Page 74 of Gilded Curses

Having heard the clatter of the trays, hands poked through the slots. In the first cell, at least five or six hands emerged, and judging by the hands poking through some of the other cells, there were about the same number in each of those too. The food the servants brought to the top of the stairs was nowhere near enough to feed all these immortals.

When the two women entered the dungeon and headed to the first cell, Orin ascended the steps and left the foul-smelling place behind. At the top of the stairs, he turned left and continued through the hallways.

He had to locate the main dining room. After meals there, Desmond and Sheree left out the back door; if he could find the room, he could track them from there.

Orin left Sahira behind so he could find at least one of them. He’d prefer Sheree, as he sought information on those stones, but he would settle for Desmond.

When he did find them, he’d slice little pieces of them away until they did what he asked… and he’d start with their hands.

He moved like a wraith through the castle, passing by others without them knowing he was there. Finally, he found the main dining hall.

Voices drifted from within as silverware clattered against plates. Since leaving Sahira, time felt like it was rushing past and screaming toward a bad ending, but if dinner was still in full swing, less time had passed than he feared.

He’d forgotten that he hadn’t eaten since this morning until the smell of food wafted to him. His stomach rumbled as he stepped into the dining hall, and his eyes landed on Desmond and Sheree, sitting at the head of the table.

As Orin stared at them, he recalled the servants bringing food to the prisoners. It hadn’t occurred to him before because it felt far later than it was, and he’d assumed the Elite had already eaten, but what if they were also bringing dinner to his friends?

CHAPTER SIXTY-TWO

Sahira inched forward on her hands and knees as she kept her face centimeters from the ground. Her fingers crept across the wooden floor as she searched for any difference in the grooves or a notch that might indicate a panel she could pull free.

She’d already searched all the walls and was about halfway through the floor. Maybe she should have started with the floors considering that’s where the hidden room was in the pub, but she seriously doubted the dagadon had created the same kind of secret room everywhere.

Or maybe she was wrong and part of the fun for these assholes was making others think things might be different when they weren’t. Either way, she’d already set her course and wouldn’t change it.

Her back ached from her hunched-over position, and her knees hated her, but she was determined to explore every centimeter of this floor. Keeping her nose close to the ground, she inched forward as a knock sounded on the door.

Sahira froze before her head slowly rose. She stared at the door like it was a dragon ready to devour her and held her breath while she waited for whoever it was to go away. Instead of doing so, they knocked again.

Reluctantly, Sahira released her silencing spell with a flutter of her fingers. “What is it?”

“Your dinner,” a sweet voice called back.

A sinking sense of dread caused the hair on her arms to rise as her gaze shot around the room. Then, she bolted to her feet.

“I’ll be right there!” she called.

Not like it mattered, they were the ones with the keys and could enter at any time, which meant she had to move fast.

Sahira raced into the bathroom and turned on the water in the tub before twisting the knob on the wall to engage the large, handheld shower nozzle. Water pounded into the claw-foot tub as steam started to rise.

Retreating from the bathroom, she closed the door noiselessly behind her and straightened her shoulders before striding over to the door. She was almost there when a key turned in the lock and the door swung open. Aurora and two guards stood on the other side.

Sahira came to an abrupt halt, but she kept her shoulders back and her face impassive as she struggled to hide her panic.

“Where’s the dark fae?” one of the guards demanded.

Sahira planted her hands on her hips. “He’s in the shower. After everything he’s endured today, he needed it.”

She was glad the haughtiness of her words hid the terror twisting her intestines into knots as the guards exchanged a look. They leaned further into the room to hear the running water before moving back again.

Before they could say anything more, Sahira took the tray from Aurora. “I’ll make sure he gets this.”

Aurora’s eyes were questioning as they held Sahira’s, but she turned and lifted another tray from the cart. “This is yours,” she said.

Sahira set Orin’s tray on the small stand a few feet away before returning to the door. She took the tray from Aurora’s hands. “Thank you.”

Please go. Please go, she inwardly pleaded.