Illa swallowed, her emotions filled with shame and frustration. “I don’t hold the same beliefs others do when it comes to Halven. Many in Tirnan have changed their opinions about offspring between Fae and humans since your friend cured the virus. But there are also those who believe Derek is not capable of leading a kingdom about which he knows little.”
She was right. But for the wrong reasons.
“Derek might not know much about Fae customs, but that’s because we’ve been kept separate from your kind our entire lives and treated as outcasts. Not knowing who our sisters and brothers are.”
Illa’s face crumpled. “I am sorry, Reese. It was not my choice to have been kept from you. If it makes a difference, I didn’t know you existed until recently. My father never spoke of you.”
And somehow, amidst everything that had happened this night—nearly having a sword speared through her in the pub, facing off with Portia, being kissed by Keen and rejected, then kissed again by Keen and rejected again—this thing, this knowledge that not even her biological father cared one whit about her, sank to her core, slicing her open.
She wrapped an arm around her middle and covered her face with her hand, turning her back to Illa. “Please leave.”
“Reese, you must understand. It is not our way. Our father…he isn’t a bad man. He’s the best of fathers.”
Reese’s shoulders shook. “I wouldn’t know. Now, if you don’t mind?” She wouldn’t look at her sister. Couldn’t.
Reese heard Illa’s soft footfalls grow faint as she left the room and moved down the hallway. And that was when the tears began to pour down Reese’s cheeks.
She crawled onto her giant, plush bed that held no warmth, no sense of home, and let out all of her pain.
Enid helped Reese into the beaded green gown. “This one is stunning, Miss Reese. You will be the prettiest woman there.”
“Don’t you mean I’ll be the only woman?”
Enid grinned. “The only Halven woman. But also the prettiest of Fae women as well.”
“Thank you. I highly doubt it, given the glowing celestial beauty all of you possess, but it’s kind of you to say.”
“It is truth. We never—”
“Lie.” Reese smiled, and so did Enid.
Reese looked down at the gown that clung to her curves, while also remaining modest. “I do like this one, only—” She looked toward the door the guards had allowed her to close while she dressed with the servant. “It needs something.”
Enid scanned Reese’s figure. “Any adornment would take away from the beading, and the color is so striking on its own.”
“Not that. I was thinking of something along the lines of…my pretty sword?” Reese grinned sheepishly. “Will that fit?”
Enid’s eyes grew wide.
Reese had received a message from Theda last night. It started like the buzzing of the last communication she’d sent with her powers.
We are in hiding inside the dungeon, where few venture. The attack takes place tomorrow evening. Be prepared.
All Reese knew was that things were going down tonight. The same evening she was supposed to meet her Fae father.
“No, I suppose my sword wouldn’t fit. Besides, after Portia banned me from training, they may have confiscated it.” Reese’s mouth twisted. “What about a dagger?”
Enid glanced at the door and nodded. She reached beneath her prim gray gown—hers of the matronly variety that went up to her neck—and pulled out a double-bladed short knife with a star design on the hilt.
“Jesus, Enid.” Reese gawked. “How long have you been hiding that thing beneath your skirts?”
“This is only my short knife. The long one is strapped to my thigh. Would you prefer that one?”
“No, no.” Reese held up her hands. “You keep it. In fact, maybe you should consider stashing it close tonight. Just to be safe. Do you understand what I mean?”
“I believe so, miss.” Enid’s eyes narrowed, and she lowered her voice. “The palace is aware of her highness’s presence in the kingdom.”
“Portia?”
“No.” Enid shook her head and looked around, though they were the only ones in the room. “Our true queen,” she whispered, barely audible. “But the kingdom fears rumors about a secret weapon the current queen hides. They dare not make a move against her. Not to mention, many have been made beholden to her.”
A secret weapon? They couldn’t afford another problem.
“Portia and her pledges of fealty,” Reese muttered in irritation. “She’s forced it on so many? Is that normal?”
“No, miss. Among high-ranking guards, yes, but not noblemen and servants. It’s never been needed before…well, before there was a change in authority. The kingdoms hold their nobility in high regard, protecting them to the death. They are our rulers, but they are also most holy. It is typically our honor to protect them.”
“Holy…” Reese said, considering. “What exactly happened to the angels who created your race?”
“Gone. To the holy realm, never to return. No one alive has ever seen them. They left millennia ago. It is said they wished for us to live prosperously without them, and we have lived in peace ever since.”
“Wait, aren’t you guys always warring with each other? Old Kingdom and New Kingdom fighting to the death?”
