The Heir Apparent by Megan Haskell

Author:Megan Haskell [Haskell, Megan]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Faeries, elves, Pixies, Fiction, Fantasy, Fairy tales, Mythology, Dark Fantasy Adventure Novel, Fairies, Fantasy Novel, Faerie Tales, Epic, Folklore
ISBN: 9780986408342
Google: 2uIxvgAACAAJ
Publisher: Trabuco Ridge Press
Published: 2016-09-06T08:22:54.739372+00:00

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

Rie ran out the door. Vomited into the street. Her brain struggled to process the images, even as her body rejected what she had seen.

At least ten severed heads had been arranged neatly atop long metal tables. They had been shaved, the tops of their skulls removed and set to the side. Some mouths had been left open in death, silent screams of torture etched forever in Rie’s mind. Others had been carefully stitched closed, as if the killer couldn’t stand the visible reminder of the pain he’d inflicted on his victims.

A hand patted her back. Rie coughed, wiped her mouth. Vomit covered her feet and the once sparkling sandals. They were ruined. At least her hair had stayed out of the way in its braid wrapped tail.

“I’ll find some water,” Braegan said, his own voice hoarse.

A moment later he returned. Water sloshed over her feet from a bucket, then he held it out for her to drink. Swishing water around her mouth and then spitting, Rie struggled to regain her composure.

“What the…?” She couldn’t finish the sentence. She didn’t know how. She squeezed her eyes shut, but that only made the images clearer.

“Experiments.” It was all Braegan said, but it was enough. Whatever Faerleithril was involved in, it was cruel. Inhumane. Reprehensible.

What did she expect from the woman who had attempted to enslave and eat her soul?

“We have to go back in there, don’t we?” she choked out. They needed to understand the purpose of the experiments. And they needed to uncover who else was involved.

Rie swallowed. Armored herself with self-control and distanced herself from reality. The persona she had cultivated over a lifetime in King Othin’s court, where the Executioner could strip a prisoner of their intelligence and will, leaving them alive but unable to think or act on their own. It would be Daenor’s fate if she couldn’t find Faerleithril and bring her into the tribunal.

On that thought, Rie set her spine and wrapped herself in the formal etiquette of the High Court. People counted on her. She couldn’t be squeamish now.

“Come,” she commanded. Braegan followed.

Reentering the warehouse, Rie took in the scene. Six tables, two heads on all but one, so eleven heads. Rie approached the closest. It looked like a woman, though it was a little hard to tell without the hair. She’d had blue eyes, and dirty blonde hair, assuming it had matched her eyebrows. Her skin was pale and glistened with the same sheen as the water fae, though dulled in death. A quick glance behind her ears revealed the tell-tale gills. A water fae.

Rie swallowed bile. She hoped the woman wasn’t Morcana’s sister. She was suddenly glad she’d left the water fae at the restaurant. She couldn’t let her new ally see this.

Not wanting to lean over the head to see what they had been doing, Rie took the long route and walked around to the back of the table. The skull had been opened to reveal the fae’s brain. The

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.