very body, imbuing the wearer with eternal life and power beyond imagining. “And never think anyone can harm me.”
Liam spat on the floor. “I don’t give a shite if you’re harmed. I just want to keep the fecking walls from falling.” His gaze moved through the Phaendir to Gideon’s face. “Then you can all die and rot in hell.”
Gideon smiled. “Well, aren’t we a happy little triad of doom.” As if to punctuate his sentence, a particularly huge wave crashed into the cliff, making the room shake.
“The fae whore,” Gideon said, getting down to business. “Where is she?”
“The one I gave the pieces to? The asrai?” The queen waved a hand. “Running around the woods like always. The Unseelie mage, Niall Quinn, the one with the blood of the Phaendir, is chasing her, but he will never get the pieces. She’s protecting her mother.” Her gaze met Liam’s. “Her motivation is a lot like yours. She will never reveal the location of the hidden pieces, not even under threat of death.”
“How can you be so sure?”
“Long ago I looked into the soul of Emmaline Siobhan Keara Gallagher and saw that she would make the perfect assassin for the Rose Tower. For many years, she did. Don’t you think I used my abilities to look into the soul of Elizabeth Cely Saintjohn to discover the strength of her will before I gave her the pieces? I’m confident in the decision I made. The pieces are safe, safer than they would be even with me.”
Gideon trusted no one, not even the Seelie Queen and her powerful magick. He definitely didn’t trust her judgment or opinion. He stroked his chin. “Do you know where she hid them?”
“No. Once I handed them over, she concealed them, and she won’t even tell
me
where they are.”
“Pity.”
“Why?” She shrugged a shoulder like it was nothing. “They’re safe as can be.”
Gideon looked up at her with daggers in his eyes. “The only time they’ll be safe is when they’re in
my
hands, and in my hands they
shall
be.”
“Well, I guess you should have contacted me sooner, before I was forced to hide them on my own. Now they’re out of your reach.”
He ignored her excuse. “Now I’m going to have to track this woman down and torture the information out of her.”
Frost tipped his nose and his skin turned blue. The Phaendir near him, faces dark within their hoods, flinched. “What did I just say about doubting my judgment?” she snapped. “When I told you the woman won’t give up the location of the pieces even under threat of death, I meant it.”
Gideon’s lips peeled back from his teeth in an attempt to smile. “My dear Summer Queen, there are things worse than death.”
F IVE
ELIZABETH sat on the couch and toyed with the silver cuff around her ankle, all the while trying to kill Niall with her gaze alone.
He’d done something to the doors and windows, locked her in magickally somehow. She knew that because she’d tried to climb out the window in the bedroom. She’d been neither able to unlock it nor break the glass.
If she escaped, she still wouldn’t be able to get the cuff off, of course, but she could die trying. That was better than having Niall do the deed. She had no doubt he would. For all his charm and softening of charmed iron walls, there was a ruthlessness in his eyes that warned her to stay wary.
If she was going to make a break for it, she would have to do it soon. The iron sickness was leaching away her strength little by little. A nature fae’s resistance to charmed iron was lower than the other fae. Some suspected it was because the nature fae were more aligned with the elements than the rest. Soon she’d be too weak to run. She had a feeling he was waiting for that—waiting for her to weaken so he could press her for the pieces.
Poor, deluded fool.
“Where did you meet the Summer Queen when she handed over the pieces?” Niall walked over to stand near the edge of the couch, his dark eyes skating over her
Liam spat on the floor. “I don’t give a shite if you’re harmed. I just want to keep the fecking walls from falling.” His gaze moved through the Phaendir to Gideon’s face. “Then you can all die and rot in hell.”
Gideon smiled. “Well, aren’t we a happy little triad of doom.” As if to punctuate his sentence, a particularly huge wave crashed into the cliff, making the room shake.
“The fae whore,” Gideon said, getting down to business. “Where is she?”
“The one I gave the pieces to? The asrai?” The queen waved a hand. “Running around the woods like always. The Unseelie mage, Niall Quinn, the one with the blood of the Phaendir, is chasing her, but he will never get the pieces. She’s protecting her mother.” Her gaze met Liam’s. “Her motivation is a lot like yours. She will never reveal the location of the hidden pieces, not even under threat of death.”
“How can you be so sure?”
“Long ago I looked into the soul of Emmaline Siobhan Keara Gallagher and saw that she would make the perfect assassin for the Rose Tower. For many years, she did. Don’t you think I used my abilities to look into the soul of Elizabeth Cely Saintjohn to discover the strength of her will before I gave her the pieces? I’m confident in the decision I made. The pieces are safe, safer than they would be even with me.”
Gideon trusted no one, not even the Seelie Queen and her powerful magick. He definitely didn’t trust her judgment or opinion. He stroked his chin. “Do you know where she hid them?”
“No. Once I handed them over, she concealed them, and she won’t even tell
me
where they are.”
“Pity.”
“Why?” She shrugged a shoulder like it was nothing. “They’re safe as can be.”
Gideon looked up at her with daggers in his eyes. “The only time they’ll be safe is when they’re in
my
hands, and in my hands they
shall
be.”
“Well, I guess you should have contacted me sooner, before I was forced to hide them on my own. Now they’re out of your reach.”
He ignored her excuse. “Now I’m going to have to track this woman down and torture the information out of her.”
Frost tipped his nose and his skin turned blue. The Phaendir near him, faces dark within their hoods, flinched. “What did I just say about doubting my judgment?” she snapped. “When I told you the woman won’t give up the location of the pieces even under threat of death, I meant it.”
Gideon’s lips peeled back from his teeth in an attempt to smile. “My dear Summer Queen, there are things worse than death.”
F IVE
ELIZABETH sat on the couch and toyed with the silver cuff around her ankle, all the while trying to kill Niall with her gaze alone.
He’d done something to the doors and windows, locked her in magickally somehow. She knew that because she’d tried to climb out the window in the bedroom. She’d been neither able to unlock it nor break the glass.
If she escaped, she still wouldn’t be able to get the cuff off, of course, but she could die trying. That was better than having Niall do the deed. She had no doubt he would. For all his charm and softening of charmed iron walls, there was a ruthlessness in his eyes that warned her to stay wary.
If she was going to make a break for it, she would have to do it soon. The iron sickness was leaching away her strength little by little. A nature fae’s resistance to charmed iron was lower than the other fae. Some suspected it was because the nature fae were more aligned with the elements than the rest. Soon she’d be too weak to run. She had a feeling he was waiting for that—waiting for her to weaken so he could press her for the pieces.
Poor, deluded fool.
“Where did you meet the Summer Queen when she handed over the pieces?” Niall walked over to stand near the edge of the couch, his dark eyes skating over her
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