The Darkling Lord: Court of the Banished book 1 (Annwyn Series 4) (19 page)

The King nodded. “You may see the prisoner.”

H
enry heard
footsteps before he saw who was coming. The way the cell faced prevented him from getting a good view. He didn’t like that. He didn’t particularly like being locked up; even if this was the most comfortable cell he’d ever been in.

He tensed even though he tried to appear relaxed. Then Darah appeared on the other side of the silver web. She touched the bars that looked more delicate than they appeared—he’d checked. He also regretted not carrying anything to pick locks with. He’d never make that mistake again. Once he would’ve never left the house, or hovel, without lock picks. He’d become complacent.

Darah looked more vibrant here. Her golden skin almost glowed and her black hair flowed loose over her shoulders. The blue of her cloak made her eyes seem brighter. Like all fairies she was impossibly beautiful when seen in Annwyn, across the veil he’d seen and tasted just a sample of her beauty. But looks were deceiving. Fairies, while pretty on the outside, were not always pretty on the inside. They were the perfect, poisoned apple and he’d been far too eager for a taste.

“What do you want?” He wouldn’t make the same mistake again. While he’d expected the betrayal, it hurt worse than he’d thought it would.

“I came to see you.”

“I am safely behind bars, which is what you planned.” He walked over and gave the silver bars a flick with his fingernail. They gave a hollow ring like a bell. If he hadn’t been on the wrong side it might have been pretty.

“That’s not fair.” She managed to look put out by his accusation, as though she was offended. This wasn’t her fault. He knew she had to obey her King…his King he supposed. In her shoes he’d have done the same.

“Nothing is. It’s the one thing I’ve learned over the years.” He leaned against the bars. “So now you’ve seen me. What next? Have you succeeded? Tell me that someone won this gamble.”

She didn’t look particularly happy. He hated games where no one won and everyone lost. A draw he could’ve lived with. But if she was unhappy, and he was in jail that was a loss all round.

What he really wanted to know was what was going on down there, below the branches. Had she seen the Hunter and the King? How long did he have to sit up here? Or were they going to wait until everything he’d been working on fell apart? He was feeling more like a political prisoner than an actual felon—but then he supposed actual criminals got thrown in the river or banished.

“Felan offered me a place on his Council.” She forced a smile.

He was used to seeing that smile. The mask so no one saw what she was really thinking. At first glance she looked happy. He knew differently.

“Congratulations,” he said anyway.

She nodded. “I pled your case.”

“You shouldn’t have. You’ve done more than enough.” If not for her, he wouldn’t be here. If he hadn’t let her slide into his bed…but the temptation to kiss without killing had been too great. Truly Felan couldn’t have picked a better spy.

She stepped closer and wrapped her hands around the bars. “I reported as I was ordered. I never framed you in a bad light. I always spoke well of what you were trying to achieve. I grew to believe in what you were creating, you stubborn lump of coal.”

He was guessing that was an insult that referred to his Grey parentage as everyone knew that fairy gems turned to coal after a time across the veil. However he wasn’t sure if he should be offended or amused. Darah was kind of cute when she got angry. Her eyes lit up and almost sparked like electricity. A laugh escaped his lips.

She drew in a breath and released the bar. He grabbed her hand. “I’m sorry I shouldn’t have laughed. I’m not familiar with the insult—it was right?” Or was he missing some other nuance of fairy life? He could handle the banished and even the occasional exiled fairy, but Court fairies were different and he was on their home turf…tree.

Her face softened just a fraction. Her lips twitching in an almost smile, and she didn’t pull her hand away. “Yes it was.”

He looked at her for a moment as he realized what else she’d said. “You really believed in what I was doing? You weren’t helping just to keep an eye on what I was doing?”

She tilted her head and lifted her eyebrows. Okay, so it had been a bit of both. He could live with that. “I made sure Peri was all right before I crossed the veil.”

He sucked in a breath. He hadn’t forgotten about her, but he’d figured she was as good as dead and had already mourned her passing in his mind. He had no idea how long he’d been here in mortal days even though it was still the same day in Annwyn.

“Did her mother bring her?” He needed to know what had happened.

“She did, I took her out. Afterwards there was cake. I did my best.”

