Page 35 of Ravenrose

My fingers twitch at my sides. Given that she is a royal, it was not my call to make. I was sure he’d take care of it.

“And now, given the state of things, your little faerie is of much more use to both of us alive. Especially considering we’ve torn Rosecliff apart, and the better part of the Kovarian army—not to mention the two princes—are nowhere to be found.” He runs a hand through his blonde hair, chewing his lip in frustration.

It doesn’t make sense. Theo confirmed the two princes’ presence in Rosecliff before his capture. And we had been watching the castle from the moment they took him.

Where in the stones did they go?

Sighing, Theo strides deeper into his tent, throwing himself upon the sofa and sinking into the plush cushions with a tired sigh. The prince likely hasn’t slept since the day prior, and dark circles rim his eyes, betraying his exhaustion. With everything going on, we haven’t talked about what Sitara did to him in that dungeon of theirs.

“You look like hell.”

Theo grunts, closing his eyes while resting the back of his head on the cushion, taking full advantage of this brief moment of quiet.

“What in the twelve hells, Theo?” I curse, losing patience with my friend. I take a seat across from him, before leaning forward to rest my elbows on my knees.

The prince runs a tired hand down his face, pushing himself up slowly to look at me, amusement fading away. “Has she said anything?”

“No.” Not that I’ve spent much time with her. “But she’s also gagged,” I admit.

Theo looks surprised. “What? I didn’t do that.” He first looks at me before his gaze goes to Wyatt, who’s found a seat at the table conveniently next to a full platter of fruit.

“Nash did that,” Wyatt supplies between bites, nibbling on a strawberry before snickering. “Right after she bit him.”

“She did what?” Theo nearly falls off the sofa in his shock of laughter.

My irritation with the situation is still too great to laugh at the scenario, but I can’t help the way the corner of my lip ticks up at the thought of the delicate little fae princess getting the jump on Nash of all people. He hates the fae. She’s lucky he didn’t end her right there.

“She’s fiery, that one, I’ll give her that,” Theo muses, winking at me.

Anger swirls at Theo’s cavalier attitude, and I make an attempt to set the conversation back on track. “Listen, Theo, I don’t know what kind of game you’re playing, enslaving a fae royal, but I don’t have time for it. You know I leave tomorrow for Firelle.” Our men spent most of the day combing through Rosecliff, but haven’t been able to locate the book we came for. It should have been there. And perhaps it had been, but it disappeared alongside the rest of the godsdamned population, army, and princes.

I rise, anger getting the better of me as I pace the small space. I’m still trying to work out how, exactly, the entire population of Rosecliff just up and disappeared while we had the place surrounded.

“Yeah, so?”

“So…” I repeat, my temper heating further, “I can’t babysit a fae princess for you at the same time I’m busy trying to win you a war.”

Theo holds up a finger. “Win my father a war,” he corrects. “I’m not king yet.”

“Theo…” The bite in my tone holds a warning that would send most men crawling, but Theo ignores me, reaching for a cup half-full of some liquid he finds within reach, giving it a sniff.

“Relax, Ayer. Gods, we still have plan B, and you know you could use a little fun.”

“It’s not safe,” I argue, shaking my head. “There’s a reason we don’t keep fae alive.” The creatures are crafty devils, skilled in the art of deception and tricks. “Keeping the princess alive is an unnecessary risk.”

Theo levels me a look. “She’s like a hundred pounds soaking wet…”

I frown, rubbing my jawline. My opinion on this is unwavering: all fae are dangerous, even tiny, delicate, and spoiled ones. All fae are the same; they have no regard for human life, lack empathy, and would kill without a second thought.

“I don’t care how small she is. She’s still fae.”

The sigh that escapes Theo is one of complete exasperation. His eyes flicker to Wyatt, who is far more interested with his plate of fruit than he is with us. He leans forward, lowering his voice. “We might need her if we encounter Sitara’s forces again; it would be stupid to waste such an asset.” He pauses, tension washing over his face. “And after what Fel did, not to mention her father, her life belongs to you.”

I bristle at the faerie scum’s name but don’t respond.

“Do we have a location on the nobles or villagers?”

My mouth tightens. “No, it’s as if they disappeared into thin air. I wasn’t aware of the fae royals possessing powerful portal magic, but we may need to reassess the intel we have on them.” I’ve been over and over this in my mind. “That—or there's a secret way out of the city.”