I heaved in a breath, my fingernails curling into my hands and digging painfully into my flesh. He wasn’t dead. Taylor wasn’t dead.

Another lighter voice spoke up. ‘And if there’s even the faintest hint of a genie showing up, he will suffer more than you could ever imagine.’

I pushed myself up onto my elbows. A woman was watching me from behind another set of bars. I recognised her instantly: she was the guard I’d fooled with my Aifric Illusion. I guessed she was here to get payback. She smiled at me nastily. ‘We’re watching you twenty-four seven,’ she said. ‘Just to make sure you don’t try anything.’ She eyed me predatorily. ‘Personally, I’m hoping you do. I could do with a little fun.’ She cracked her knuckles. ‘You should be glad you’re in that cage.’

Candy scowled at her. ‘Here,’ he said, thrusting something under my chin. ‘Drink.’

Grateful for the distraction, not to mention the liquid, I gulped at the water. It was brackish and foul-tasting but it was wet. The thought that it might be poisoned crossed my mind but Aifric could have already injected me with anything he wanted. Not only was I as weak as a kitten but there was no telling how long I’d been out for. I swung my head back to Candy, a question in my eyes.

‘Two days,’ he said. ‘They gave you something to keep you under.’

I grimaced, drained the cup and forced myself up to a sitting position again. The world still wobbled around me but it was becoming more manageable.

‘Has anyone else been down here?’ I kept my eyes averted from the guard. She snorted as if amused but at least stayed quiet.

‘They swap the guards every four hours,’ Candy answered. He pursed his lips and shook his head to indicate that no one else had been to see us. Candy wasn’t stupid; he’d know I was referring to Byron.

I wasn’t sure whether to be relieved or dismayed that Byron probably didn’t know what was going on. Somehow I doubted his Plan B had included this little scenario. I calculated: if I’d been comatose for two days, there was still plenty of time to find a way out. The wedding wasn’t scheduled for another week at least. There was a whole lot I could do with seven days.

‘The ceremony’s been moved forward,’ the guard said cheerfully, as if she could read my mind. I narrowed my eyes, wondering whether mind-reading was a Gift, then I relaxed. If she possessed that kind of magic, she’d have known instantly that I wasn’t Aifric when I spoke to her at the Cruaich dungeons. She was just bloody canny.

‘Tomorrow morning,’ Candy answered, before I could ask. He wouldn’t meet my eyes. This was as much of a disaster for him as it was for me. He had obviously worked out that everything was going tits up.

I grimaced. Well, shite. I wondered whether Aifric would create a sham trial first or simply dunk me in a well to check whether I floated. He had to know that I’d spill the beans if he gave me chance to speak. I tried to work through the possibilities but my mind felt too sluggish and slow.