Chapter 385

Nobody spoke. Nobody so much as made a sound by way of response to Colm's question. Silence answered him and he smiled broadly. The smile was cold however, and did not reach his eyes, and it sent dread down Elain's spine. "Nobody?" he asked, "Are you sure?"

"Her." Rian came to stand beside Colm, his finger pointed directly at Elain. "She's Lucien's mate."

Lifting her chin, Elain met their stares. She wasn't about to tell them a thing. "That," Colm said, his words directed to Rian, "is precisely why we don't want to choose her." He told him, "She is the least likely to speak to give up her mate." Well, Elain thought, at least he'd gotten that right. She would not have given them any information on Lucien, no matter what they had done to her.

"Perhaps if we were persuasive enough…" Rian looked at Elain and she just held his gaze unblinkingly.

"No," Colm said, "that just shows you have no understanding of the Mating Bond." He sniffed derisively, "But, there are other ways to make her talk." Rian's gaze was lowered, and it was evident that he did not like being chided by Colm. Amala's uncle turned then and gestured to his niece, and Amala came quickly down the stairs to join him. "What do you think, Amala, would be the best way to make this Lady speak?"

Amala's eyes met Elain's then, and Elain could read the hesitation and uncertainty in her. Perhaps she had been right, the thought, in that Amala had been pressured into this by her uncle and the rest of her family. Amala may have stood by while faeries had been killed, but Elain would have been certain that she had not partaken in the killing. That didn't make her innocent, though. Elain reminded herself, wanting to put a stopper in the pity she found herself feeling for the other female.

"You want her opinion?" Rian sounded incredulous and Colm raised an eyebrow as he turned to him, "Nothing she has done has worked. Look at the mess that café idea turned into!"

"Shall I remind you of the mess your Priestess caused us?" Cold asked, tone flat. Rian flushed scarlet.

"I did not know that Sorcha was more interested in her own goals than in ours." He muttered, "There was much she did not share with me."

Elain stared at them. They had been connected with Sorcha? Had the Priestess been working for them the whole time? Apparently Rian had been under the impression that she had. It seemed as if Sorcha had been working her own angles with everyone she had been involved with.

"Yes, well, your ignorance nearly cost us everything." Colm said, turning away from Rian and back to Amala. "What do you think?" He asked, her, "What do you know about making this one speak?"

Amala's eyes were on Elain again and, when she spoke, her voice was soft. "Her Mate is the most important thing in the world to her." Amala breathed, "She will not betray him."

"We know that." Rian sighed, and Amala flashed him an irritated look.

Beside her, Tisia gripped Elain's arm, and the movement seemed to attract Amala's attention. She looked past Elain at Tisia and embarrassment flushed her face for just a moment.

"How disappointing," Colm sighed, looking anything but disappointed. "We know that Helion and his bastard son are moving around the castle killing my guards and anyone else they come across. If we knew where they were based we might be able to minimise bloodshed."

Elain's eyes shifted to the other side of the hall at the pile of the dead and she knew that Colm was certainly not worried about the amount of bloodshed. He was only concerned about losing numbers should it come to needing them in a fight. Lucien would come for her, Elain knew that. Helion would come to reclaim his Court. There would be another fight, there would be more bloodshed. Everyone in this room knew it.

"Perhaps," Colm said, his humourless grin back in place, "going back to our original method of loosening tongues might be better…" He clicked his fingers and Rian moved, stepping toward then and then grabbing Tisia and hauling her to her feet.

"No!" Tisia shrieked, slapping at him and trying to break free. Elain reached for her friend but could not hold on to her as she was pulled away. Catching sight of Amala's ashen face and wide eyes, Elain thought for a moment that the other female might do something. She had been Tisia's friend after all, but then Amala averted her gaze, staring hard at the floor and Elain knew that she would not.