CHAPTER 16

"Go back to your room." The Shadow Prince stated calmly from his seat behind a large dark wooden desk.

Faye could only stare at him. He watched her suffer. He knew. "Why didn't you tell me you didn't kill her?"

"It doesn't matter."

The High Queen stepped closer to her, pinching her chin. Inspecting her as she turned her head one way then the other. "Her likeness to your pet Familiar is remarkable." She turned her gaze to him. "Does she spread her legs for you?"

Faye flushed deeply as the tops of her ears heated.

The High Queen leaned toward her and parted her lips, taking in a breath. Faye held still, growing more uncomfortable with each passing moment. She'd never seen dark-bloods behave this way. Were these vampiric customs? Faye lowered her gaze, afraid of insulting the High Queen.

She straightened, glancing at the Shadow Prince. "I can't taste her emotions. Are you camouflaging her?"

"I require her for a spell," was all he said, returning to his documents.

The High Queen flicked her hand in Faye's face, dismissing her. "High Queen. Please, I don't want to be here." Faye begged.

"You have no choice in the matter. Go back to your room. Sadi if you would escort her, it would be appreciated."

Faye glanced behind her at the Familiar woman and turned to the High Queen, silently pleading to be saved. The High Queen turned toward her, and her face lit. She would take her back. Faye could go home to her sister.

"You're in his realm dear. Feel free to call your court to war against the Shadow Prince."

The peasant blanched and her arms went limp. Her pained, defeated look twisted something in Rune's chest. It hurt him to see her distressed. The Ra'Voshnik circled his mind.Go to her, it growled, demanding he comfort and soothe her.

Rune drove it down, ignoring the ache. The sooner he was free of this spell, the better. It must be tied to the Ra'Voshnik, which would explain why it acted so strangely toward her.

The mortal left the room with her head down, and it took all of Rune's self-control not to go after her.

"I've never seen you take a pet before." Lyssa stood beside him, leaning closer to scent him. "I can smell her on you. You refused my offer but took an Anarian to your bed?"

The Ra'Voshnik purred from the recesses of his mind.Yes, bring her to our bed.

Rune schooled his expression and lifted his gaze to meet Lyssa's. He didn't need to taste her emotions to know the rotten taste of jealousy covered her. "You know no one has ever received an invitation to my bed."My queen will be the only woman I offered that to.

Lyssa clicked her tongue at him. "I'll leave you to train your pet."

She phased out of his realm leaving him in his study. Rune exhaled, frustrated with his inability to control the Ra'Voshnik, and its incessant want for her. The mortal clouded his mind, impairing his judgment. Twisting something in him each time he glanced her way.

Rune dragged his hand through his hair before closing his eyes. He took a deep breath in and released it slowly, centering his mind. Assuring himself what he felt was no different than what every other male experienced. The driving desires were new, and he was untested in this regard. But Darkness, the learning curve for his minx was far steeper than any of the magic he dedicated his life to.

Not his.Rune thought bitterly, pinching the bridge of his nose. Even as every instinct within him screamed she was.

The gray,colorless walls closed in on her with each step. Faye was a fool to think the High Queen loved her people. She was a dark-blood like the rest of them. Faye straightened her back as they passed a closed door along the hall a few feet from hers. Taking a deep cleansing breath, Faye focused her mind. She didn't need the high bitch. She would escape on her own.

From her doorway, Faye glimpsed the sky through the window beside her bed. She could see the sun was setting. Or was it dawn, how long had she slept? She strolled to the window hoping to find a landmark. Anything that would identify her surroundings and aid her plot to escape. Faye's breath caught as she stood before the window.

The ground glimmered, stretching as far as she could see, blending into the horizon. Mountains and jagged spikes rose from the ground in chaotic bursts. The entire landscape was made up of the same beautiful shimmering crystal. The sun dipped just below the horizon. The stars began to emerge as the last of the colors gave way to the darkness sweeping over the sky.

"Where are we?" Faye asked absently. She could hear the High Queen's voice laughing through her mind.You're in his realm, dear.

Sadi came to stand beside her, fingering the white gauzy material draping either side of the window. "This is Hell."

Faye's hope of escape shattered before it began. Her stomach knotted, and Faye thought she would be sick. Her breaths came in short pants as she fixed her gaze on the window ledge. It's just a realm, she told herself. A closed realm he had stolen her to.

His realm.

Faye forced several deep breaths, steadying herself. Sparrow was alive. She clung to that knowledge with strangled desperation as tears pricked her eyes. Her queen abandoned her. She couldn't phase and was held captive in Hell. There would be no escaping him. Faye blinked the tears back grasping at what little choices she had left. He held her hostage but she would never break.

Sadi tugged the sleeve of her robe. "We can talk over a meal. You must be famished."

She was starved but remained silent. The Familiar woman wearing her face, took a seat at a square table and crossed her legs, waiting for Faye to join her. Faye remained at the window glancing over the luxurious room that dwarfed her cottage. Was Sparrow at their kitchen table now? Worried sick. "Can I write a letter? Send a word to my sister and tell her I'm alright?"

