Why couldn’t anything ever be easy?
CHAPTER 23
Goodnight Kisses and Important Meetings
Several days had passed since Moonwater Prison, but Brynleigh couldn’t stop thinking about it.
Her stomach had twisted into knots the moment they stepped foot inside that awful place, and it had yet to unravel. She’d barely eaten, barely slept.
She and Ryker were at the kitchen table in the apartment. The remnants of his late dinner sat on a plate before him, and she nursed her second glass of blood-wine.
“There has to be another way.” Ryker dragged his hand through his hair, looking more exhausted than she’d ever seen him. “Maybe the shifter was wrong.”
“Maybe.” Swirling her wine, Brynleigh gazed into the crimson depths.
After a long moment, she released her wings. The black appendages draped over her back.
Yesterday, Ryker surprised her with new dining room chairs with room for her wings. Gods, he was considerate, this husband of hers.
“I don’t think he is,” she admitted with a sigh.
Why would Zanri lie? He was already in prison, already beingtortured. He would gain nothing by sending them on a wild goose chase.
Leaving her friend in that horrible place had been one of the most difficult things Brynleigh had ever done. She hadn’t fought to get Zanri out because she had no idea what the next steps would’ve been. Where could he go? He was destroyed.
This was all Jelisette’s fault.
At first, when Brynleigh had been thrown into prison, she blamed both Zanri and her Maker for betraying her. But that wasn’t true. Jelisette must have been forcing Zanri to do what he did because the way that he spoke about the rules…
Brynleigh knew what genuine fear looked like, and she’d seen it carved into her friend’s broken face.
Guilt swirled in her stomach, souring the wine she’d already imbibed.
“Is there really nothing you can do for Zanri?” This wasn’t the first time she’d asked Ryker, but she needed to be sure. “Maybe your mom can help?”
“I’m sorry, sweetheart.” He reached over and placed his hand on hers. “If I was a Representative, then maybe I could, but I’m not. And Mom… she won’t help.”
Unfortunately, Brynleigh had expected that.
Tertia Waterborne was one of the coldest women she’d ever encountered, and that spoke fucking volumes. Thank all the gods, her mother-in-law was still on a work trip in the north.
“Alright.” She sighed, glanced at the clock, and cursed. “I have to go. I have that… job I told you about.”
She had yet to explain to Ryker that she was trying to infiltrate the Black Night.
Searching for the cipher was one thing, but pretending to join the rebels for further information was another. Hopefully, she would get some solid information tonight to share with him.
She wasn’t leaving him alone at the apartment. Ryker had an important meeting at the base.
The fae in question frowned. “You’re sure you have to go tonight?”
“I’m sure.” Brynleigh had learned about the meeting from Dimitri after defeating the Crimson Shade, and something told her the rebels didn’t do rain checks.
Besides, this wasn’t like the Rosewood, where a veil of secrecy had protected Ryker. The rebels wouldn’t hesitate to hurt or even execute Ryker just because he was the son of a powerful Representative.
No, she had to do this on her own. At least for now.
“I wish I was going with you.” He cleared his plate.