Copper Ravens(74)

“Micah,” I cried, falling to my knees before his body. “What did they do to you?” I tried to caress his bruised cheek, but my hand, insubstantial, passed through him. Then his dreamself’s arms were around me, and I buried my face in his chest.

“I’m so sorry,” I sobbed. “You’re so hurt, all because of me and my stupid brother. You’d be better off without us.”

“It looks worse than it is,” he soothed. “I will be fine.”

“Fine? You’re unconscious!”

“I needed to sleep in order to dreamwalk and find you.” He pried me away from his chest, and turned my face toward his body. “Have a look at my back.” Hesitantly I crept around his prone form, and gasped when I saw his expanse of caramel skin, marred by bruises and blood, but devoid of his mark.

“They took it!” I shrieked. “Your silver!”

“No, love,” he murmured, once again taking me into his arms. “I drew my silver deep into my body. Even now, it is healing me.” I eyed his body dubiously; he certainly didn’t look like he was healing. “Those who captured us were intent on the rest of you, Baudoin’s children and mate. They did not realize who I am, or that I am of metal.”

“Still, we need to get you out of here,” I began, when Micah hushed me again.

“Love, truly my predicament is not as dire as yours. Look.” He crouched at his body’s feet and indicated heavy shackles that chained him to the floor. “I’m chained with metal. And the door is fitted with metal hinges. When the time comes, I will merely walk out.”

“When the time comes,” I repeated. “Where’s Mom?”

Micah’s face darkened. “When I last looked in on her, she was being interrogated. Come, I’ll take you there.”

We slipped through the heavy wooden door and navigated a bustling corridor; while our dreamselves could instantly reach our physical forms, once we were actively dreaming, we were limited to far more basic means of transportation. Though no awake persons could see us while we were dreamwalking, I was decidedly embarrassed to be walking alongside a naked elf.

“You may keep looking,” Micah commented, catching me before my eyes could dart away.

“Why did they strip you?” I mumbled. Until now, I’d had no idea that my dreamself could blush.

“Looting, most likely,” he replied. “Ah. Here it is.”

We slipped through another door and found ourselves in a larger, cleaner version of Micah’s cell. Mom was tied to a chair, thankfully with her clothes on, and surrounded by several small creatures, squat and gray-skinned and so ugly I couldn’t stop looking at them. Micah, after laughing at my description, agreed that they were orcs, though these few were smaller than those in the Whispering Dell. Then again, those orcs had been mostly beer belly.

“Again, where do we send the message?” the smallest orc, standing on a table in order to be at Mom’s eye level, shouted in her face.

“Again, I do not know!” Mom spat. Her blue eyes blazed, and I almost felt sorry for the orcs. They had no idea what they’d gotten themselves into. While her children were being held, Mom would pretend to play their games, but once she knew we were safe, they would feel the full wrath of the Queen of the Seelie Court.

“What message?” I whispered to Micah, though only he could hear me.

“They wish to send a ransom note to your father,” Micah replied. “They believe Maeve knows of his location.”

Stupid orcs. They knew nothing of the Corbeau family dynamic. “Will they hurt her?”

“Perhaps, but not seriously. If they kill her, not only will they risk Baudoin’s wrath, but they won’t receive their coin.” I nodded, and we withdrew to the corridor, mostly because I could hardly hear over Mom shrieking curses in Gaelic.

“So, what’s our plan?” By the time I’d finished speaking, we were back in the harem room with Max and Sadie. Oh, and my body, too.

“You will wait here, and I will come for you,” Micah replied.

“Micah.” I placed my hand on his arm, which was foolish. I couldn’t stay his dreamself like I could his physical form. “Are you… Will you be able to make it here?”

“Of course.” He brushed his thumb over my cheek, catching a tear. “I am nearly healed. Once my dreamself returns, I will wake, and then I will come for you.”

Infuriating man! So calm and confident, while I was terrified for his life. Since our captors hadn’t gleaned his identity, Micah was the least safe among us, the expendable one. I could deal with being captured, my mother being interrogated; hell, I could even deal with a crazy queen and Old Stoney’s hatred. What I could not deal with was Micah being expendable.