Fates Entwined

by Jules Barnard

  “That is Amund.” Theda nodded to a group across the room.

  Reese followed the direction of Theda’s gaze…to an extremely large, scary as hell Fae, sitting with about a dozen other men who looked like they could tear Reese apart with their pinky fingers.

  “He’s very…burly,” she said, and noted that Amund was the only man in this land she’d seen rocking full-on beard stubble. His skin was slightly darker as well. Swarthy.

  Theda seemed to consider him. “He is only reliable some of the time. Which is why I did not offer him a position on my guard. Otherwise, he’s a ruthless warrior who’s fought and won many battles. I would have liked to have had him at my side. Perhaps now is the time to take a chance.”

  “On this ruthless, unreliable warrior?” Reese wasn’t exactly scared of the burly men, per se, but shit. Was this a good idea? Maybe there were others who were more trustworthy.

  “He is the one person everyone claims holds the most influence,” Derek explained. “Don’t worry, Reese. Amund’s already indicated his support of Theda. Remember, we just need you to make sure everything is on the up-and-up and that there isn’t anything he’s hiding.”

  “Okay, but I can’t read minds. I’m not Keen.”

  “No,” Camille said. “But you will be able to tell if he has ill feelings toward Theda or any of the rest of us.”

  Reese nodded. “I can do that. Right now I’m picking up on distinctly horny emotions from the Fae with the funny-looking beret in the corner, who’s checking out Elena. And the redhead sitting on the man’s lap to our left is worried for some reason, even though she’s smiling.”

  Derek’s mouth twisted and he dropped an arm over Elena’s shoulders, glaring at the bereted Fae.

  Reese studied the men Theda wanted to talk to. “I’m not sensing ill feelings from your group in the corner.”

  “Good.” Theda started across the room.

  Heads turned as Reese and the others passed through the pub. No vibes of surprise came from the customers, so she assumed they didn’t notice her weaker power level while she was smashed in between Elena and Camille. They arrived safely at the table, and Reese let out the breath she’d been holding.

  Theda stopped across from Amund. “Greetings. May we join you?”

  Amund flicked his fingers toward one of the Fae on his right. The man stood and walked the perimeter of the group, standing sentry behind Camille.

  “The glamour is intact. Our conversation will not be overheard,” Amund said in a baritone that sent chills over Reese’s skin. She wasn’t sensing anything bad from the guy, but he was even bigger up close. Probably the most heavily muscled Fae she’d met, and they were all well built.

  “What’s he talking about?” she whispered to Elena.

  Elena tipped her head closer. “He put a silence glamour on our group. No one outside this circle can hear us, but they can read lips, so be careful.”

  Theda took the only seat available, the one beside Amund, and Reese and the others stood, which was just as well. Reese was about as tall as the soldiers while seated, and that was just sad. She really must look like a child to them. At least from this position she could keep her hood drawn low without appearing rude.

  Theda looked at Reese, a question on her face.

  Reese gave her a subtle nod. So far, so good. The only sketchy vibes she was getting came from behind—from someone else in the room—but not these men.

  Reese looked over her shoulder, but no one stood out. It didn’t matter anyway. Amund and his men were the ones whose trust they needed.

  Theda set an amulet in front of Amund. “We will take back the palace three days hence. Present this to my lead soldier and you will have his complete trust. Are your men ready?”

  “My men are always prepared for a skirmish.” He smirked devilishly.

  “There can be no errors,” Theda said. “You understand what is at stake?”

  Amund leaned forward. “I understand, Your Majesty, but my men and I want to know how you will repay our efforts. We will take down the queen’s puppet army, but only at a price.”

  Theda’s mouth twisted into a frown. “Your payment is that you will have your rightful queen in power—a noblewoman born and bred for the position who will protect this land with her life.”

  Amund glanced at each of his men. “A good reason, to be sure, but my men and I have been left on the outside for far too long.”