“I…” He didn’t know quite what to say. Darah had saved a darkling child because it was something that he’d wanted. “Thank you.”

She glanced away. “I couldn’t let her die.”

Yes she could’ve and plenty would’ve. Beneath the cool façade Darah had a heart that was as delicate as anyone else’s. It wasn’t that fairies couldn’t feel. It was that they chose not to. They chose to avoid pain. But without pain how could there be pleasure? Or love? “How does it feel to get a scar on your heart?”

When she looked at him the mask she favored was gone. “It hurts. I’ve lived for over seven hundred years and no one has ever got under my skin like you.”

He didn’t want to be under her skin. He wanted to be in her heart. “I never meant to hurt you.” He never meant to fall for her either and yet it was happening.

“I didn’t plan for this.”

“I know.”

She was the spy, nothing more. That she’d fought for him was more than he’d hoped for…her actions spoke louder than any words she could speak. She cared even if she didn’t want to admit it. That warmed him more than any brightly colored blanket in his cell.

She sighed. “Peri’s old enough to ask questions about what happened. I tried, but I said that you’d be back to answer them. Don’t make a liar out of me.”

“It’s not up to me.”

Darah shook her head. “Henry, this is Court. What happens
is
up to you. You get a fair roll of the dice the same as any fairy.”

He didn’t believe that for a moment. If that were true why send a spy, why not just talk? “Which is why they locked me up.”

Even as he spoke he knew that he’d done the same. He used the Greys to spy before making a decision. Humans did it too. Espionage whether industrial or international was big business.

“The Queen is in labor. Priorities.” Her voice was almost as soft as the rustling of the new leaves. Were there more of them since he’d arrived? Since they’d started talking?

And he would be stuck here for the duration. He needed to get back. With the Mayor gone, things would be changing. He needed to be there to guide them in his favor and smooth the path. He pressed his lips together and looked at Darah.

She shook her head as if knowing the direction of his thoughts. “I can’t do anything more for you here. We must wait.”

“We?” That was an odd choice of words as it implied that she was firmly on his side.

“I am supposed to return to your Court. I wasn’t supposed to come here.”

“My Court?” He frowned not bothering to be careful and guard his expression.

“It’s what it’s being called. It’s what you have created, Henry, even if you didn’t realize.” There was a glimmer in her eyes. Was she proud of him?

Had he made a Court? Did that make him a king? That was awkward if Felan saw him as king of the banished. It wasn’t a title he wanted. “Maybe it’s time the King started caring about what his subjects do in the mortal world.”

“He does. The Hunter enforces the rules on both sides of the veil.”

Henry shook his head. “That’s not what I meant. Greys feel abandoned as they are literally cut off from Annwyn. They have already been punished and they have nothing left to lose and nothing left to hope for.” Some came to terms with it, and some remained angry.

“Felan wants to make changes, but fairies resist change. We have long lives and long memories.” Her fingers traced the silver bars.

“I get that he’s in no rush because he has a baby on the way.” Which meant years could go past while he waited in his pretty prison. What would happen when his birthday came and went? A shiver raced down his back. “But while I’m here, who knows what is happening there?”

“I will know because that’s where I’ll be.” And she didn’t look overly thrilled about that. “I think that I’d rather be here.”

He wasn’t thrilled either. If Darah wasn’t around, who would come up and keep him informed? On the other hand knowing that she and Kaid were keeping things going at home would be reassuring. She understood what he was doing. She might even understand him. He’d spent so long making sure that no one really knew him that the idea was more than a little unnerving.

“Honestly, with no tricky words, what are the odds he’ll throw me in the river just to get rid of me?” His fingers may have gripped the bars a little tighter.

Darah frowned. It was those unguarded expressions that made his heart tighten. For a moment he actually saw past the mask she kept in place. She was concerned even if she was trying not to show it. That wasn’t a good sign. She really thought that this could go badly.

“I don’t think he will, and I don’t think he can without looking too much like his mother. However he’s in a difficult place so when you talk to him you must respect who he is and appear strong without being threatening. Show him the passion you showed me.”

“I don’t think that would be entirely appropriate.” He smiled and let his fingers brush hers.

