Chapter 3

CHAPTER THREE

N imue had been separated from Balthasar as soon as they had crossed back into the Aos Si. The Seelie guards were instructed to keep him away from the eyes of the courtiers. Nimue wasn't given the dignity of being secretly escorted into the cells. She had been dragged through the halls, the queen pulling her by a leather leash. She had been paraded in front of these courtiers before, and while they still jeered, their mockery seemed forced and subdued.

Something has definitely altered in the Seelie Court. Nimue studied them with a cold pride, knowing to keep her expression neutral no matter what they subjected her to. The underground courts, where the air usually hummed with power were noticeably colder, with furs replacing the courtiers' silks. The intense beauty of the Seelie fae had begun to dim, except for the queen. She was brimming with dark, glittering power stolen from Unseelie prisoners.

Aeronwen, Bleddyn had called her. Nimue wouldn't be surprised if there wasn't anyone left alive besides Bleddyn who knew her true name. And he'd made sure that he said it loud enough that the entire army had heard. It wouldn't take long before the court gossips got ahold of that piece of information, and then trouble wouldn't be far behind.

She's going to be so busy deflecting hexes, she's not going to be able to see straight , Merlin's voice mocked in her head. Nimue didn't dare smile even as his imagined amusement warmed her.

After being forced to sit in shackles at the queen's feet while she regaled them with her victory, Nimue was finally led down to the dungeons.

"Beat her and toss her in the pit. I have more entertaining prey to see to," the queen commanded.

Nimue tried not to look relieved that she wasn't going back under the lake. The darkness she could handle as long as she was dry.

"I'll take her from here. She can barely stand and won't be sport enough for two," the golden-haired Seelie guard told his companion. "You have more exciting games to play tonight. What was that pretty handmaiden's name again?"

"I can't even remember," the other guard laughed. "She's new, and that's all that matters."

"You had best hurry before someone else beats you to her."

"I owe you one, Fintan. Be careful of this one. Who knows what tricks she has? She is Eurion's child after all."

Like Hell I am . Bleddyn had made her a Seren Du, Nimue reminded herself. It would only make it worse for her if the Seelie ever found out.

The other guard headed away, and she was nudged forward with the butt of Fintan's spear.

One beating instead of two , Nimue thought. They would want to hope that the queen didn't find out.

The Autumn Queen's oubliette was a wide pit of inky darkness capped with an iron seal to stop any of the prisoners trying to use their magic to break out. Fintan tied a rope around a post and gestured at Nimue.

"Climb down, or I'll have to throw you down," he said without any real malice. "You are lucky there are no decaying bodies down there. The previous occupant left with the queen and never returned with the army."

"Bleddyn Seren Du took her from the queen," Nimue said, and picked up the rope. "You had best be afraid and get out of here while you can. Trust me, he's coming for you all and will bring the rage of the Unseelie with him."

"Perhaps that wouldn't be a bad thing," Fintan replied, his blue eyes earnest compared to his bored tone. "Now get in."

"No beating?" Nimue raised an eyebrow.

Something softened in the guard's tight face. "You look beaten enough for one day. Now get in before I change my mind."

Nimue slid over the lip and climbed slowly down the rope, her hands raw and bleeding by the time her feet hit the ground. If he had dropped her in from that height, she would've broken at least one of her legs.

"Thank you, Fintan," she said softly, her voice drowned in the cavernous silence of the pit. Above her, the rope disappeared, and Fintan lowered the hatch, locking her in darkness.

The stone walls around her were smooth but dry. She walked slowly, one hand resting on the wall, the other out in front of her as she made a slow circuit of her new prison. The walls and floor hummed with wards to stop people from being able to use their magic. Nimue could feel the shape of the invisible nets around her. The queen was nothing if not thorough. Yet, something was off.

Nimue went to her hands and knees and began searching, trying to locate the discordant break in the hum of the spell. A slate paver rocked under her hand. Nimue rocked it again, her fingernails catching the lifted edge, and she pulled it free. She thought she'd find dirt. Instead, it was a hole. Who was the silver-haired prisoner she had seen during the battle?

Slowly, Nimue lowered her hand into the space, feeling around for anything hidden. Her fingers brushed fabric, and she pulled out a tightly rolled, woolen cloak. There would be no way the queen would've allowed such a kindness to a prisoner.

Nimue unrolled it and found the stub of a candle. There was no flint to light it. Unless … Nimue rested her hand on the earth sides of the hole, and her magic flickered under her skin. It was weak, but it was still there, and a small flame appeared in her hand.

