Chapter 36

CHAPTER 36

W hen I reach Talan's bedroom, the guard at the door tenses. Then he nods, letting me pass. He's obviously heard what happened to the last soldier who tried to stop me from going into the prince's room.

I find Talan lying in his bed. His lips are still tinged with blue, but he's awake, clutching his chest. A soldier stands by his side.

"I want it done right now," Talan says.

He glances my way and raises a finger, indicating for me to wait.

"Sir, I'm not sure that this is the moment for such…gestures," the guard says uneasily. "Surely we need all of our manpower to search for the assassin?—"

"You will do as I order," Talan says, his voice as hard as steel. "Four men guarding it at all times. No one gets near it, you got that?"

"Very well, Your Highness," the guard stutters.

He hurries out of the room.

"What was that about?" I approach his bed and sit on the edge.

"You don't need to worry about it."

"The healer says you'll be fine in a few days," I say. "As soon as your body purifies itself of the poison."

"I don't have a few days," Talan mumbles. "Too much to do."

"Well, give it a few hours, then. Even the formidable Dream Stalker needs to recuperate after being shot by an iron arrow."

"No need to be dramatic." His lips quirk. "It was just an iron tip."

I clear my throat. "You saved my life."

He glances up at me, then gives me a wry smile. "Well, I couldn't let my secret weapon die, could I?"

I sigh. "I guess not."

"I saw the arrow flying for you but not the attacker. Did you get a look at them?"

"It was Arwenna," I answer. "From a window."

"Of course."

"I thought I saw someone when I left my room. She must have had someone watching me, waiting for me to leave."

He nods, grimacing.

I pick up a little glass bottle of blue oil. "What's this?"

"It's supposed to help me sleep. It eases the pain." He winces, hand over his chest.

"Do you want some now?"

Frowning, he pushes himself up on his elbows and pulls the bottle from my hand. He takes a deep sip, then gives it to me and falls back onto his pillow. His large hand protectively covers his flesh where it was pierced, and I watch him fall asleep, his chest rising and falling. His cheekbones look sharper than usual, his dark hair tousled, black eyelashes stark against his skin.

I feel strangely protective toward him, which is insane. I'm specifically here to help plan his assassination.

But I have more questions about him than I started with, and I won't ever have another opportunity like this, with him in a drug-induced sleep. He won't wake easily or sense me at all.

I wait until I'm sure he's asleep, his breathing slow and his body relaxed, and touch his shoulder. It happens without effort when my fingers touch his skin. Unlike my encounters with others, there's no pain, and his thoughts drift closer to me like toy sailboats floating on a stream. It's effortless.

In his mind, I see a woman standing over him, her eyes dark as his, her hair streaming over a white gown. Behind her is a tapestry of a weeping willow.

His mother.

Now, a raging storm clouds the sky, lightning igniting the landscape. Thunder rumbles over the horizon.

She's led to a wooden scaffold, her hair draped over a long, thin gown. Her arms are tied behind her back. Wind tears at the landscape, rain hammering, as she's bound to a stake with kindling at her feet. A keening sound rends the air as someone brings a torch to the wood. Talan's fear cuts me to the bone.

He wants everyone to feel like he does.

I'm shaking now, but the storm in his mind rages, sweeping the image away.

He's alone, wandering through empty gothic halls. It's like he's been in these halls in solitude for centuries.

Finally, I catch a stray thought, more of an image than a sentence. A map. I recognize it at once. I've studied this map myself for weeks, alongside other agents of Avalon.

It's a map of Scotland.

I home in on it, sliding deeper into his mind, praying that he'll stay asleep. This may be my only chance.

And as I sift through his thoughts about the war council, my heart sinks.

I see Auberon. He clenches his jaw, then motions violently with his hands, and the air in front of him shimmers, tears open, the green hills of Scotland materializing beyond. This is the king's power, I realize—the magical skill of opening portals.

Talan is poring over the map. He's the one who made the plans, not his father. He stands with the Fey army leaders, giving the orders. He was the one who came up with the plan to attack Dover by surprise, pouring the Fey in through the south. He orchestrated the attack with the dragons, the veil that rolled into us.

We all assumed Auberon was the one calling the shots, deciding how and where to attack. But looking through Talan's thoughts, I see a military mastermind. He understands the field better than anyone, and he's in control. Talan whispers instructions in the ears of the generals, and he cunningly twists the High Council to act as he plans.

Now, he has a plan for Scotland. A ruse. A two-pronged attack to destroy the allied resistance. A trap.

It begins with three dragons attacking the logistical base, just as we already knew. But the second part is bait—exposing the flank of his army to the human forces. He plans to give the humans an opportunity they won't be able to ignore. He knows they'll take the bait and attack with everything they've got, hoping to cripple the Fey army for good.

But when they do, he'll snap the trap shut with a hidden force, routing the human military from behind. The Fey will surround them and massacre them all. Total carnage.

Even more horrifying than his plan is his satisfaction with it. Swimming through his thoughts, I can see how pleased he is with its perfection. This slaughter is the best possible outcome, and it's going to happen within two days.

Shaking, I pull away from his mind, staring at him with horror.

Deep asleep, he looks so peaceful—the beautiful monster who intends to destroy us all. The man who took an arrow for me.

But of course, he has no idea what I really am.

On weak legs, I hurry out of the room, shutting the door behind me.

I have to warn Avalon Tower before it's too late.

I have to stop them from falling into Talan's well-laid trap.