Urian
When Urian woke, he was fairly certain a desert had crawled into his mouth, blood and dirt, dry and bitter. he would’ve begged for water if he were the begging sort. He was manacled in what looked like a stable. Straw covered the floor. The restraints on his wrists and ankles were attached to chains that allowed him to slump on that straw-covered ground.
Urian pushed to his knees, studying his surroundings. A trough of water was in reach. No food. It wasn’t food he wanted, though. He vaguely recalled running behind the Hunt. The dirt and dust from their hooves was what he breathed. No wonder that he was parched now.
Cautiously, Urian crawled toward the trough.
“I should’ve known you were out there in the world,” Irial’s voice came from the shadows. “I apologize for my absence.”
Urian paused. Bloody, clothes in tatters, and crawling wasn’t how he’d ever pictured meetinghim.
Urian scoffed despite everything. “You figuredthatout finally. Wouldn’t mom be impressed . . .”
Irial stepped forward, not too close but no longer hiding in shadows.
Urian had managed to avoid meeting him for over a century, but that didn’t make it any easier to look at him now. They shared enough features that Urian could almost call the older faery a mirror. Urian was not as dark-of-complexion, and he thought his own voice was less of a drawl than the monster’s, the one who’d ruined Urian’s mother’s life. There was no denying the resemblance, though.
“I had no idea, or I would’ve come to her,” Irial added. “I didn’t even know you existed until recently, son. The curse—”
“Not your son, Irial.” Urian spat the words, but they sounded rawer than he liked. A mouthful of dirt wasn’t doing his voice any favors. “Fucking my mother doesn’t make you a fa—”
A slap rocked Urian’s head back and stole his words. He fell backward on the cold ground.
“Don’t speak of her that way,” Irial said, looming over him now and looking every bit the monster in Urian’s nightmares even as he swore, “I loved Thelma. I willalwayslove her.”
“Sure looked that way when she wasted away dreaming of you.” Urian lifted his head to stare up into those too-familiar eyes. “She believed you’d return even on her dying day. She died with your name on her lips, dreaming of you, andyouweren’tthere.”
Irial looked like he’d been struck. “To protect her, to protect my children, I was cursed to forget her and you.”
Urian rolled his eyes. “I heard about it, old man. I know. Loved us enough to leave us. You’re the original deadbeat dad. My heart breaks for y. . .” Urian shook his head. “You know what? I can’t even say it with sarcasm. I have nothing to say to you.”
He shook his arms so the chains that stretched across the floor made a rattling noise. “You got what you wanted. You met me. Now, let me go.”
Irial shook his head. “I can’t.”
“What? Say whatever else you want, butletmego.” Urian pushed himself back to his feet, swaying slightly. “You want to be a father? Set me free before they get here.”
Irian’s jaw tightened.
“Look. I get it. You made your excuses to me, and I heard you out. Prove youreallygive a fuck. Set me free.” Urian swallowed to keep his still-dry throat from hurting. With his so-called father standing there now, Urian was too proud to shove his face into a water trough in front of him.
All Urian wanted was to get back to Katherine. A terrifying thought hit him then.
“Was anyone else brought in?” he asked quietly. “With me?”
Irial gave him an assessing look. “You know what you are by now. There are consequences to--”
“I’m not out leaving a trail of dead mortals. If that’s what you thought, you’re wrong.” Urian had a flicker of terror.
He wrestled with fears that he couldn’t explain.
“Hounds evoke fears,” Irial said in barely a whisper. “They’re here now.”
A voice called out, “I don’t think that you were cleared to see the prisoner, Irial.”
The Hound stepped into Urian’s line of sight, and with her was Aislinn. The Summer Queen. He’d pissed off the wrong regent, apparently. He’d thought he’d chosen the easier foe, knowing that tangling with the current Dark King and the former Dark King was likely a fool’s errand.For now.He’d thought the slip of a girl-- barely an adult and recently fey--was the easier target.
“I see that the Hunt has shifted alliances,” Irial said before he turned to the Summer Queen. “You carry some of my less charming traits, granddaughter.”