all of them honestly, because she couldn’t see any reason not to. The djinni wanted to know where Darragh went at night. More importantly, he wanted to know how Darragh had managed to sneak out of his chamber undetected. Brydie knew the answer to neither question, but her repeated denials made no impact on the djinni . Jamaspa was convinced she simply couldn’t recall and that keeping her trapped inside the jewelled brooch Marcroy Tarth had given her on the way to Sí an Bhrú would somehow jog her memory.
Brydie had no idea how long she’d been trapped. Time was meaningless here. She could pace restlessly when she grewbored with waiting. But when she tried to count her steps in order to calculate how small she now was, or how large her prison might be, there seemed to be a different number of steps each time.
Was anybody on the outside missing her? Queen Álmhath had left for Temair days, perhaps weeks, ago. She might be wondering why she hadn’t heard from her court maiden. More likely, the queen believed Brydie was so besotted with Darragh of the Undivided that she’d had neither the time nor the inclination to send a message to her mistress to let her know if her mission to conceive Darragh’s child had been successful.
And here in Sí an Bhrú ? Would anybody miss her?
Probably not.
She was a stranger in the Druid stronghold and she had spent little time in the common areas of the fortress before she’d moved into Darragh’s chamber. Brydie’s foolish decision to play along with Darragh’s deception by covering for him when he sneaked out to search for his lost rift runner was costing her dearly, and not just because it made Jamaspa believe she knew more than she did. It was likely that most people here barely remembered her brief visit to Sí an Bhrú .
How would they know she was missing if they didn’t remember she’d been here at all?
Brydie thought it odd that she wasn’t more lonely or frightened. She figured the spell Jamaspa had used to trap her in Marcroy’s amethyst brooch had suspended all her bodily functions as well. Brydie felt as if she was breathing, but surely there was no air inside this tiny space. She doubted she was actually breathing, just going through the motions, protected by the enchantment that had trapped her here. She was never hungry, never thirsty and not once had she felt the urge to evacuate her bladder or bowels — something of a relief given the tiny space she occupied.
She could tell when he was coming, too. Jamaspa, from what she had seen of the djinni , could move about like a wisp of smoke. He seemed to have the ability to travel in and out of the jewel at will. When he was back, she could feel him, and see him, too, in a manner of speaking. Although he often refused to appear in a form on which she could focus, she knew when he was here, even if she couldn’t look him in the eye. The amethyst would darken to a purple so deep it made the night seem bright. When Jamaspa spoke, his voice was so resonant and commanding it sent shivers down her spine.
Brydie could feel him coming now, her skin prickling with gooseflesh.
What does he want this time? she wondered. Will he ask the same questions, over and over? Or has he thought of something new to ask me?
‘Are you well, little human?’ his voice boomed, reverberating through her bones. She found him both fearsome and yet oddly compassionate. He didn’t seem to care that he had trapped Brydie in this jewel to extract information from her, but he did seem concerned that she might not be enjoying herself. The djinni loomed over her like a nightmare and then worried he might have frightened her with his looming.
‘Can I even get sick in here?’ she asked, looking around the polished faceted walls of her gemstone prison. It was time she asked a few questions of her own, Brydie decided. She wasn’t going to get out of here by answering ‘I don’t know’ to everything.
‘What do you mean?’ the djinni
Brydie had no idea how long she’d been trapped. Time was meaningless here. She could pace restlessly when she grewbored with waiting. But when she tried to count her steps in order to calculate how small she now was, or how large her prison might be, there seemed to be a different number of steps each time.
Was anybody on the outside missing her? Queen Álmhath had left for Temair days, perhaps weeks, ago. She might be wondering why she hadn’t heard from her court maiden. More likely, the queen believed Brydie was so besotted with Darragh of the Undivided that she’d had neither the time nor the inclination to send a message to her mistress to let her know if her mission to conceive Darragh’s child had been successful.
And here in Sí an Bhrú ? Would anybody miss her?
Probably not.
She was a stranger in the Druid stronghold and she had spent little time in the common areas of the fortress before she’d moved into Darragh’s chamber. Brydie’s foolish decision to play along with Darragh’s deception by covering for him when he sneaked out to search for his lost rift runner was costing her dearly, and not just because it made Jamaspa believe she knew more than she did. It was likely that most people here barely remembered her brief visit to Sí an Bhrú .
How would they know she was missing if they didn’t remember she’d been here at all?
Brydie thought it odd that she wasn’t more lonely or frightened. She figured the spell Jamaspa had used to trap her in Marcroy’s amethyst brooch had suspended all her bodily functions as well. Brydie felt as if she was breathing, but surely there was no air inside this tiny space. She doubted she was actually breathing, just going through the motions, protected by the enchantment that had trapped her here. She was never hungry, never thirsty and not once had she felt the urge to evacuate her bladder or bowels — something of a relief given the tiny space she occupied.
She could tell when he was coming, too. Jamaspa, from what she had seen of the djinni , could move about like a wisp of smoke. He seemed to have the ability to travel in and out of the jewel at will. When he was back, she could feel him, and see him, too, in a manner of speaking. Although he often refused to appear in a form on which she could focus, she knew when he was here, even if she couldn’t look him in the eye. The amethyst would darken to a purple so deep it made the night seem bright. When Jamaspa spoke, his voice was so resonant and commanding it sent shivers down her spine.
Brydie could feel him coming now, her skin prickling with gooseflesh.
What does he want this time? she wondered. Will he ask the same questions, over and over? Or has he thought of something new to ask me?
‘Are you well, little human?’ his voice boomed, reverberating through her bones. She found him both fearsome and yet oddly compassionate. He didn’t seem to care that he had trapped Brydie in this jewel to extract information from her, but he did seem concerned that she might not be enjoying herself. The djinni loomed over her like a nightmare and then worried he might have frightened her with his looming.
‘Can I even get sick in here?’ she asked, looking around the polished faceted walls of her gemstone prison. It was time she asked a few questions of her own, Brydie decided. She wasn’t going to get out of here by answering ‘I don’t know’ to everything.
‘What do you mean?’ the djinni
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