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If a false-blood is responsible for what happened here, he’ll be among the most violent and cruel I’ve ever encountered.
    But if a false-blood is responsible for this, then most likely he’s also responsible for the slaughter of the Sighted humans in London. The bastard used the same
modus operandi
in both places. The problem is
that
fae is supposed to be locked up in the palace.
    “Lorn,” I say out loud. “He’s the one who’s supposed to be behind all this violence, but if he’s still under arrest—”
    “He’s not,” Kyol says. His gaze locks on Lena. “She released him.”
    My eyes widen. “What? Why?”
    “Too many of the high nobles were indebted to him,” Lena says, glaring at her lord general. “The others, he was able to blackmail. I didn’t have a choice.”
    I barely suppress a groan. “You caved to the high nobles? Again? Lorn’s going to kill me, Lena.”
    “I don’t think he’ll actually kill you,” she replies, expressionless. “Kidnap, threaten, manipulate, yes, but he’d see your death as a waste of a valuable asset.”
    “Great,” I say. “I feel so much better now.”
    Lena closes her eyes in a long, most likely annoyed, blink. She’s not a big fan of sarcasm. She’s probably right about Lorn, though. He might not kill me, especially since his arrest was, apparently, so short. But three weeks ago, I was the one who suggested he might be manipulating things behind the scenes. He knew who was leading the remnants, but he refused to give us the name, and he outright admitted he profited from the war. Plus, I’m all but certain Lorn is the fae who anonymously gave us the London address where we found the slaughtered humans. There were just too many coincidences for Lorn not to be involved.
    Still, it was all circumstantial evidence. It definitely wouldn’t have held up in a U.S. court.
    A little knot of guilt lodges itself in my chest. If Lorn is completely innocent in all of this, I’m going to feel like shit for falsely accusing him.
    Kyol turns toward me. I don’t look at him because I can already feel his censure. In his opinion, I have no reason to feel remorse for what I did. He’s never liked Lorn, but Lorn has spies and informants everywhere. He knows the rumors behind every rumor, and if you pay him the right price, he can help you win a war.
    “So there’s another false-blood,” I say, steering the conversation back to the subject that matters. “That’s not the end of the world. Kyol and I have hunted false-bloods for a decade. We’ll track this one down and take care of him.”
    No one responds to my words, and Lena’s expression looks grim.
    “What?” I ask.
    “This one is different,” she says. Goose bumps prickle across my skin. I don’t think Lena’s words caused them. My sixth sense is tingling.
    “They’re all different,” I say absently while I frown into the open doorway on my right. The room’s single bed is empty. No humans were killed there. That should make me feel better, but it doesn’t.
    “The others didn’t kill like this,” Lena says. “They weren’t this cruel.”
    The fae who first pulled me into the Realm was this cruel. Thrain might not have skinned humans alive, but he starved and hit me. He scared the hell out of me. I start to point that out, but I can’t shake the feeling that something isn’t right here.
    Of course something isn’t right,
I tell myself. This is a
tjandel
, and humans were just slaughtered in their prisons.
    Kyol notices I’m distracted. I feel him grow more alert. His gaze sweeps down the long corridor, and he takes a step closer to Lena. Or closer to me. I can’t quite tell. It’s his duty to protect both of us, but Lena is far more important than I am.
    “No false-blood in the last century has had the support that this one does.”
    That statement makes my attention snap back to Lena.
    “What do you mean?” I ask.
    “We’ve lost—”
    Something moves in my peripheral vision. I turn