Page 19 of Prince of Darkness and Deceit

I stagger against him. Bodies press around us. Everyone has the same idea: run.

The faint glow of moonlight bleeds in from the open doors and small windows, but it’s difficult to make out much in the darkness.

“Wait!” I twist away. “Ferria!”

“Anton’s got her.” Lev’s arm locks around my waist. “Come on!”

Mayhem swells around me. Hands shove, elbows strike, people tumble. Pained cries fill the air, and my stomach twists.

I want to help. But what can I do? I’m not a soldier. I need to get out of here. I need to find Ferria, and we need to run before the Fae come for us.

A thunderous slam penetrates the night, shaking the walls of the building.

“Silence!”

The word hits me like a fist, knocking air out of my lungs. Lev holds me against his chest, his heart as loud as a battle drum under my ear.

Shadows slither back from the light, revealing carnage. Quarry lies crumpled on the stage. Whitestone clutches his chest, gasping. The other three Elders are hunched over, their faces twisted in pain.

Two Fae now hold up the injured man whose head lolls forward while the pale-skinned Fae looms at the base of the stage, darkness radiating from him like the heat from Ferria’s forge.

“King Marek does not show mercy to traitors,” he snaps. “We will stamp out the rebellion, burn the roots, and kill all who dare defy his rule.”

Oh Gods. He’s going to kill us all.

The Fae have done it before. The Shadow King ordered the decimation of entire villages even after the Shadow Wars ended, just to bring the rest of us humans to heel.

Sweat trickles on my neck even as a chill races down my spine. It doesn’t matter that these males have no proof of our involvement in the doomed human rebellion. Verdanthia will be wiped from the map. No one will survive.

“However…” His voice drops to a deathly murmur, yet it snakes through the room, curling around every ear. “I may be willing to offer a deal.”

Lev’s grip tightens.

“What sort of deal?” General Ironheart bellows, his sword leveled, his arms locked like steel. His voice cuts through the chaos, sharp and demanding, refusing to be ignored. I’d find his actions admirable if I didn’t despise the man.

The Fae’s gaze drifts to the leader of our army, slowly, deliberately lingering on the shining row of medals pinned to his chest.

His eyes narrow. “I need a healer.”

My breath catches. Beneath my cheek, Lev’s heart skips a beat.

That…that can’t be right.

Fae don’t need human healers. They barely need healing at all.

All around, eyes flick toward me.

General Ironheart scowls. “What does a healer have to do with a rebellion?”

“Nothing.” The Fae swipes invisible dust from his shoulder with gloved fingers. “And you’d be wise to stop asking questions.”

The general’s jaw clenches. “Our healers serve our community. We won’t hand one over without assurances for their safety.”

Lev relaxes slightly.

I don’t.

General Lukas Ironheart has hated me for as long as I can remember. Me, the Kinless stray who dared befriend his son and then stumbled into his bed. He’s never had a kind word for me, not even after I made a name for myself as a respected healer.