  “Because you have been known to throw down your swords when the mood suits you.”

  Amund’s battleax of a fist slammed down on the table, causing Reese to jump. She glanced at her friends, but they remained still, watching the heated conversation unfold.

  Apparently, this was normal soldier negotiations?

  “It was one battle three hundred years ago. I did not fight with our kingdom because I was called to the Land of Ice.”

  Theda shook her head. “No one lives in the Land of Ice.”

  “So sayeth some.” Amund drew his fist back to his side. “Be that as it may, I was not here when the Oldlanders”—he glanced at Derek—“ruthlessly attacked our people. Had I been present, we would not have lost so many lives.”

  Theda laid her hands on the table, one over the other. “I am prepared to trust you and your men again. If you pledge yourselves to me.”

  “We do,” Amund said without reservation.

  Theda glanced at the others with him. “I must hear it from all of you.”

  One by one, each warrior pledged his life and loyalty to Theda.

  Reese understood why Theda demanded it. She couldn’t risk someone turning on her in mid-battle, but Reese couldn’t help remembering Keen’s similar oath to Portia. Only in this case, Theda truly had her people’s best interests in mind.

  “And what of the rest of your warriors?” Theda asked. “For we will need an army of hundreds if we are to take back our kingdom.”

  “I give you my word on their loyalty.” Amund grinned smugly. “You will have to trust me this time, my queen.”

  Theda twisted around to Reese.

  Reese nodded. He was goading her, but Reese also read admiration and enthusiasm from him. Amund respected Theda. He and his men also seemed pretty excited to go to battle against Portia and her military, if Reese was interpreting it correctly.

  He lifted his chin toward Derek. “What of the Halven leader? Whose side does he stand on?”

  “Derek O’Brien is my daughter’s consort, and the rightful heir to the Old Kingdom crown. He saved my daughter’s life. The two of them are responsible for healing our people from the virus, your men included, as I’m sure you’re aware. Derek can be trusted. In fact, anyone who causes harm to him or his Oldlander soldiers fighting alongside us will be severely dealt with. In this battle, the kingdoms are united. We can discuss how the kingdoms will move forward once I’ve regained my throne.”

  “I don’t trust Oldlanders,” Amund grumbled. “But no harm will come to the Halven king. He saved my family and the lives of some of my men. We are indebted to him and your daughter.” Amund nodded to Elena, and she returned the gesture.

  “And the cloaked one?” Amund’s heavy gaze landed on Reese. “I see the pale hair, but not the face. Who is she?”

  “A youth, here to ensure you tell the truth.”

  “Through mental abilities? Another Oldlander?”

  “Yes. As is your man who created the silencing glamour.”

  He grinned boldly. “And her assessment of me and my men? Can we be trusted?”

  All eyes turned to Reese, and it took everything in her power not to squirm.

  Nevertheless, she nodded, because these Fae could be trusted. She didn’t sense fear, envy, or anger from them. In fact—Reese looked over her shoulder again—the worst emotions from anyone in the room came from the man on whose lap the scantily clad redhead sat.

  Reese had sensed it when they first walked in, and later as Theda negotiated with Amund, but she’d been more worried about the people
Theda was aligning herself with. Now that she was certain Amund and his men wouldn’t betray Theda, she couldn’t help paying attention to the man at the entrance of the pub.

  He was dressed all in black, and though he and the redhead were together, neither seemed focused on each other. The woman was still afraid, and the man had grown angrier the longer Reese and her friends lingered.

  “We should go,” Reese said quietly to Elena. Even with the din of noise in the pub, she was sure Amund heard her, as did Theda, because they both looked up. The New Kingdom guards might not hear their voices through the heavy wooden door of Reese’s bedroom, but Fae had superior hearing, and even Reese had noticed an increase in her sensory abilities since she’d come into her Halven powers.

  Theda stood, and so did every man at the table. “Samuel will be in touch. He is the leader of my soldiers. You will defer to him for further instruction.”

