Chapter 21

21

I awoke in darkness. The scent of iron and dirt pressed in close, hugging me as tightly as the shadows. I sucked in a sharp breath and reached a shaky hand toward anything I could find. My fingers curled around rusted metal bars, and I pulled myself to my feet.

I was alive. I could scarcely believe it. Lugh had attacked me. Or his nightmare wraiths had. Same thing, really.

The nightmares had engulfed me, drowning me. The last thing I remembered was screaming out his name. His face had flashed in my mind, over and over and over. He was Lugh, and then he was not, and then he was Lugh again. It was all I could think about as the bloody images had poured into my mind. And then darkness had pulled me under.

I should be dead.

Why had he spared me? Why had he thrown me...into some kind of dungeon? That was what I assumed this was. With the dirt and iron and flaking bars, it was the only thing that made sense. Instead of dumping me in a grave, he'd taken me as his prisoner.

In the distance, I heard the creak of a door opening. My pulse flickered in my neck, and I tightened my grip on the bars. Light splashed into the darkness, highlighting my surroundings for just a moment.

I'd been right. I was in a dungeon cell, looking out into a corridor that led to a row of more barred rooms. And I was alone.

The light vanished as the door slammed shut. Footsteps sounded on the floor, coming closer to where I stood shivering in my cage. As the intruder strode closer, the scent of him swirled into my nose. An intoxicating scent, one I would never forget.

I pressed my lips together, swallowing down the words. I wouldn't give him the satisfaction of speaking first.

"I see you're awake now," Wraith Lugh said in that familiar growl of his. "You've been out for three days. You're lucky to have survived."

How had I survived? So many wraiths had descended upon me. The nightmares had driven me mad. Truth be told, I actually felt all right now, if a little weary. After an attack like that, I should be either dead or barely breathing.

"No thanks to you," I said. "You're the one who sent those wraiths after me."

"You're not dead, are you?" he snapped back in a sharp tone that matched mine. "I could have left you on the lawn to die."

That suggested he'd intervened, that he'd stopped the wraiths from ending my life. But that was impossible. He'd made that much clear. Lugh was gone, and this thing was a murderous wraith who wanted to see the end of the civilised world. He had no reason to save me.

"You know what? You have an excellent point," I said. "You were threatening me with death, and yet here I stand. You didn't let the wraiths kill me. Now why is that, Wraith Lugh? Or should I just call you Lugh?"

He scowled. "You are insufferable. I will truly never understand why the fae had so much interest in you. He should have killed you the second you stepped foot inside his castle."

"You're changing the subject," I pointed out. "I've noticed that you do that a lot. Probably because you don't want to answer my questions."

Laughing, he shook his head. "You truly think I spared you because of some deep hidden feelings leftover from the fae."

I arched a brow. "Do you have some other explanation? Because from where I'm standing, that's sure what it looks like."

Although I would have preferred if the hidden Lugh had also somehow found me better quarters than this. I didn't even have a bed, let alone a comfy duvet or some pillows .

And I didn't even want to think about the toilet situation.

"I have a far greater use for you," he said. "You will be bait for the others."

I tightened my grip on the bars. "What others? Saoirse? Uisnech? What do you want with them?"

"No," he growled, striding closer. It was still too dark to see much of him, but I could practically feel every outline of his body. The memories of his face were enough to make me recognise him amidst the shadows. "For the Morrigan. She is the only one who is any threat to my inevitable rule over the mortal realm. As soon as I have led her here, the world will become mine."

Oh. My gut twisted. So that was why he'd spared me. Not because he found his feelings impossible to escape, something leftover from the magic of my mate bond with Lugh.

I was a muppet for hoping otherwise.

"Nice try. But that will never work," I snapped back, more for show than anything else. If I were being honest, his words had sent a sharp chill through my heart. He was right. The queen was our best hope for stopping Wraith Lugh's assault on the mortals. Without her, he'd barely have a fight.

I couldn't see his face, but I could feel the flash of his wicked grin.

"Ah, there you are wrong." He inched closer, dropping his voice into a hiss. "I have already sent her the threat. She is on her way, with a small ragtag band of fighters. She didn't have time to gather a large army. My plan will work, Moira. And you will have helped me do it. "

Anger flashed through me, but the emotion was quickly replaced with remorse. He was right. If I hadn't been so intent on tracking him down, I wouldn't have delivered him the very thing that would draw the Morrigan out: me. I'd been so convinced that I could find the real Lugh hiding in the depths of the wraith that I'd risked it all. Not just my own life but the lives of everyone else.

"Ah." He chuckled. "I can see now that you have finally accepted the truth. I am not your Lugh. I never will be again. I have trapped you here to destroy you, not to save your life."

