Never in Bree’s life had she wanted to hit something more. And she wasn’t talking about a little slap across the face. She wanted to full-on pummel the guy. Her heart raced as she paced from one end of the cell to the other. Rafe had been wrong, though she couldn’t blame him. He didn’t want to imagine his oldest friend capable of such a thing.

But he was. Taveon had ordered his guard to shoot that arrow at Bree. Not to kill her. Just to make her hurt. He’d made a bloody example out of her in front of the entire Court, all for a stupid crown.

One day, she would get him back for this. How? She didn’t know. She would fight his stupid battle for him, if only because she wouldn’t die for this asshole. His existence wouldn’t be the end of her. She refused to go down that way. No, she would fight and she would try to win.

But one day she would get him back for this.

She’d thought she’d hated him before, but that was nothing compared to how she felt about him now.

Footsteps echoed down the hallway as a door swung open and then closed. Bree gritted her teeth and fisted her hands, pacing back and forth. Had he come back for more? What kind of blow was he going to land on her this time?

But it wasn’t Taveon who walked down the hallway. And it wasn’t Rafe. It was another fae, one she recognized from the morning walks with the Prince. One who had watched her dance. One who had watched her get shot by an arrow.

Lord Dagen stepped up to the cell and smiled into the darkness at her. Something about the look in his eye sent a shiver through her gut. Why was he here? Taveon had warned her about him, on numerous occasions. She knew he’d been close to the King.

But Taveon’s warnings didn’t really mean all that much to her anymore. In her eyes, Taveon was the fae she should be most worried about.

“Hello, Bree,” Lord Dagen said in a still, quiet voice that sent shivers down her spine.

“Hi there.” She frowned out at him. “The Prince said he was going to station some guards outside my cell, but I didn’t really expect a Lord would want to take up that kind of boring job.”

“That is not why I am here,” he said.

“So, then what’s up?”

“I need you to become a spy for me,” he said with a strange half-smile. “Despite the fact you are the Prince’s slave, you are in a unique position. He takes you for daily walks. He has his closest allies train you.”

Bree blinked out at him. Say what now? She couldn’t be hearing this right. Prince Taveon’s biggest enemy in the Court wanted Bree to become a spy for him? She tried to keep her face neutral, but that was impossible. To say she was intrigued would be putting it mildly.

“Right,” Bree could merely say.

“Our realm would be much better ruled by a fae who is not Prince Taveon. He is not suited to be King. I need information that would hurt his chances at success. I need some insight that would ruin his reputation.”

“I see.” Bree crossed her arms over her chest and raised an eyebrow. “Good luck with that.”

The truth was, Bree had a strange urge to say yes. After everything that Taveon had put her through, she wanted nothing more than a chance to take a few shots back. He said he was nothing like his father, but all Bree had seen was evidence that he was far more like the former King than he wanted to admit. He thought he would be a great ruler, but he’d just be more of the same.

But she couldn’t. Could she? For one, Lord Dagen was probably no better than Prince Taveon. He didn’t care about her well-being either, just what she could do for him.

A beat passed. “If you spy for me, I will ensure you are freed.”

Bree’s heart began to hammer hard. Freedom. It called out to her like a shining beacon in the never-ending night sky. A chance to go home. A chance to be with her friends again. A chance to leave this horrible adventure behind.

A chance to get the hell away from Prince Taveon.

But Bree wasn’t quite ready to agree so eagerly. “You do realize that I came here willingly, right? I volunteered to come along, and I’m free to leave anytime I want.”

Lies, lies, lies.

Yes, she had come willingly, and she had volunteered. But she’d become a permanent prisoner the moment she’d first tried to escape.

“You look as though you are stuck in a cage to me.” A thin smile crested his lips. “In fact, I hear he keeps referring to you as his servant, his slave. He made you dance for the Court as punishment. And some are saying that he ordered that arrow shot himself.”

Bree closed her eyes, biting back the hatred.

“Very well.” Lord Dagen loosed a breath. “Let us pretend that you are not a prisoner of these lands. Say you do walk out of here and return to your realm. What would be the repercussions of that action?”

Bree’s face paled, and she flicked her eyes away. “I’m not sure.”

“He would track you down. He would follow you into your realm. And he would take you back, slashing down any soul who tried to stop him.”

Bree winced. “I honestly doubt that. I’m not that important. I mean, look at where he’s keeping me.”

“You are intended to be his champion, and I know he has plans for you after that,” Lord Dagen said, his golden hair gleaming underneath the glow of the flickering sconces. “Your unique nature makes you valuable, something I know he is hoping no other fae in this realm realizes. If you escape, you can be certain he will track you down.”

“Okay. But what exactly is it that you expect me to find? If he’s the Prince, he’s the Prince, right? It’s not like you can stop him from taking the crown. Not unless you kill him, and if you wanted to do that, I doubt you’d ask me to spy.”

“Ah.” A ghost of a smile. “But it could be contested, if you were to find anything particularly damaging. More challengers are likely to step forward at the Battle for the Crown if the Court discovers he is not suitable to rule.”

Bree stared hard at Lord Dagen. She guessed it made sense in a strange backstabbing kind of way.

“Fine. If I’m going to do this for you, I need something in the meantime. It could take some time to get what you need,” Bree said.

Lord Dagen raised his eyebrows. “And what did you have in mind?”

“I hate living in this cell. I hate this bed. I hate the fact I can’t see outside. I have nowhere to shower.” Bree pointed to the bucket. “I have to wash myself with that bucket, and this is the first time I’ve even been allowed that since arriving here.”

Dagen pursed his lips. “Alright. I can have you moved to better quarters. Until the Prince has been crowned King, my orders match his in weight.”

“And you won’t let him move me back into this cell, even when he tries?”

He gave a nod. “I will have Seath make the same order. The Prince will be angry, but he will be unable to stop it. However, I am going to need something from you first. A piece of information. Anything you can find. It can be small. Let us consider it motivation for you to get the job done quickly.”

Bree’s heart rattled in her chest. For a moment, she almost backed down. How could she spy on the very fae she was fighting to protect? But then the full image of who he was and what he’d done flooded into her mind. Those thoughts drove her doubts away. He had lied to her. He did not truly care about the humans harmed during the Tithe. He had thrown her in this cell and forced her to train to fight. And then he’d ordered someone to shoot her with an arrow, just to make a point.

He deserved everything that came at him.

She would become Lord Dagen’s spy.