“Oh, yes, but only because Oldlanders are vicious beasts known to murder for power.” She blushed. “No offense, miss.”
Reese didn’t bother to point out that Newlanders could be a bloodthirsty lot as well, because she figured it would fall on deaf ears. Fae seemed blind to their prejudices. “None taken,” she said instead. “And it’s not like I’m a true Oldlander. My father is, but I’ve never met him.”
Enid winced. “He is here. Your father.”
“I know.” Reese took a deep breath. “Illa told me.”
“Well, he cannot find fault in you tonight. You will be the most beautiful woman there.”
Beautiful, but not valued—not respected. Not even in this land. Reese tried to smile, but her mouth couldn’t quite form one. She held up the blade instead. “You have some way for me to hide this beneath my dress?”
18
Keen didn’t escort Reese to dinner. She hadn’t seen him since she told him she would fight alongside Elena and Theda. He’d been furious. Obviously, he’d written her off.
She swallowed, her throat raw.
“This way, miss,” Ulric said, guiding her toward a massive parlor.
She paused at the entrance. There had to be four hundred people drinking what looked to be brune, the liquid Keen had told her not to touch. They stood in pairs or groups, chatting amongst themselves, all of them as elaborately dressed as she was tonight.
Enid had been kind when she complimented Reese’s appearance. Reese wasn’t the most beautiful this evening—Fae outmatched her in beauty, height, and strength. But not intelligence or sheer will.
She entered the room alongside Ulric. Somehow her guard caught sight of Illa within seconds and led Reese to her and the handsome older Fae standing beside her.
“Greetings,” Illa said brightly. She was incredibly nervous. So nervous, Reese thought she would break out in a sweat from the emotions spilling off her sister. “This is my father, Hakon Radnor.”
And suddenly Reese understood the cause of Illa’s nerves. She should have suspected this. She’d been warned he’d be here tonight.
Illa’s anxiety jumped to Reese, because the man in front of her was her father too. The Fae sperm donor, at least, not the man who’d claimed to be her father.
She shouldn’t care what this man thought, but she did. Her own father had paid her little attention. Would this man be the same?
Illa stepped to the side with Ulric almost immediately. They spoke in soft, low tones, totally ditching Reese.
“Illa tells me you are brave and headstrong,” Hakon said, forcing Reese to stop shooting her sister the evil eye for abandoning her.
Illa finally glanced over. She must have overheard Hakon, because she shrugged unapologetically.
“I have my moments,” she said.
Hakon—her father—was very handsome. Tall, of course, though not the tallest among the male Fae. And she resembled him, which was most surprising of all. Reese had his nose and his full lips. And the same eye color.
Her father back home had brown eyes, and her mother’s were blue. Reese had assumed her green eyes were a mix of the two, but she was wrong. Hakon had extremely pale green eyes, just like Reese.
“So, you knocked up my mother.” She wouldn’t let this man know how much it mattered that he hadn’t cared to meet her until now.
Hakon’s brow furrowed. “Knocked up?”
“Had an affair—you got my mother pregnant while she was married to my father.”
He compressed his mouth. “I am your father. And, yes, I suppose you would see it that way.”
“Not my father.” Reese’s face grew hot with anger. She took a deep breath—and felt a large, warm hand touch her lower back.
Keen. She knew who it was before he moved to her side.
“Radnor,” Keen said.
“Albrecht.” Hakon nodded in greeting. “I’m told you have aligned yourself with New Kingdom.” He brushed his hand down his embroidered tunic, as though clearing away the unpleasant topic of Reese’s birth. “Why should I agree to a marriage between you and my daughter if you are in traitor territory?”
For a moment Reese stood stunned. And then she realized Hakon wasn’t speaking of her, but of his Fae daughter—Illa.
Keen’s palm dropped from Reese’s back, and an instant chill swept up her spine. He didn’t look at her when he said, “There is no understanding between your daughter and me.”
Reese glanced at Illa, who was standing nervously off to the side and staring at the ground. Ulric watched her, his jaw taut.
“That is not what I’m told,” Hakon said. “The queen wishes a union between you and my daughter. It is why I am here tonight. This union would prevent the need for an internal battle among my people. I’m told the Halven ruler will submit when you marry my daughter. That you will rule Old Kingdom with Illa at your side.”
“He will not submit,” Reese snapped, and everyone turned to her. “What idiot told you that? Derek rules Old Kingdom. Neither you nor Keen have a right to it.”
