“You’re the Maiden. Who else would we go to for answers?”
“How about someone who didn’t learn about all this nonsense a month ago?”
“Watch your tone,” Elise sneered.
Holly pressed her lips together. Trevor wasn’t wrong. The Maiden had told Holly as much. Holly was a vessel for a nameless force that had inhabited only one other female. Phaedra Glint was the forgotten name of the first vessel. Holly knew nothing else about her.
“I don’t understand what you expect to learn from me,” Holly replied. “You’re the one with the scrolls and voodoo.”
“Voodoo?” Trever’s brows drew together. “I’m not familiar with the term.”
“Don’t strain yourself over it,” Holly replied. “It’s obvious to me that you don’t know as much as you want me to think you do.”
A slow smile crept over Trevor’s mouth. His white eye gleamed unnaturally in the torchlit room.
“That doesn’t worry me. As long as you’re trapped in my cage, I can learn from you.”
Trevor already knew that the bear shifter who wed and bore a child with the Maiden would bear the title of King, what else did he want to know? That little tidbit of knowledge seemed to fulfill his back-assward goals. What more was there?
“If you aren’t going to serve me dinner, can I return to my cell?” Holly did her best to sound bored.
Something about Trevor—other than his desire to return the bear shifters to their dark ways—sent a cold chill straight into the marrow of her bones. When he smiled at her, she wanted to run away and only stop once her body couldn’t carry her any farther.
“You prefer the company of that lout, Loch?” Trevor arched a brow.
“I’m not a big fan of either of you, but if I have to pick one, I will pick the devil I know rather than the devil I don’t.”
“Aw.” Trevor’s mouth formed a mocking pout. “Do you really think so little of me?”
“Me? Think little of the man who arranged my kidnapping? What a notion!”
Holly couldn’t be sure, but she swore she saw Elise smirk just a little.
“My patience isn’t infinite,” Trevor said through gritted teeth. He was definitely up to something. If he had all of the information he needed, he would’ve forced her to sign a marriage license by now.
Holly frowned. Did shifters get married the way everyone else did? If there were a special ritual of some kind, Holly wanted to know about it. She didn’t want to bind herself forever to Trevor by accidentally saying certain words or waving her arms the wrong way.
“I don’t know what to tell you.” Holly kept her eyes trained on a wooden knot in the center of the table. Her gaze was so focused that she didn’t see Trevor’s hand swoop forward. He slammed his fist against the table.
“Perhaps you should go back to your cell.” Trevor nodded. “You can stay there until you have something of value to tell me.”
“I can always make her sing for you.” Elise’s grin was feral.
Trevor clicked his tongue against his cheek, considering his sister’s offer. “I’ll not have you mar the face of my soon-to-be-bride.”
Elise arched a brow. “Who said anything about her face?”
Trevor chuckled, looking at Holly from the corner of his eye. She struggled to keep her expression neutral. Elise was as terrifying as Trevor, if not more so. She didn’t dare mouth off to Elise the way she had done with Trevor. Trevor wanted something from her. Elise…who knew?
“I’d prefer to keep her pristine,” he said. “At least, physically. A dose of madness could make this easier for us.”
“Say the word, and I’ll cause some chaos.”
“We know where her estate is. Perhaps, you should pay her companions a visit in the night.”
Holly bit down hard on the inside of her cheek. She couldn’t react. That was what they wanted. They wanted to know exactly what buttons to push to frighten her. At least, that was what she kept telling herself.
Even if Elise did sneak over to Pearl’s home in the dead of night, the house was fortified. There was no way she’d get inside unnoticed.
Except, Loch had done just that. He’d snuck right into her bedroom.
Holly’s heart ached at the memory of that night. It wasn’t a great night by any means. She spent most of it paralyzed thanks to an overgenerous dose of paralysis powder. At least, Loch had suffered the same fate. That night, and for that night only, Holly thought of Loch as a friend.
She had trusted him. She had believed there was more to him than everyone seemed to think.
“You’re so much more agreeable when you’re quiet.” Trevor’s voice startled her from her thoughts.
“You wouldn’t say that if you knew what I was thinking,” Holly muttered.
“Oh, I’m sure you’re daydreaming up all kinds of ways to hurt me. I won’t take that from you. The only way you’ll ever get away from me is through your dreams.”
He yanked her from her seat and marched her back down the stone corridor. Holly desperately looked around for landmarks. Rock formations. Notches in the wall. Anything that could help her orient herself.
There was nothing. The walls of the cavern were unnaturally smooth.
Loch stood in his cell with a white-knuckle grip on the bars.
“It looks like your loyal pet is waiting for you,” Trevor spat.
“Not my pet.”
“He’s not mine, either. I suppose he’s a stray. We all know what happens to strays when their owners don’t show up.” Trevor shoved Holly back into her cell and locked the door.
He walked to Loch’s cell and stood close to the bars. His face was only mere inches from Loch’s, but Loch couldn’t do anything.
