“I mean we need to act tomorrow night,” Nora said. “During the feast.”
The Binder stalked over, his scarecrow frame casting long shadows over the knee-high grass and touching the outer edges of the henge. “She’s right. We work during tomorrow’s feasting. The entire court will be in attendance, which means no one overly powerful will be watching your vampire friend, possibly Lucus’s brothers, and my son in their drop cells.”
“Drop cells?” I did not like the sound of that.
Nora took the bag of herbs from Hekla as she answered my question. “Non-mage prisoners are held on an outcropping. Every cell has a floor of spelled vines and…” She swallowed, sweat beading on her upper lip as she glanced at the Binder, who was wringing his hands and whispering as he began pacing again. “If Arleigh is angered, she draws the vines away, and the prisoners who caused her wrath plunge an unmeasurable distance to the valley below.”
Hekla drifted closer and took my hand, her fingers tight on mine. I squeezed her hand back. Courage, Coren, I told myself.
“Don’t all her fae prisoners have wings?” I mean, Kaippa did too, so maybe he would be okay if that happened.
“The unseelie fae enjoy beating their prisoners before shutting them in the cells,” the Binder said. “After the beatings they usually receive, I don’t think most would have the ability to fly even if they were freed.”
Had they shredded Kaippa’s wings? I shuddered. “Well, I am about to electrocute the shit out of this nightmare, and we’re going to get our people the hell out of here.”
The Binder’s shirt billowed as he ran over and pressed a finger to his lips. “Don’t be foolish. Yes, the fae allow us to practice and don’t suspect we could ever overcome them, but there is no need to shout our plans to rebel. Surprise will be key.”
“Of course. Can they hear us out here?” There were no guards present, so I’d thought we were good for now on that front.
Lucus pointed at the trees where he’d been searching for his brothers, then he gestured at the ground. “If Arleigh decided to spy on us, she could use the trees’ roots. It’s a tricky thing, but it’s been done by other alpha fae.”
“You’ve done it?”
“I have. I should be able to tell if she is listening. She might not have the capability, but if she does put that magic to use, I will smell it.”
I wrinkled my nose. “Like how?”
“That particular magic smells of fire,” Lucus said. “It’s not beneficial to the trees, using them in that manner, and they give off an alarming scent to dissuade fae from enacting that particular magic.”
The Binder swallowed, grimacing as if he’d tasted something foul. “Coren, you should be able to summon your power without the use of herbs now. Once you’ve worked it with the earth’s energy, your body will remember the feel of the casting.”
“So what is our plan here? How are we going to get everyone free and break the Yew Boundary?”
“I can break the Yew Boundary.” The Binder’s voice was so quiet that I had to strain to hear. “If you get my boy, if you can keep him safe…” He swallowed, going even paler. “I can distract Arleigh and pretend to…” He muttered and chewed his lip. “Ah. I will test Nora’s power for the upcoming sacrifice. The fae will like that. It will be a distraction and a reason for me to use magic and begin calling up the energy I’ll need. Then when I break the Yew Boundary, you can portal us out of this kingdom. With portalling, we don’t have to worry about passing through the pool. But…” He shook his head of wild hair. “When Arleigh sees me working the spell, her guards will strike immediately. There will be no safety for my son. It’s impossible.”
“I thought you were getting more positive about things?”
“Your power is impressive,” the Binder said. “But still. There are so many of them.”
He meant the unseelie, and he wasn’t wrong. It was probably suicide, but we had to do something.
I forced a hopeful tone into my voice. “We can at least try. Do you really want your son to live out his whole life here in captivity? What kind of life is that?”
He dragged his hands down his face. “When they threaten to release him from the drop cells or hold him up with a knife to his throat, I can’t make the decision to let him go. I can’t.”
Hell. I touched his shoulder. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make things worse.”
“No. You’re right.” He sounded like he was being turned inside out. “If my son stays here, locked away, what good is it? He isn’t playing or learning or even able to visit with me. We’ve been here for so long.”
He’d been working for Arleigh at least since Nora had arrived in 1936 or whatever it was. How was his son still young? I was a mage, and I’d aged like a regular person growing up. Lucus had mentioned mages’ lifespans were far longer than a human’s. The length of life depended on the magic one used, but one thing seemed to be consistent: Most mages’ aging slowed dramatically when they hit maturity. “Is your son a mage? Did he get the magic from you?”
“He has very little power. His mother wasn’t a strong mage either, and they also shared the same blue eyes. She was imprisoned here.”
Oh, shit. Had he been forced to choose between his lover and their child? I rubbed my stomach, feeling sick. No wonder he had no hope. He’d been broken in ways I could never have imagined. God above, that was just awful.
“Fuck this Arleigh bitch.”
The others blinked at the hiss in my whispered words, but they needed to get fired up.
“I’m taking her ass down.” I fisted my hands, loving the sparking sensation
