Lord of the Hunt Read Online Free PDF Page A

so you don’t get lost.” If he kept himself busy, he wouldn’t be thinking about ways to get into trouble. And lust in Annwyn was a sure way to get caught up in deals that would end badly. He was the Hunter, and she wanted a favor from the King.
    He stayed silent as they walked past other fairies. He nodded at a couple. Some of them looked at her and then Verden, but he ignored their curious gazes while she tried to copy his behavior and not let her curiosity show. He led her into a vast hall that glittered as though a thousand stars were trapped amongst the trees. She gasped and stared up. He tried to remember the first time he’d seen the chamber, the wonder and the beauty of a room filled with hundreds of mirrors. Some hung from branches; others were embedded in the bark.
    “This is the Hall of Mirrors. The gaming tables here are high stakes, so I don’t recommend you come here unless you have a lot you can risk.”
    “Then why show me?”
    “So you know the danger. But also the reason for the mirrors.” He walked over and selected one to place in her hand. His fingers lingered for a moment longer than necessary. “Look closely.”
    “My house,” she whispered. “How did you know?”
    “I didn’t. You selected where to see across the veil. Perhaps next time you will see your parents.”
    She touched the surface of the mirror, her mouth turning down, and she looked as sad as she had when he’d found her hiding in the alcove. That hadn’t been his intention.
    “I thought you’d be happy to see them.”
    “I do want to see them, but I’m not allowed to leave Annwyn.” Her gaze darted to the corner where the Prince was sitting and talking to the blond woman he favored.
    “Everyone is free to come and go.” Unless…Taryn’s father had once been friends with Felan. In that moment, he knew exactly which changeling her family served and who had invited her to Court and who had forbidden her to leave. The Prince was far smarter than most gave him credit for and few knew his best-kept secret: He had a changeling son. “Though why would you want to leave when you have only just arrived?”
    “You belong here; you don’t understand homesickness.” She let the mirror drop. It twirled on its chain, sparkling in the light.
    He didn’t know quite how to answer that. He wasn’t used to being spoken to like that, as if…as if they were on equal ground. “I haven’t always lived at Court.” Then he softened his voice and took her arm, not wanting to linger where people could overhear. “I know what it’s like to long for home. But longing doesn’t get you very far, and it won’t get you what you want.” He wanted Taryn. He wanted to slide his fingers into her hair and kiss her lips. He’d have to be smarter than that. He didn’t want anyone else at Court noticing that he had more than a passing interest in Taryn. The last thing he needed was someone gaining leverage over him. “There are other ways out of Annwyn than the main doorway.”
    Deliberately breaking one of the Prince’s orders was not smart, but it would be fun, and there was nothing Felan could do. It wasn’t as though taking Taryn across the veil was a threat to Annwyn security. Why Felan had told her she couldn’t leave he didn’t know, but he’d find out, and he was sure it was all tied to the pardon.
    Felan wanted Chalmer and Arlea back. Which meant Felan was preparing to take the throne. That was where Verden would place his coin if he were betting on the outcome.
    “What do you mean?”
    “Exactly that.” And that was the second favor he’d offered and the second one she’d eyed very cautiously. She didn’t trust him. That hurt. Most were wary of him and the power he wielded, but he didn’t want Taryn looking at him and seeing only the Hunter. Perhaps taking her across the veil would be a good thing. Away from Court with her, he could be Verden, not the Hunter. The only time he was usually away from Court was when he