Page 12 of Fallen Court

It was a lost cause. I stacked them back into haphazard piles until it looked like the mess I’d found and not a ransacked room.

I made it two steps toward the hall when I spotted a small door peeking from behind a leather club chair. The door was half the size of a normal one. Probably nothing. Still, I shoved the chair out of the way, then dropped to my knees and tried its brass handle. Locked. Naturally. Secret doors usually were.

I’d seen Channing pick a lock. So, getting to my feet, I snatched the letter opener from the desk and carefully worked it into the keyhole, wiggling it back and forth until I felt something give. Adrenaline surged through my chest as I pushed harder. My grip slipped, and I caught the blade on instinct, gasping as it sliced open my hand. The letter opener clattered to the ground as blood welled in my palm. I closed my fingers against the smarting pain.

What did Oberon have behind a tiny, locked door?

I leaned forward, trying to peer through the keyhole, but I couldn’t see a thing. Frustrated, I pressed my ear to the door, holding my breath as I strained to listen for…something. I froze as I caught a muffled sound. Followed by a growl. A chill raced along my spine, raising the hairs on the back of my neck.

I tamped down my panic as I rose. Clenching my injured hand tightly, I scooted the chair back in place. Another growl, this one louder, sent me running into the hall.

I made it halfway down the corridor before I paused to catch my breath. Why was Oberon keeping an animal locked in the basement of the Hallow Court? What kind of a beast deserved that treatment? I closed my eyes, trying to steady my heart, but when I opened them, something was staring back.

It had no face. No body. But it moved with an undeniable presence, its luminous outline shifting as it came closer. My heart leaped into my throat, and it hesitated as if it sensed my unease.

A soft moan filled the air like a whispering wind. I knew that sound.

Wraith.

I had never seen one at the Nether Court. I’d only heard their sighing sounds and glimpsed hints of passing shadows.

The wraith hovered before me, and a tendril of light stretched toward me like a hand. I pressed against the wall, but it didn’t touch me. Instead, the wisp curled, pointing itself in the direction of the stairs. I stared, breathing hard and fast.

“It’s not safe here, is it?” I whispered.

I could have sworn it shook its nonexistent head.

I murmured my thanks and rushed back the way I’d come. My footsteps echoed off the stone walls as I climbed the spiral staircase, blood pounding in my ears.

I didn’t look back to see if it had followed me.

I had more questions than answers now. They started in a loop as I hurried toward my room. I was a few steps from the door, consumed in thought, when someone stepped into my path. I stifled a gasp of surprise.

“Are you lost?” Titania wore her disdain like heavy perfume.

I hid my bloody hand behind my back as alarm coiled through me. How long had she been standing there? Had she been looking for me?

I straightened, squaring my shoulders. “Just exploring.”

“How bold.” Malice glinted in her eyes. “Can I give you some advice?”

“If I said no, would it stop you?” I asked flatly.

She ignored me. “There is no place more dangerous than the one beside the throne. Two princes want you there.”

I gritted my teeth, wondering if she was always this paranoid or if it was simply the byproduct of spending so much time listening to her brother plot against the world. “Oberon wants my ring. Not me.”

But I still had the ring. She was right; there was some reason I was still alive. He needed more from me than he was letting on.

“Do you think that bargaining with him will be that simple? That you can give him that ring and a smile and walk out of here?” she asked as if reading my mind. “If I were you, I would start making my peace with the gods.”

“Is that a threat?” I stared back at her.

She stilled, something unreadable flickering in her eyes. It was gone as swiftly as it had appeared. “It’s a warning.”

“I didn’t ask to come here,” I reminded her. “I was taken against my will. If you’re so concerned, help me escape.”

“No one escapes,” she said with a laugh that chilled my blood. “Not a single one of you. Oberon likes to collect things, and he has collected you.”