The Empty Throne. Cayla Kluver

my hair, my face flushing at the thought of the kiss he and I had exchanged but a few hours ago. The caress of his hands, the pressure of his lips against mine, and the strength and safety I had felt in his embrace had almost led me to invite him to stay the night. I shook myself like a dog expelling water from its coat—this was a moment I should not be reliving, especially since Davic, my promised, waited to receive word from me in the Faerie Realm.

      I crossed the floor to grant Tom entrance, but before I could even say hello, he pushed past me across the threshold. I stared aghast at him, for his actions were at odds with the gentlemanly manner I had come to expect. With a backward sweep of his leg, he kicked the door shut. The motion was enough to send my overworked sense of danger through the roof.

      “What’s wrong?” I demanded, shifting away from him. When my calves bumped into the bed, I sank down upon it, though he didn’t seem to notice—his own agitation had spurred him to pace the floor almost literally in my footsteps.

      “You asked me last night if you’d earned a wanted poster. Why did you want to know? And don’t tell me it’s because of the escape you and Shea made from Tairmor, the one I aided. Nothing further came from that. No, something happened while you were in Sheness. You have to tell me what it was.”

      “Are you saying I’m on a wanted poster?” I managed, my voice strained as I struggled to process both the information he was revealing and the demand he was making.

      “No, not a poster, and no reward offer, either. But the Lieutenant Governor has sent word to the Constabulary stations throughout the city to apprehend you on sight.” Halting in front of me, he reached into a pocket of his red double-breasted uniform coat and produced a notice that contained my name, a physical description, and a sketch bearing a fair resemblance to my face. “This is being distributed, along with instructions to bring you to Luka at the Governor’s mansion.”

      I felt the blood drain from my face, and foreboding seemed to drip from my heart like condensation from the walls of a cave. This was not good news. I could only assume Luka Ivanova, the Governor’s son and Commissioner of Law Enforcement in the Warckum Territory, had been told of the part I had played with my cousins in the raid on Evernook Island, the raid that had landed Zabriel, the Prince of the Fae, under his alternate identity of the pirate William Wolfram Pyrite, in human custody.

      I examined my hands, twining them together in my lap, and decided to sidestep Tom with an inquiry of my own.

      “Have you heard anything about the arrest of pirates on the coast?”

      Tom nudged me under the chin with his knuckles, raising my gaze to his. “I need to know what happened in Sheness, Anya.”

      “And I’d like an answer to my question.”

      He sighed and ran a hand through his normally tidy brown hair, leaving it boyishly mussed. “The only news concerns a massive fire on Evernook Island, but I’ve heard nothing to suggest pirates were involved. And I haven’t heard anything related to Pyrite, the most notorious of the lot.”

      I nodded, feeling some measure of relief. While I had no idea what had become of Zabriel after his arrest, knowing only that he’d been wounded, the humans would surely laud his capture before sentencing him to a public execution for his crimes.

      “Your turn,” Tom prompted, tapping one foot.

      I adopted what I hoped was a reassuring smile and took a steadying breath. “I told you last night, I found my cousin Illumina and sent her home to the Faerie Realm.”

      “And that’s it? You didn’t break her out of jail? Or engage in any other illegal activities?” He hesitated, his gray eyes narrowing. “And you don’t have any connection to these pirates you’re asking about?”

      I clenched my jaw but gave no reply, unwilling to tell him the truth and unable to speak false. Fae nature was complex, allowing us to confuse, evade, and conceal but not to outright lie. While it was possible I was responding out of reflex and habit, my nature no longer truly Fae, this was a boundary I didn’t want to test, unwilling to fully align myself with human characteristics.

      Exasperated, Tom threw his hands in the air and momentarily turned from me. Feeling that the tide was shifting, and not in my favor, I came to my feet, ready to face him down.

      “You need to trust me, Anya,” he said, but despite his words, he fingered the handcuffs he carried on his weapons belt.

      “I could say the same. And that brings us to the question at hand, Officer Matlock. Do you intend to arrest me?”

      The dull ache in my temples that had almost faded away came back with a vengeance while I awaited his answer, for it felt as if the course of our relationship was about to be decided. No matter what, I couldn’t be arrested, not with so much at stake.

      “Will you voluntarily accompany me, or do I need to use these?”

      He patted the restraints, and I closed my eyes—though his answer was not unexpected, disappointment flowed through me. I gathered my resolve and perused him, calculating his size and strength in relation to mine. He was taller than me, fit, and well muscled, but he was also quite smitten, which might provide the advantage I needed.

      “It seems I have no choice in the matter,” I replied, giving him a withering stare. “So go ahead and act like the Constabulary you truly are.”

      He grimaced, and I extended my arms. He took hold of one of my wrists, treating me more gently than protocol would have dictated, and I slammed my knee into his groin.

      “Damn,” he gasped, doubling over as he dropped to the floor.

      Though remorse welled within me, I was too far committed to retreat; nor was I about to make the same mistake he had and assume our friendship negated any threat. I raised my clasped hands, and he briefly met my eyes, leaving no doubt he knew what was coming.

      “Sorry,” I muttered before smacking my fists down on the back of his head. He collapsed, moaning, and I stripped him of his weapons belt, then flung it to the other side of the room. Unwilling to waste any time, I gathered my possessions and stowed them in my pack, my gaze continually drifting toward Tom where he writhed on the floor.

      “Anya,” he groaned, struggling to push into an upright position. “I didn’t come alone, so you can’t go out through the lobby. I’d suggest the window.”

      I stared at him, brows furrowed; then my eyes widened in horror. “You weren’t going to arrest me, were you?”

      “I told you last night—I’m partial to redheads. I could never arrest you.”

      “Then why let me believe otherwise? Why...this?” I gestured at him, for he was hunched over, one hand gingerly prodding his head.

      “I couldn’t just let you go this time, not with reinforcements right behind me. So I gave you the chance to spin the tale of how you got away. I didn’t expect it to hurt so much, though. And I haven’t even considered the wounding my pride is about to take.”

      My emotions continued to swing, bringing me close to tears, and I bit my lower lip, using the pain from the pressure of my teeth to remain focused. Shaking slightly, I went to him and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

      “Thank you. And I’m so sorry about—”

      “Just get moving. The Constabularies downstairs are only going to wait so long before joining us.”

      I nodded and threw on my cloak, then approached the window, glad to see the rain of the day before had stopped. A quick glance told me climbing was not a viable option. It was a straight drop to the ground, with no shutters or lamp brackets for handholds. I pulled out the rope Illumina had stashed in her pack—the pack I now carried, for she and I had inadvertently switched our travel satchels when she’d left a few days ago for Chrior to inform the Queen of Zabriel’s arrest—and tied one end of it around the bedpost, securing the other about my waist. With a final glance at Tom, I opened the window and hopped up to balance on the ledge, then eased myself down. My feet had