  Amund nodded and watched them walk toward the exit. And they almost made it too—out the door and safe from the dilapidated pub and its nearly all-male inhabitants.

  Until a large arm hooked Reese’s waist and dragged her onto a distinctly male lap.

  “Little one,” came the deep, lyrical voice, “what are you up to?”

  16

  Only one person called Reese little one.

  She twisted around and stared at the hooded Fae who’d grabbed her and continued to keep a determined hold on her waist atop his lap. “What are you doing here, Keen?”

  He pushed back the hood of his cloak, and angry emerald eyes stared down at her. “I believe I asked you that question.”

  Elena had raised her hands when Keen first grabbed Reese—probably to singe his ass with her magic—but she dropped them now.

  Reese wished she hadn’t. Keen could use a little zapping.

  How had he known she was here? She’d barely seen him in the last few days, and they’d been so careful when they left the palace this evening.

  “We’ll give you a moment to…” Elena trailed off, and she and the others went to stand near the door, glancing over every second or two.

  Keen couldn’t be trusted, and now he knew Elena and Derek were in Tirnan. “I can explain.”

  “Can you?” he asked, anger still in his tone. In fact, his arm around her waist had tightened. “I followed you when Illa came to me, concerned. She sensed a presence in your bedroom the other night, but thought twice before alerting the guards. It is good for your friends that she did not. Elena and her mother are enemies of the state. Had the guards been alerted, they would be imprisoned or dead right now.”

  “Only because Portia stole Theda’s crown.”

  “Be that as it may, your friends would be executed if discovered.”

  “Which,” she said, “is why I didn’t tell you. How do I know you won’t go to Portia and tell her about Theda after we leave this place?”

  “I swore to be Portia’s soldier and to protect her. Is she in danger?”

  Reese studied his eyes, which seemed to be warning her. She said nothing.

  “And if she is not in danger,” he continued as though she’d answered, “there is no reason for me to bother her with this, correct?”

  Reese nodded slowly. Keen couldn’t have heard their conversation with Amund while the silence glamour was in place. But if she told him details of their plans to take back the palace, he would be obligated to tell Portia. And he seemed to be saying as much with his eyes.

  She wasn’t Fae. She could lie with the best of them and not suffer any ill fate, except to her conscience. But in this case, her conscience was clear, because Portia was an asshole and she needed to be knocked down a peg or two.

  “Reese,” Keen said with deep exasperation, “you cannot roam Tirnan. I am trying to keep you alive, but you are making it very difficult.”

  “Locking me away in that room isn’t keeping me alive. It’s keeping me trapped.”

  “Is there a difference?”

  “Yes, damn you!” Reese glanced to the side, realizing she was causing a scene.

  She twisted so that she faced him more squarely, and lowered her voice. Belatedly, she realized how close that brought them—their chests nearly touching. “I’m not weak, Keen. And I’m not stupid, despite what my hair color indicates.”

  “You are blond. How does that make you stupid?” He seemed sincere.

  “Human joke.” Most Fae were blond. For all she knew, fair hair was probably the epitome of superiority and intelligence in Tirnan. “The point is, I can handle myself.”

  “You have never gone up against one of my kind.”

  “The hallway—”

  “That was not a battle,” he said. “That was one man attempting to force his attentions on you.” He ground out the last words. “Had I not arrived when I did, he would have hurt you.”

  Keen’s eyes were fierce, yet somehow deeply vulnerable. He didn’t like the reality he’d painted with his words.

  He was right, she knew it, but he was so very wrong about her. She appreciated Keen’s concern, but as long as he saw her as something frail and to be protected, he’d never respect her. She wanted his respect as much as she wanted his desire.

  “I’ve been underestimated, undervalued, and flat-out ignored by my family my entire life. My philandering parents might have succumbed to the seduction of money, power, and sex, but I’m not my parents,” she said in a low tone. “It’s why I trained to be a fighter. It’s why I excelled in school. I don’t need someone thinking for me. Regardless of how I look, I have principles, and I don’t rely on my appearance to get me around in the world.”