"I'm sure…"

The Shadow Prince appeared in the room, glaring at her. "No."

Sadi exhaled, and her shoulders slumped. "Rune, be reasonable."

He ignored her and silently stalked toward Faye. "If you disrupt my dealings a second time, I will revisit your lover and return with the piece I carve from her."

Faye drew a shaking breath, squeezing closer to the wall at her back. She stared up at him into his cold, pale blue gaze. "Please don't hurt my sister."

The hard set of his eyes eased a touch, and he took a step back. "Sister."

Faye nodded, squeezing her arms to her side. "The blonde I was with when you found me. She's my sister."

Rune glanced at Sadi's way, grating, "See that she eats," before vanishing from the room.

Sadi sighed, resting her chin on her hand. "You're handling your stay poorly."

Faye observed her, she seemed decent if not sane. "I don't want to stay here."

Sadi smiled at her, patting the table for Faye to sit across from her. "You're a guest in our dark court."

Faye straightened her robe and took her seat, surrounded by carved expensive furniture arranged with rugs to define the space. A large bed, plain in comparison to the other room she'd been in, was covered in thick ivory blankets. Blue and gray pillows decorated it. Faye turned her attention back to Sadi. "Your court is beautiful, but I would like to go home."

Sadi placed a black stone on the table and touched her finger. "Please bring us a selection." Faye schooled her expression as the Familiar spoke to the air before slipping the stone into her corset between her breasts. She smiled brightly at Faye, leaning back in her chair. "You'll enjoy your stay once you understand court protocol. Court life is very simple. Touch is an invitation. A strike allows him to engage you physically. Using magic allows him to do the same. A romantic touch is an invitation to your body."

"He touched me without invitation and brought me here." Faye hoped using her own words would help her understand the Shadow Prince wronged her.

The Familiar drummed her long nails on the table. "That was rude of him."

Faye bit the inside of her lip. Kidnapping was rude. A chime sounded startling Faye, and several dishes appeared on the table. Meats, breads, and vegetables were arranged beautifully. A three-tiered plate setting was filled with the same pastries Sparrow had stolen from the ball. Faye's mouth watered at the feast before her. She swallowed, making no move for it.

Sadi poured herself a flute of dark liquid and held the bottle out to Faye. "Sweet wine?"

"No, thank you." Faye leaned forward, adding softly, "Can I ask you something?" Sadi nodded, sipping her wine. "Why are you glamoured to look like me?"

Sadi dragged the pointed claw of her ring down the side of her cheek. "I've never worn glamor in my life."

"We must be related." Faye studied her with new eyes. She never imagined she would be part Familiar. Maybe more than a part, it would explain why her ceremony failed. Their altar was in Chaos— though that was the extent of Faye's knowledge.

"I've borne no young, but Familiar trade partners often. My father shared many beds."

Sadi spoke so easily about her father's infidelity as though it were an idle conversation. "This doesn't upset your mother?"

"Why would it? She joins when the mood strikes her."

Faye flushed. Familiarity was strange, but she knew promiscuity wasn't isolated to a race. The darker the court, the more debauched they became. Faye pushed the thoughts away, focusing on her bubbling excitement at the prospect of a family, or at least a part of one. "Who's your father? Do you have any other family?" They could be more distant relatives.

"Morbid is my father."

Faye's mouth slacked. "The Familiar King?" At her nod Faye began piecing the Shadow Prince's court together. She should have seen it sooner but was too blind with grief. Three houses made up his court, each ruling a realm. Faye didn't dare to hope to have a tie to the Benevolence house, but why else would they be so similar. "Could you look into me and see if I'm tied to your father?"

Sadi hesitated.

I don't want his riches. I've never known my family. I can't tell you what it would mean to have a tie." A family to belong to.

"There is a simpler way to see if you're a Familiar." Her gaze dropped toward Faye's bare index finger. "You invoked your blood in Necromia, and it failed. You could invoke your blood at our altar. If it fires, you'll have your answer."

The answer to her possible race, but not if they were related. Faye hoped with time they may become friends and she could revisit the subject. "My sister is Familiar. She invoked her blood in Necromia."

"If her blood is fired in Necromia her dominant line belongs to that altar."

That would mark Sparrow as part Familiar. Faye didn't shift into a cat like Sparrow. She grew claws and wings. Being mostly Familiar was the only thing that made sense, but she lacked their most prevalent trait.

Faye stilled. Was she inadvertently poaching the Shadow Prince? Her stomach knotted and she thought she might be ill. "Why is he holding me here? If I was poaching him, it was unintentional. I'll learn to control it."

"I will speak with him and see if my father would allow you to come to our altar." Sadi took her glass and stood. "I would recommend the choice cuts," she said, pointing at a small plate of roasted meat with a long thin knife placed across it. She sauntered out of the room saying over her shoulder as she left, "I'll see if I can have Rune make your stay more comfortable as well."

Once she was gone Faye left the table. She paced the room nervously. Not allowing herself to hope she found where she belonged. She passed the table, and her mouth watered.