still didn’t know what was going on or why I was here.
“You cannot escape from me in my kingdom. Even if you try, I will hunt you down and bring you back. For now, you will stay in the palace.”
“Thanks, I think.” How in the hell was I supposed to escape, naked and weaponless?
He glanced over his shoulder at me. “I’ll provide you appropriate clothes and anything else you need.”
We reached the base of the stairwell and I padded after him. He waved his hand and a metal door at the end of the corridor opened. We stepped inside and it shut, sealing us in. Walker faced me and waved his hand again. The blanket disappeared and a black dress covered me, its soft folds enveloping me from my neck to my feet.
I frowned, but decided it would be rude to point out it wasn’t my style.
Inside the room which looked to be cut into the stone, it was warm and light. Two people leaned against a large round table which dominated the space.
A stocky man with short brown hair and brown eyes regarded me steadily, his corded forearms crossed over his chest, his smile friendly enough. “Hi.”
My attention flitted to the woman at his side. Blonde hair hung to the centre of her back and her face was pretty with full lips and large, blue eyes. “Hi, Ember. Remember me?” Her lips curled into a smile and her eyes sparkled.
I wasn’t easily stunned, but my mouth gaped open. I was staring at a ghost.
The guy chuckled.“I think you shocked her.”
“Yeah, I think so, too.”
Walker huffed, impatience pouring off him. “Ember, meet Lance and Ava.”
I swallowed hard, trying to wrap my head around what was happening. Ava was Shannon’s older sister. But she was dead…
A squeal from another doorway pierced my ears. I twisted to face the sound, and was nearly bowled over by a body hitting mine.
“Ember! It’s me!”
A woman with rich chestnut hair that gleamed with gorgeous tones of red, grinned at me.
My heart flipped. “Blue?” Unable to stop a sob of relief, I wrapped my arms around her, hugging her tightly. “I thought you’d be dead, or at least enslaved.”
“We are not murderers,” said a cold voice.
My attention focused on the tall, regal looking fae who stood behind her. He was almost too beautiful to be real. His hair shone like turquoise silk, his facial features perfectly in proportion. But I stiffened. He was the fae who had glamoured Blue and taken her prisoner, leaving me behind to my fate.
Blue rolled her eyes at his words. “Oh, don’t mind him. He’s always a miserable bugger.” She leaned in, her lips near the shell of my ear. “He doesn’t know how to have fun.”
Walker took up a position near the other fae, looking down his nose at Blue. Standing shoulder to shoulder, the likeness between the two fae was obvious. Both shared the same height and bearing, and similar beautiful bone structure, only their eyes and hair were different. Walker’s ice blue irises were lined with an emerald ring, the younger fae’s eyes were wholly filled with a stunning pale green.
“This is my oldest son, Prince B’nar, and you know her.” Walker’s tone was derisory, as if Blue were nothing but a necessary irritation. “My son’s human project.”
What he meant by those words, I had no idea, but I could find out later. My mind was whirling at a hundred miles an hour, yet I still noticed the use of names, real names. Then I remembered, the high fae had power over humans and other fae whose names they knew—but shifters were harder to control.
“Like father, like son.” Blue smiled and shrugged nonchalantly, but her nostrils flared and she swallowed hard. My friend wasn’t nearly as good at hiding her feelings as she thought. Blue slipped her arm around my waist, and I placed mine around her shoulders in a gesture of support—except it was really me who needed her support. I was totally lost and out of my depth. I needed to get back to Connor and whatever this shit show was, it was stopping me.
“Why am I here, if it's not revenge for your son?” I asked Walker.
Walker flinched, as though mentioning his son was a blow. B’nar eyed me with undisguised hatred, and although he looked at Blue with the same expression on his face, I saw his eyes soften.
“We have been looking for you, or rather your kind, for years.” Walker crossed his arms