crashed through the door, but by
then Thaylan was so freaked out that he took us to the one place where he knew
we would be safe.”
“It seems my royal guards will have much to answer for when we return,”
Sethian said blackly, his arm tightening around my middle.
CHAPTER TWELVE
I never thought in a million years that I would actually see a
medieval-style dungeon outside of a movie set being put to its real use rather
than as just a tourist attraction. It was just as dark, dank, and smelly as I
imagined it would be, the smell of waste and unwashed bodies assaulting my nose
from the moment the guards had opened the door to admit us at the bottom of the
longest staircase I had ever had the misfortune to descend.
Beside me, Sethian was still bristling with unhappiness that I was even
there at all, but in this one thing, I had not backed down. I wanted—no needed —to
hear with my own ears why the elf had chosen to assault me because I didn’t
trust that Sethian would tell me the whole truth in an effort to spare me more
pain.
We stepped into a wide corridor made, or maybe even carved, out of a
dark gray natural stone that could have been granite or some other stone found
only within the elven realm. With my arm looped tightly with his, Sethian led
me down a long row of thick, wooden doors that were swung wide open to reveal,
I was glad to note, the empty, fully-enclosed cells beyond and came to a stop
before the one on the end.
I instinctually stepped closer to Sethian as one of the three guards
that had accompanied us unlocked the cell door and entered first. I was
relieved when I saw that the cell was pretty well illuminated from several oil
lamps hanging from the walls that had probably been pre-lit just for the king’s
visit.
Even though I should have expected it, it was still a shock to see my
attacker chained by his wrists and ankles back against the far wall. I guess
the whole setup just seemed a little too barbaric for a people as refined as
the Sidhe .
Sethian’s expression was cold and utterly without mercy as he
confronted the man that had done such an unspeakable thing to me for the first
time. “Speak in the tongue of my wife so that she may understand your every
word,” Sethian commanded. “I would first hear the reason why you assaulted my
wife and defiled my home. We shall discuss your method of entry afterwards.”
I expected him to turn his head, to refuse to talk, maybe even to sneer
defiantly, but he looked his king straight in the eye and said without any
hesitation, “I did what I had to do. Nothing more, nothing less, and I shall
not apologize for it.”
There wasn’t even a hint of shame or fear in his expression. His voice
was also eerily relaxed, completely out of place for a man currently accused of
assaulting a member of the royal family. Was he an assassin? Did one of the
king’s enemies hire him to do this to me in order to send Sethian some kind of
twisted message?
Sethian’s eyes seemed to ignite in the face of such nonchalant defiance.
“I fail to see how committing the worst kind of sacrilege against the royal
House of Elerren could be to your gain.”
“There is nothing that I would not do for my Esdil, even go so far as
to mate with a human ,” was his confusing replied.
“Esdil?” Sethian inquired with a frown.
Instead of answering, his eyes turned from the king to me. They were
now accusing, angry, as if I was the one who had committed a great wrong
against him by preventing him from succeeding. Just looking at him made my
stomach turn. However, I didn’t look away, not wanting to give him the
satisfaction of knowing that his very presence disturbed me.
He turned his attention back to Sethian. “I did what I had to do,” he
repeated. “Soon, another will, as well.”
After that maddening declaration, no matter how Sethian threatened him,
he did not utter another word.
Needless to say, we never did make it to
then Thaylan was so freaked out that he took us to the one place where he knew
we would be safe.”
“It seems my royal guards will have much to answer for when we return,”
Sethian said blackly, his arm tightening around my middle.
CHAPTER TWELVE
I never thought in a million years that I would actually see a
medieval-style dungeon outside of a movie set being put to its real use rather
than as just a tourist attraction. It was just as dark, dank, and smelly as I
imagined it would be, the smell of waste and unwashed bodies assaulting my nose
from the moment the guards had opened the door to admit us at the bottom of the
longest staircase I had ever had the misfortune to descend.
Beside me, Sethian was still bristling with unhappiness that I was even
there at all, but in this one thing, I had not backed down. I wanted—no needed —to
hear with my own ears why the elf had chosen to assault me because I didn’t
trust that Sethian would tell me the whole truth in an effort to spare me more
pain.
We stepped into a wide corridor made, or maybe even carved, out of a
dark gray natural stone that could have been granite or some other stone found
only within the elven realm. With my arm looped tightly with his, Sethian led
me down a long row of thick, wooden doors that were swung wide open to reveal,
I was glad to note, the empty, fully-enclosed cells beyond and came to a stop
before the one on the end.
I instinctually stepped closer to Sethian as one of the three guards
that had accompanied us unlocked the cell door and entered first. I was
relieved when I saw that the cell was pretty well illuminated from several oil
lamps hanging from the walls that had probably been pre-lit just for the king’s
visit.
Even though I should have expected it, it was still a shock to see my
attacker chained by his wrists and ankles back against the far wall. I guess
the whole setup just seemed a little too barbaric for a people as refined as
the Sidhe .
Sethian’s expression was cold and utterly without mercy as he
confronted the man that had done such an unspeakable thing to me for the first
time. “Speak in the tongue of my wife so that she may understand your every
word,” Sethian commanded. “I would first hear the reason why you assaulted my
wife and defiled my home. We shall discuss your method of entry afterwards.”
I expected him to turn his head, to refuse to talk, maybe even to sneer
defiantly, but he looked his king straight in the eye and said without any
hesitation, “I did what I had to do. Nothing more, nothing less, and I shall
not apologize for it.”
There wasn’t even a hint of shame or fear in his expression. His voice
was also eerily relaxed, completely out of place for a man currently accused of
assaulting a member of the royal family. Was he an assassin? Did one of the
king’s enemies hire him to do this to me in order to send Sethian some kind of
twisted message?
Sethian’s eyes seemed to ignite in the face of such nonchalant defiance.
“I fail to see how committing the worst kind of sacrilege against the royal
House of Elerren could be to your gain.”
“There is nothing that I would not do for my Esdil, even go so far as
to mate with a human ,” was his confusing replied.
“Esdil?” Sethian inquired with a frown.
Instead of answering, his eyes turned from the king to me. They were
now accusing, angry, as if I was the one who had committed a great wrong
against him by preventing him from succeeding. Just looking at him made my
stomach turn. However, I didn’t look away, not wanting to give him the
satisfaction of knowing that his very presence disturbed me.
He turned his attention back to Sethian. “I did what I had to do,” he
repeated. “Soon, another will, as well.”
After that maddening declaration, no matter how Sethian threatened him,
he did not utter another word.
Needless to say, we never did make it to
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