  He shook his head and stared away, letting out a deep breath. When his gaze returned to hers, he said, “I do not believe you are weak. I am weak when it comes to you. I keep you guarded so that I don’t have to fear anything happening to you.”

  If Reese hadn’t been aware that she was sitting on Keen’s strong thighs, nearly straddling him, as he held her and declared a weakness for her, she was aware of it now.

  But his declaration wasn’t enough. Men had wanted her before; they’d simply never loved her. And in the worst case—her father—there was a complete disregard for her. “You’ve done what you said you would. You saved me, and now my friends are here. You can wash your hands of me. Marry my sister, if that’s what you wish.” And if her voice choked on that last part, Reese played it off like it hadn’t.

  Keen tucked a lock of golden hair that had slipped forward back beneath the hood of her cloak. “I do not wish to marry your sister.”

  “Do you have a choice? Portia wants it. You’re duty bound to do what she says.”

  His eyes grew intense. Angry. “For now I’m not committed to another.”

  But later he would be. And it wouldn’t be Reese.

  Why did she care whom he committed to? Yes, she was attracted to him, but that meant little in the scheme of things.

  The problem was that she felt more than attraction for Keen; it had always been like that. The way he looked at her—pissed off most of the time, and also protective and desirous—drove her crazy. But Keen would never be with a Halven. And Reese was Halven.

  She squirmed to get off his lap, but he held her there. “Do not go,” he said.

  She sighed. What was his problem? “I thought you ordered me back to my cage?”

  He raised his eyebrow. “Cage? You are in one of the finest guest rooms in the kingdom.”

  “And can I leave it freely?”

  “I prefer that you do not.”

  “Then it’s a cage.” She glared at those beautiful eyes that often said one thing while his mouth said another.

  And then his jewel-toned gaze darkened. And that mouth that irritated her with its words dropped—and caressed her lips.

  Reese’s breath caught. Keen would never kiss her—but he was.

  Which could only mean one thing. He’d lost his damned mind.

  She quickly recovered from her stupor and kissed him back, because the gu
y who caused her equal parts annoyance and lust was kissing her. Hell yes, she was gonna partake.

  His lips were soft, startling in their gentleness. He pulled back the briefest amount, and then his fingers slid up the back of her neck, sending a shiver down her spine. He kissed her again, but this time his lips parted and his tongue entered her mouth, mimicking all sorts of naughty things he never voiced.

  Reese slid her hands up his broad shoulders to his head, where she captured him and showed him what he’d been missing. But she never gained control of the kiss. The staunch Fae, who’d scoffed at her elegant red dress because it revealed her shoulders, slid his hand down past her waist and squeezed her ass, showing her without words that he was in control.

  Reese’s heart nearly punched out of her chest, and her stomach clenched.

  She pulled back and stared at his half-lidded gaze, more to get a grip on herself than anything else. “What’s gotten into you?”

  He released her backside and looked away. “I apologize.” He peered in the direction of their friends, who must be shocked, but Reese couldn’t get herself to look away long enough to tell. She needed to know what had just happened.

  “You should go,” he said, his shoulders tense, as though he regretted the moment.

  She gaped at him. How dare he kiss her like that, then act like it was a mistake? Was that all she was to him?

  Oops, didn’t mean to wake up naked with you pressed to my chest.

  Sorry, didn’t mean to nuzzle your hair in my sleep.

  My bad—my mouth slipped and landed on yours.

  She was more. In his world or hers.

  Reese scrambled off Keen’s lap, and this time he let her go. She didn’t know if she wanted him to hold on to her or not, but the fact that he let her go just pissed her off more.

  If she hadn’t been so angry, she would have realized her hood had dropped back, revealing her face to the room. Revealing that she was no child. That she was Halven.