Darah blushed. “That wasn’t what I meant.”

He hoped she was thinking about the last night they’d spend together. “I know. I just like getting a reaction from you. Something you can’t hide.”

She looked at him for several heartbeats her eyes were pale and unreadable. “That you can do that is a concern.”

“No it’s not. That you hide behind an icy wall so no one knows what’s really going on is more worrying. You need to let people in.”
Let me in
. He trusted her because he’d known that she was a spy and would betray him, but he didn’t hate her for it. She was doing her job, and she’d done it well—playing both him and her king. His world had been a little brighter with her in it…a little less gray.

He liked her more than he should. More than he’d ever let himself care about anyone.

Darah shook her head. “Fairies don’t gamble with their hearts.”

“If you never take the risk, then you can never win.” He couldn’t imagine living a life trapped within rigid rules. He liked taking a chance, it didn’t always pay off, but he knew that he could always roll again. This was not going to be his last roll of the dice. He’d make damn sure of that. Do whatever it took to make sure of that.

“Or lose,” she whispered.

“That’s called living.” He reached his other hand through the bars and touched her cheek. Her skin was warm and he wanted more than just a touch.

She turned her head into his touch. “Felan asked if I trusted you.”

“What did you say?” For some reason gaining her trust was more important than her affection. Affection could be faked. Trust was much harder to come by and harder to fake since it was judged by actions.

“Yes. I shouldn’t though.”

“I’ve never hidden what I am and neither have you. Perhaps we have been too honest.” He let his hand fall away.

Darah stepped closer. “I have to go. Time is passing across the veil.”

He nodded. He knew time moved differently. Every hour here could be a day there. “Take care. Don’t let Kaid goad you. Penn knows most of what I was planning, but you and Kaid will have to deal with the humans.” Neither Darah nor Kaid were what he’d call good with people. “Try not to use glamours.”

“Hopefully this won’t be for long. Don’t do anything rash. No deals.”

He noticed that she didn’t agree to not using glamours, but he didn’t press the point. If she made that promise and then something happened he didn’t want her to be in the position of having to choose between breaking her word or letting his business fall over. He on the other hand may not have that luxury when it came to gaining his freedom.

“I may have no choice.” He’d already faced that possibility. Marlis had warned him it might come to a deal. If his only way out of jail and Annwyn was to make a deal with the King, then so be it.

Darah bit her lip and wouldn’t meet his gaze. He’d never seen her look so openly worried. Should he be more worried? “I never thought this would be so hard.”

His heart did a little leap. She
did
care. Beneath the cool exterior there was a fire. But he didn’t rush in as he wasn’t that keen on getting burned. “Saying goodbye?”

“Reporting on you. It felt wrong.”

That made him happy, but he didn’t risk letting it show. “Sorry to be an inconvenience,” he said with a smile

“Just kiss me goodbye. The sooner I go the sooner I’ll be back with news.” She leaned in, her face against the bars.

Henry brushed his lips over hers. He was going to miss her more than he wanted to admit. Was it love? He wasn’t sure as he didn’t think he’d been in love before—not because he couldn’t or was afraid like Darah, but because he’d never let people close. “I might have rolled the dice with my heart on the table.”

The words slipped out, but once spoken he didn’t want to take them back. He wanted her to know in case this roll didn’t go in his favor.

She gasped, but didn’t pull away. “You shouldn’t admit those things even if they are true. It could be used against you.”

“Only you know. You won’t use that against me. I want to know how the dice land. I want to know if you have anything on the table.” His heart thudded, getting louder with each beat in the silence. In his mind the dice bounced and she swept the table clear taking his heart in the process and leaving him with nothing.

Darah stepped back, the mask quickly forming so he couldn’t guess what she was thinking. “I can’t answer that.”

That wasn’t a no, even if it wasn’t a yes. He smiled, but it was tight, and so did she. They weren’t going to talk about it, but she was as invested in the game as much as he was. That was something. He watched as she walked away, for a long time he stood there leaning against the bars. His lips still tasted of her. He let his forehead rest on the silver bars as he tried to picture some kind of future with Darah in it and failed. She belonged here and he belonged there. She was Court and he was a Grey with a borrow soul.