I wanted nothing more than to believe he didn't mean that, but there was no doubt in his voice. With my lips pressed firmly together, I watched him push away from the bars and head to the stairs.

"Good night, Moira." He threw the words over his shoulder. "Don't even think about fighting me. I have wraiths stationed all around the premises. The second you so much as look for an escape route, I'll have them attack you once again. And next time, I won't bother to keep you alive."

Lugh laughed and marched up the stairs. He pushed open the door and slammed it hard behind him, leaving me in total darkness.

With a sigh, I stumbled back and slumped against the dirt-stained wall. Tears filled my eyes and splashed down my cheeks. It was all over.

I'd lost.

I'd lost Lugh. I'd lost the fight against the wraiths. I'd lost any hope I ever had of making it back to the mortal realm alive.

I'd lost it everything.

H ours went by. Or maybe days. It was impossible to keep track in the terrible darkness. My eyes had begun to adjust, but there was still only so much that I could see. The bars were thick and spaced only far enough apart for my fingers to slip through them. To my right sat an empty cell, where a blanket had been spread across the dirt-packed ground. Someone had once been kept there. I didn't want to think about where they were now.

Lugh came and went with surprising frequency. He brought me food, along with a bucket of crisp mineral water. Several times, I asked for a status about the queen. He never answered.

For all I knew, he'd already drawn her here, and she was dead.

But that wouldn't explain why he still kept me alive.

As long as I was still breathing, there was a chance that humanity would survive the plague of nightmare wraiths...not that I had long.

At the end of the day—maybe, I couldn't be certain—Lugh brought down a third meal. He shuffled to a stop outside my cell door, eyeing me warily. Even though I hadn't made a single move to escape, he clearly didn't trust that I didn't plan on trying something.

"Back up to the wall," he ordered with a bored tone to his voice. "Make a move for the door, and I'll kill you on the spot."

I obeyed, lips pressed tightly together.

As soon as my back hit stone, Lugh swung open the door, slid the tray across the floor, and then slammed the bars shut again. The cell was locked before I could even take another breath.

I glanced down at the meal. You'd think prisoners would get gruel, right? Like some kind of disgusting porridge that was lukewarm. Instead, Lugh had brought me a veritable feast. Roast chicken, a pile of mashed potatoes slathered in butter, and some steamed vegetables. He'd even put a chunk of black pudding on the side, a dish that had become a favourite of mine at our nightly feasts in Edinburgh. My stomach grumbled in response.

He began to walk away, but I called out after him. "Any news on the Morrigan?"

"That is none of your concern," he snapped. "Eat your dinner."

Ah, so it was the end of the day. That was the first real tidbit of knowledge that I could mentally log. It didn't really tell me much, but I would take anything I could get. Nighttime meant shadows, which meant that Wraith Lugh was now at his strongest. In the morning, he'd be weaker. If my queen planned to attack, I hoped she'd wait until then.

Ignoring the food, I strode up to the bars and peered at his retreating back. "Can I ask you something?"

"You can," he said, pausing but not turning to face me. "But it is unlikely I will answer."

"Are all the wraiths like you?"

He craned his head, glancing over his shoulder. In the dark, I swore I could still see the hooded black of his eyes. "In what way?"

"You seem fairly intelligent. You have a strategic plan to take over the world," I said. "The other wraiths seem sort of...mindless."

"They are hungry. Until they feast on more fear, they will not be at full strength," he said in a gruff voice. "And they are not the king of the wraiths. I am."

I frowned out at him. "If they're hungry, why haven't you let them feed again?"

I didn't really want to give him any ideas, but any information I could weasel out of him would be information I could use later on. When I escaped. I was determined to get the hell out of here, even if it did seem impossible now. Sure, I didn't have a plan, but I had to start somewhere. First step: get the wraith king to talk.

"Sometimes, I think you have a death wish, Moira." He sounded so much like Lugh in that moment that a new wave of pain roiled within my heart. "The wraiths will feed once we take the mortal realm. Why are you asking me these questions?"

"It's boring down here," I replied. "I'll take any morsel of entertainment I can get."

Wraith Lugh whipped toward me and stalked up to the bars. Magic poured off his body, white hot and electric. Our mating bond snapped tight. I gasped, eyes widening in both fear and shock. The magic felt the same as it always had.

It felt like Lugh.

My heart shuddered, battering my ribs.

"Listen to me," he said in a low growl, leaning so close that his face pressed against the bars. "I am only keeping you alive long enough to bring the queen here. Do not think I am showing you any kindness. Once I have defeated the crown, your life is forfeit."

He twisted away from the bars and stomped down the dark corridor. I stared after him, my heart hammering. He could deny it all he wanted, but I had felt the very depths of him just then. The wraith might have taken over the body, but Lugh wasn't fully gone.

He was in there somewhere. And I just had to get him out.