She lit the candle stub, wrapped the cloak around her shoulders, and thought about what she could do. There was no doubt in her mind that Bleddyn would be coming to take revenge on the queen, and there was no way he could keep Rosa from trying to get Balthasar back. The queen had tried to take Merlin and had been unable to. Could he have crossed into the Aos Si with Bleddyn, or would he have been denied passage again? Nimue's magic was muted, not gone, so she placed her hand back into the cold earth and sent her voice out on the winds of the Aos Si hoping it might be strong enough to find him… Merlin .

On entering the Aos Si, Balthasar had been locked into a cell with stone walls and left alone for hours. If the intention was to heighten his panic and anxiety over his coming fate, they were going to be disappointed. He had been tortured in nearly every way possible over the years, and it no longer held any terror for him.

Instead of worrying, Balthasar used the time to wipe as much blood from the battle off him that he could and tried to relax. Leading up to the invasion, he had barely rested, so despite being a prisoner and missing Rosa so much his bones ached, he had curled up in the warmth of his battle leathers and slept.

The last time Balthasar had been a prisoner of war and tortured had been in France during World War II. He had been an empty shell of a man with nothing to lose. He didn't want to lose Rosa, but he also knew that while she was with Merlin and Eli, there wasn't anything strong enough to take her from them. He started going through his memories of her as if they were Cards of Fate, turning them over and admiring them before burying them deep inside himself until he was an empty shell once more.

When the queen's guards did finally come for him, Balthasar was no longer the man they had put in the cell. He was calm as they brought him up a winding staircase and into a lush set of chambers. He'd expected to be dragged before the Court for a torture session, but the queen had other ideas.

The guard shoved him onto a plain wooden chair in the center of a lavishly decorated bedchamber and clamped his wrists and ankles to the legs before locking a collar around his neck. Balthasar made a quick note of how long the chain was and how it was fastened to the stone wall. He had broken and built many cells in his time. The only other furniture in the room was an oversized golden four-posted bed with a high canopy of velvet and gossamer.

"Balthasar Seren Du, how I've longed for this meeting," the queen said, gliding into the room. She was dressed as if she'd come from a ball with her hair decorated with an elaborate headdress of antlers and red roses. Her golden and red gown was heavy with velvet and embroidery; the bodice opened enough to reveal the pearlescent curves of her breasts. She would be a beautiful way to die, and if he would've been the self-destructive man he'd been five years ago, he might have been tempted by the trap she was trying hard to set.

Balthasar remained silent. If he knew one thing about Aeronwen, it was that she liked to talk.

"I must say you aren't as tall as I expected," she said critically, moving about him. She ran a finger down his stubbly jawline. "I can't deny there is a feral sort of appeal about you. It's little wonder that a naive young thing like Rosa Wylt would be taken by you. Your attraction to her is what I can't quite figure out. Oh, sure, she tastes pleasant enough, if a little plain."

Balthasar's expression didn't change despite the insinuation that this bitch of a queen had done far more to his Rosa during her time bespelled than she remembered.

"I'm sorry, was there a question in there I was supposed to answer?" he asked when she looked at him expectantly.

"I suppose not. I see you won't waste time with any pleasantries at all, which is very bad manners. Tell me what Bleddyn is planning, and your time here won't need to be as horrible as we can make it."

"To my knowledge, Bleddyn has no plan when it comes to the Aos Si. He has only ever wanted to be left alone. Something you fail to understand."

"Would you leave Rosa alone if she left you? Or would you try to win her back?"

Balthasar began to laugh. "Killing his people and kidnapping his son isn't the right way to win someone's love."

"Perhaps not to humans, but to the fae? War against each other is just another kind of foreplay. A true partner is one strong enough to handle the other. Equals in power. If I yielded to him now, it would prove I wasn't worth his affections."

"If you yielded to him now, I'm quite sure he would still cut your lying head off. That is if he can get to you before Rosa does. She wasn't impressed with her last trip to the Seelie Courts, and she won't like returning."

"She'll walk into every trap I set because her love for you has made her stupid, like it's made you, the great Leiddiad, cow eyed and soft."

"Wait until I get out of these chains, and I'll show you exactly how soft I am."

Balthasar didn't feel the spell, only the pain as the pinkie finger on his left hand was twisted off. The queen held out her hand on the other side of the room and caught the bloody finger.

"I've always been curious about how the Gwaed Gam can regenerate," she said, gliding over to him, her curved body swaying as the edges of her bodice opened further. Balthasar didn't hide his disgust as she knelt down on her knees in front of him and sucked on the bloody stump where his finger had been, her pale hand moving to knead at his crotch.

So…she was going to be that kind of torturer.