"Rowan?"
My brows furrowed as recognition had my finger twitching and my breath stalling. Rowan? The name had an image popping into my mind. Stone cold hazel eyes; dark auburn hair; pale flesh that held splashes of dark ink that clothes easily hid; his white teeth biting down on his lip as he thrust into me.
Heat rushed to my cheeks at a dizzying speed as the explicit image of me under him slipped from my head. It put up a bit more resistance than the other passing thoughts that didn't stick. Enough for alarm bells to start going off when another image followed. It put up the same amount of resistance when my mind attempted to brush it aside like it had been everything else.
But the image of the same pale flesh splattered in fresh blood wasn't so easy to forget. His blood. It was warm when it splattered across my cheek.
It tried to slip away along with his name, but I refused to let it. Even dazed and confused, instinctually, a part of me that I couldn't understand refused to let go of him, a part that was tied to him in ways that I didn't fully comprehend...
While lost in thoughts that were difficult to keep a hold of, my eyes drifted back to the unconscious man lying on the floor. He had the same hair...
"I believe that's what she named him. We only met a few times in passing as children. Never quite liked him, but that may have had more to do with who his mother was."
"No, he's not the one that killed Serenity. It isn't fair that he be punished for his mother's transgressions-"
"Really? He follows her orders like a loyal dog. I'm sure he's done plenty to earn the honor."
"A dog beaten into submission, King Ezekiel. I was his personal maid, I saw what she personally hand-picked his staff to keep hidden."
"Which is?"
"How much her own blood despises her-"
The woman kneeling on the floor straightened her spine abruptly, drawing my eyes away from the unconscious body at her side. "Enough! I've heard enough! You are not a fool, Ezekiel, but neither am I. We both know what will come next if you try for my head. Are you prepared for the battle this warpath will lead to your doorstep for information that I do not have?"
"All I've been doing this past decade is preparing, Elspeth. I have an inkling you've been doing the same. It would explain why the Summer Court was informed about the human in your possession before I was."
A charged silence followed. "The Autumn Court's alliance lies with the Winter Court."
"But where does the alliance of their Queen fall?"
"With the Winter Court-"
"Let me rephrase my question. Where did your loyalties lie before the fear of death had you changing your mind?"
Another pause sounded. "You can't scare answers that I don't have out of me, Ezekiel. I do not know anything about your brother's disappearance or where he could be if he's still even alive- wait- no! Don't hurt him!" The woman's voice suddenly cried.
A low whistling sound reached my ears before a loud thud followed that had a man's screams sounding from near my feet. Surprise had me jolting as the man announced his presence just out of my sights reach, prompting me to curl my feet closer to myself.
"If you want your beloved King to remain alive, just like my brother is, Elspeth, then I suggest you choose your words carefully." The man's voice spoke with an eerie calmness that had the temperature of the room dropping a few degrees.
