Ten seconds later, both doors opened, and we were beckoned inside.
• • •
The gatehouse’s walls were as high as a two-story building. The ceiling was open to the sky, to moonlight that speared through to illuminate the stone floor. A second set of double doors mirrored the first and led through the wall.
Torches hung from the walls, sending flickering firelight acrossthe space. But for the snap and sputter of the torches, the room was utterly silent—despite holding nearly a dozen black-clad fairies who stared back at us, all of them holding staffs or straight swords.
They stood in a perfect semicircle, Ruadan in front of them. He wore a tunic today in gleaming emerald, locks of his long, straight hair knotted into complicated braids. Gold filigree gleamed along the edges of his tunic, gold thread had been braided into his hair, and his fingers glowed with rings.
This wasn’t the subdued Ruadan from the reception, the man whose purpose had seemingly been to complement his queen. This looked like a man who’d taken control. And I wondered if it was a coincidence that Claudia wasn’t among the fairies.
“Bloodletter,” he said, in a tone that was equally insulting and curious. But not surprised. He’d either watched our approach or had been informed of it.
He shifted his gaze to Lulu. “And... not human.”
“Human enough,” she said, but her voice was quiet.
I moved incrementally closer, so my shoulder bumped hers in a show of support and solidarity.
“Ruadan,” I said. “We’d like to ask you some questions.”
“About?”
No point in screwing around,I thought. “About Tomas Cardona. The vampire killed at Cadogan House. Do you know anything about his death?”
“Why would we? He was a bloodletter. Our involvement with bloodletters has been minimal.” But his lips curled into a smile. “You have come into our castle, so perhaps that will change.”
“Our friend was wrongly accused of his murder,” I said. “We’re trying to help him.”
His gaze darkened to storm clouds, and there were quiet murmurs around him in a language I didn’t understand.
“You believe we have information regarding the murder of a bloodletter. Or information that would acquit a shapeshifter.”
“We don’t know. Do you?”
“Be careful you do not put your trust in those who shift and change. Their inconsistency proves they are untrustworthy.”
“Riley didn’t kill Tomas.” Lulu’s voice was hard and certain.
Like a well-oiled gear, Ruadan’s head turned slowly toward Lulu. “Are you making an accusation?”
“No,” she said, and I felt her trembling beside me.
I shouldn’t have let her come,I thought, regret and guilt twisting in my gut. That I shouldn’t have come, either, wasn’t the point. I was immortal, had a biological shield against my own stupidity. She didn’t have the same protection.
The murmurs rose to mutterings, to shifting feet and irritation. The curiosity that had gleamed in Ruadan’s eyes evaporated, and they went hard as stone. Frankly, I preferred the anger to the creepy interest.
Lean jaw clenched, he took a step forward, the scent of astringent herbs lifting into the air around him. “You come into our territory without our permission to inquire if we have committed a crime.”
I took a step forward, trying to draw his attention back to me. “We didn’t ask if you’d committed a crime. But now that you’ve brought it up—did a fairy kill Tomas?”
“You are rude and presumptuous, not that we would expect more of the Others.”
“You’re right,” I said. “It was rude and presumptuous to come here. Murder is also rude. I’ll ask again—did a fairy kill Tomas?”
His eyes flashed and his voice went low. “We killed no one.”
I noted the pin at the neck of his tunic. “Did any of your fairies lose a gold pin, by chance, at Cadogan House?”