gaze turns to me. It’s filled with an emotion I don’t dare name—an expression trapped hopelessly between desperation and desire.
My breath catches in my throat. “Were you…worried about me?”
He laughs airily. Our faces are close enough that his amused huffs wash over my cheeks and tease my hair.
“Of course I was worried about you. It’s my duty to protect you.” Eldas reaches up and tucks a wayward strand of hair behind my ear. The tender movement is in contrast with his utilitarian words.
A weight sinks in me. “Am I nothing more than your duty?” I don’t know what I want him to say. I regret asking instantly.
“You are…” His eyes narrow slightly, as if trying to see me better.
The pause is terrible. My brain can fill in a thousand words trapped behind his enigmatic eyes. I imagine him saying yes. I can hear him saying no. I straighten, trying to distance myself from him and the question.
“It’s all right,” I say hastily. “You don’t have to answer. I understand the weight of duty.” And my duty has me searching for a way to end this cycle. Ending it would be the ultimate help to Capton, wouldn’t it? And then I could go back and escape this land of wild magic.
Eldas eases the tension by changing the topic. “Hook seems all right.” He reaches to scratch behind the wolf’s ears. Hook allows it, though doesn’t move from his spot.
“Thank the Forgotten Gods.”
“You really care for the creature.”
“I care for all my friends.” I glance his way. I hope he hears what I’m implying—be my friend and I’ll care for you too. Eldas holds my eyes intently, as if he’s expecting me to say more. But my throat is too gummy. I look for an alternative, instead. “May I ask you something else?”
“You may ask me anything.” His sincerity startles me.
I quickly move past it. Talk of politics will cool the heat rising in my cheeks. “The creature was a fae, right?”
He nods.
“Do they all look like that? Deer horns and dragonfly wings?”
“Many do, yes. Though their features will vary. However, oftentimes they’ll glamour themselves to look like something else.”
I shudder at the thought that those creatures might be lurking anywhere. For the first time, I’m grateful the castle is so empty. I press forward. Talking is helping to erase the sight and sound of that man’s death.
“So they could be anyone?” I whisper.
“Fresh water washes away fae glamour,” Eldas says reassuringly. “The border with the fae is blocked by a wall and water. The only bridges are heavily guarded. Fae don’t get into our lands without us knowing.”
“But the fae delegation—”
“I sent them away,” he says curtly. “I could not bear to look one second longer at them. And if they had anything to do with this plot I would not want them in my territory. No one else will come in or out until your coronation or until…until you’re back in the Natural World. Rinni will see to their removal personally.”
I barely resist asking him not to be too harsh. But then that horrible sound fills my ears and I’m fighting trembles. This is not my world, or my justice.
“How did they steal you away from Rinni?” Eldas asks.
“I lagged behind her, for a moment…it all happened so fast,” I murmur. As much as I don’t want to think about it, something else surfaces from those crimson-stained memories. “Aria was there,” I whisper.
“What?” Eldas scowls. “With the kidnappers?” he asks quickly.
“No, no… I saw her speaking with the horned man just before.”
“Are you certain it was the same man? Are you certain it was her?” Eldas shifts to look me straight in the eyes. “You must be absolutely certain.”
I try and sort through my memories, but after spending the day pushing them away and blacking them out… I shake my head. “I think so? No. It must’ve been her. Maybe that was how they identified me, since Harrow allowed Aria, Jalic, and Sirro to see me before the coronation.”
Eldas is silent, staring into the fire. He sees something I cannot.
“Do you think she was involved?” I dare to ask. I don’t like the thought of someone who could possibly have been involved in a kidnapping attempt being allowed in and out of the castle. After a minute of more silence, I press, “Eldas?”