Freed (Imprisoned by the Fae 3)

“Oh, my darling,” he says softly. “I’m so sorry

.”

My knees buckle. If it wasn’t for my death grip on Rys's arm, I would’ve dropped like a stone.

Like earlier, he lets me hold onto him for as long as I need. Since we have an audience—I can feel the way Nine and Riley are watching me, as if they’re expecting me to fall apart—I pull myself together a lot quicker. It’s bad enough that I’m the only full human of the four of us. No way do I want any of them to think I’m the weakest link, not when I haven’t given up hope on getting Jim back.

We broke out of Siúcra, and that’s supposed to be impossible. If Riley is right—and I hate to admit it, but I’m sure she is—then the Unseelie captured Jim only to imprison him in one of the nearby prisons.

“I can’t leave him there,” I say out loud.

I’m not really talking to anyone in particular. I just need to get that out.

Even so, I’m not so surprised when Rys answers me.

“Leannán… I’ll get him back for you. I promise.”

Nine’s head jerks toward Rys. For one fleeting moment, I think it’s because a fae never promises something unless they’re positive that they could fulfill it; it’s like a bargain, one that a fae will be held to.

But then Nine says softly, “You still call her Leannán?,” and I realize that something else has caught his attention.

I remember early yesterday morning. When I first found Nine and Riley sitting with Rys. He called me by my nickname then, too, and Nine noticed. I didn’t think anything of it then… but now?

“Does it matter?” I ask Nine. “It’s just a name.”

From the way Nine continues to watch Rys closely, I don’t think it’s just a name.

You know what? I don’t give a shit. If Rys wants to call me any damn thing, even ‘Helen’ at this point, he can if only he’ll back up his word by saving Jim for me.

And it’s not like he doesn’t already know that that’s my true name, either. Before I explained to Jim how important it was to stick to nicknames, he blurted my full name out in front of Rys and Saxon. So what if Saxon later told me that it didn’t count unless I gave it away myself? Whatever. This is all my fault. I’ll do whatever I have to to make this right with Jim.

Rys takes one of my hands, cupping it between both of his. He bows his head in front of me, tucking his chin so that he’s all I can focus on. “Let me do this for you.”

“How?” It comes out as a whisper. “The shadows… I don’t want to lose you, too.”

“You won’t.” He lifts his head just enough to catch Nine’s attention. “You know these Cursed woods better than I do. I need to get to the prison as soon as possible without relying on shadow travel. Will my geas be enough to call on the Wild Hunt? I only need one rider.”

Nine’s voice goes flat. “You’d be better off risking the shadows.”

“That’s not what I asked, Ninetroir.”

Ninetroir? Who— oh. That must be Nine’s true name.

And Rys knows it. How the hell does he know that?

I turn to look over my shoulder. Nine’s glowing bright enough that I can see the angry look on his gorgeous face. “You go too far, Rysdan.”

Holy shit. Nine knows Rys’s name, too.

What the hell? I glance at Riley. She doesn’t seem even a little surprised at the way these two are regarding each other right now.

Okay. There’s definitely more going on between them than a rivalry over Riley that ended when Nine claimed her as his mate. I probably should’ve realized that already. From the way Rys got a kick out of needling Nine, to how easily Nine snapped at Rys, even though he was icily under control when it came to anyone else.

Oh, yeah. There’s history here.

I turn back to Rys. “What’s going on?”

He lifts his hand, caressing the height of my cheek with his fingertips. “It’s alright, my darling. I know what I’m doing.”