at Greta. “You said you were going to be sacrificed?”
“Yes.” She lifted her fingers to touch her neckline, then she frowned as if she’d expected to find something there that was missing. She gave a small shake of her head and continued. “Word came to our village that a great evil was threatening the world. I offered to travel to speak with the other druid villages. I was certain that if we combined our magic, we could defeat any threat.”
“And Keyrah?”
“She decided it would be better to work with the local coven.”
Basq raised a brow. It did seem odd that Keyrah would choose to work with witches rather than the other druids.
“Did she say why?” he asked.
Greta shrugged. “She claimed that the only way to prevent disaster was to offer one of our priestesses as a sacrifice.”
Basq felt Chaaya shudder. Was she remembering being dragged from this very village? Being held down by strangers and having her throat sliced?
The temperature dropped several degrees. He would give everything he possessed to destroy those responsible for harming Chaaya. Unfortunately, he couldn’t yank them from their graves. And right now he didn’t dare allow himself to be distracted.
He leashed his temper, but a layer of frost continued to coat the landscape, hissing as it hit the flames.
“You didn’t believe her?” he demanded.
Greta blinked. Either she hadn’t expected the question or she was unnerved by the ice clinging to the hem of her gown.
“I…” She stopped to clear her throat and square her shoulders. “I feared she was seeking a way to get rid of me.”
Basq arched a brow. It was a lame excuse. Clearly, she hadn’t gone to the effort of practicing a better one. Sloppy.
“Keyrah was the head priestess, wasn’t she?” he pointed out. “Couldn’t she just order you to leave if she didn’t want you around?”
Realizing she’d lost ground, Greta turned back to Chaaya. She no doubt hoped that the younger female would be an easier touch.
“The others in the village would have rioted if I had been hounded out of the village,” she insisted. “I was a favorite.”
“So you left.” Chaaya’s tone was flat, her expression impossible to read. It was only because Basq was intimately connected to her that he could sense the emotions churning deep inside.
“Yes.” Greta pressed her hands to her heart. “I never dreamed she could be cruel enough to murder her own daughter.”
Basq squeezed Chaaya tighter, taking back control of the conversation. “Why would she sacrifice her daughter if she was trying to get rid of you? You were already gone, right?”
The flames in the pit suddenly shot higher. The female was clearly connected to them. She was probably connected everything in this place.
“I assume she saw her as a threat as well. There was no mistaking Chaaya’s power, even when she was just a babe.” The muscles in Greta’s jaw bulged as she clenched her teeth. “It was only a matter of time before she took over as head priestess.”
“You’re saying Chaaya was sacrificed because her mother feared she would grow up to become the next head priestess?” Basq asked, his voice dripping with skepticism.
“Who knows what was in Keyrah’s mind?” With a curse of frustration, Greta whirled toward Chaaya. “Does this vampire speak for you, niece?”
* * * *
Troy slipped into the small, forgotten closet at the end of the dungeons. The air was musty, and salt coated the walls, a sure indication that no one had bothered to open the door in years. Maybe centuries. Thankfully his curious nature insisted that he investigate each nook or cranny. Who knew what treasures might be hidden away? That meant he knew more about the mer-folk castle than most of the residents who’d been there forever.
A bonus he used to his advantage as he followed Riza from the throne room through the maze of corridors. The guard was lost in his dark thoughts, making it a simple matter to stroll behind him, heading lower and lower, until he at last reached the dungeons.
Troy waited until the merman entered an empty cell before he silently darted into the closet, leaving the door cracked so he could see out. Then he waited. And waited. With a grimace, he brushed his hands down his silk shirt. It felt like the salt in the air was eating through the thin material.
At last there was a strange creak, and a hidden door across the narrow hall pushed open and Jord cautiously stepped out. Ah. So that was how the guards