Claus

Thirty-Three

Clora ended the call, and Faryn lowered the phone. Who had left here this for her? Was Ziva still in Ruhnerium? Had she somehow been in contact with her mother?

         Something fluttered in her chest.

Could it have been her father? Was he here in the castle? Maybe he was even one of the Elves guarding her door? She'd seen the two Elves when she passed in and out of the door. They were both men, and though they looked young, they were likely older than her. Could she have laid eyes on her father and not known?

         She wasn't disillusioned. She wouldn't be able to recognize him the moment she saw him—if she ever saw him. But still the idea of possibly having looked at someone who had been so fundamental to her life and not having any idea that she had left her unsettled.

         But her mother . . . Clora was asking her to escape as though she could just walk right out the door. She'd need Peter's and Clíodhna's help, but it wouldn't be easy to pass the message onto them. Not when every interaction with them was watched.

         But maybe that wasn't the case with Cassian. Maybe he could get the message to them. Which meant when he returned, they were going to have to talk and act as if nothing had happened between them last night. Even if both of their names were cleared, they could never fully trust each other. Because with Elves and Fae, it wasn't about just letting the other die and not saving them or killing them when the moment was opportune. It was about when the betrayal would hurt the most. Would hurt more than the death itself. She'd heard of one case where an Elf and Fae were already married when the betrayal happened.

         Death wasn't always the end result, and there had been and were Fae and Elf couples who seemed to genuinely end up loving each other.

         But one could never be certain.

         Leading a Fae astray was not in Faryn's instincts, but some Elves and Fae were more primal than others and for them their instincts said to hunt prey, to seek vengeance for that day centuries ago.

         She put the phone back where she found it. Cassian and whoever was now escorting him could arrive at any moment.

         Just thinking his name reminded her of how she had said it when he kissed her neck. What would it feel like to have his lips cover her own? She shook her head. She didn't need to be thinking like that.

         The door opened enough to let Cassian in before closing behind him. They stared at each other, neither moving.

         Faryn broke the silence. "Are they not going to free you?"

         "My mother's ambassador is working on it."

         She nodded. "My mother is missing." She kept her voice low. Cassian would be able to hear her without any problems, but the Elves on the other side of the door also had heightened hearing like the two of them.

         Cassian's eyes narrowed.

         She moved to the bed and pulled back the covers pointing to the phone. He came closer, moving away from the door.

         "She called me. I know where she is."

         Something flashed across Cassian's face, and she knew he understood what she wouldn't dare ask aloud. That she needed to escape.

         "I'll figure something out." Faryn took that as he'd figure out how to let Peter and Clíodhna know.

         "Thank you."

         Barely three feet of space separated them. If she were to move toward him, would he move back?

         "What did Klaus speak to you about last night?"

         His eyes didn't leave her. "You."

         "So, he doesn't believe you or your mom are guilty?"

         "Well, he wouldn't concede that."

         She flipped the sheets back over to cover the phone. "I met my uncle. He's not my biggest fan either, but he didn't try to kill me. So that's . . . good." Rubbing at her wrists, she bit her lip.

         "Your uncle is over two hundred years old. Let's hope he's a bit wiser than his son."

I'm going to Montreal for the first time this weekend! Do you have any recommendations?