“Daughter—”
“Don’t call me that.” Her voice came out clipped, but what did he expect? “You haven’t earned it. You haven’t been there for me.”
Hakon flinched, and she sensed his pain.
Reese had ignored the man’s emotions since she and Ulric approached, but she couldn’t ignore them now. He cared for her, even if he’d never been around.
Had her father back home felt the same all these years and she’d missed it?
Hakon pasted on a bland smile and looked at Illa. “I see what you meant about her being headstrong. As I was saying,” Hakon continued, “our line—your family line—is next to rule Old Kingdom. Had this Halven not shown up, we would be in power.”
“Have you lost your mind?” Whether or not he cared about her, this man was spouting nonsense, and Reese wouldn’t sit back and listen. “It was Derek’s power that saved you. His power that took down the previous king. You’ve had hundreds of years to do it yourself and you didn’t. Derek did.”
“Reese,” Keen said in warning.
She turned to him. “Don’t Reese me. It’s the truth. Everyone in this backward realm refuses to see it.”
Keen pinched the bridge of his nose.
“Daughter,” Hakon said, “be careful what you say, or you will suffer the wrath of the angels.”
Reese speared him with a look. “Do you mean the angels who’ve been gone for thousands of years? I’m not worried about them; I hear they’ll never return. I’m worried about my friends who have a right to their land and thrones you all prize so much. I’m worried about the revolution that brews under your noses, with my people caught in the middle. The machinations of the Fae are unbelievable. You have no right to take the throne from Derek, and if you try—”
“Careful,” Keen said.
She closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
Keen was right. She’d been locked up too long, every pent-up emotion unleashing itself tonight. And she was taking it out on Hakon, because he’d abandoned her.
The room had moved into motion while they spoke, hordes of people moving toward the back.
“Perhaps we should adjourn to the dining room?” Keen said. “It seems it is time.”
Hakon nodded, and Illa joined him at his side. But once they entered the dining room—inside of which Reese’s Hollywood mansion could have fit—Keen escorted Reese to one end of the table with Ulric, then joined Illa and her father at the other end, distancing himself from her.
It was no surprise that Keen didn’t believe her worthy of his presence in a formal setting when he wasn’t protecting her. And it seemed Hakon saw her as beneath him as well.
She squared her shoulders and sat primly, hiding her disappointment. For a moment, Reese had wondered if this father might be different, but of course he wouldn’t be. Fae were far less tolerant toward those of mixed race than humans.
The last person entered the room—the queen. And she was draped in a red silk cloak, with a full diamond-encrusted skirt beneath. It was over-the-top wealth and power. Portia had the balls to steal what she did and abuse power this way.
Beside her stood a pretty younger Fae with pale red hair pulled back into an elaborately braided ponytail. She appeared to be a young high noblewoman, but Reese had never seen her before.
On Portia’s other side was Marlon, in midnight clothing nearly as fine as Portia’s. He looked out at the room smugly. He seemed pleased to be standing at the head of the Fae table.
“Good evening, my people,” Portia said. “My daughter Princess Beatrice and I are pleased to welcome you.” She smiled at the pretty redhead beside her. “As many of you know, Princess Beatrice is a New Kingdom diplomat, passing between the realms of Emain and Tirnan to solidify a truce. I am also ever so pleased to acknowledge another diplomatic achievement—a celebration of a most joyous union between one of our own and an Oldlander noblewoman.”
Portia looked at Keen and Illa, and it was then that Reese began to shake. Gone was her fake composure. Because she finally understood what this evening was about.
She stared at Keen, who looked straight ahead.
He wouldn’t…or would he? Portia had said it would happen. Illa had said so too.
Somehow in the back of her mind, she’d hoped that Keen would find a way out of marrying her sister.
But it wasn’t all Keen’s fault. Reese didn’t even know if Keen had a say in whether or not he married Illa. It was all such a mess.
“Our two kingdoms, Old Kingdom”—Portia gestured to Hakon—“and New Kingdom have been divided for nearly as long as Tirnan has been in existence. This rift started long ago with our forefathers. We shared their alliances, and we shared their foes. But it need not continue to be so.” She grinned, and Reese felt the ambition rolling off her. This woman didn’t give two shits about the kingdoms uniting; she wanted power.
“We can bridge this distance, just as the Bridge of Fates unites our kingdoms physically,” Portia continued. “We possess equal power and strength, merely in different areas of the magic inherent within all of us. Imagine if we brought those abilities together? United. How powerful would we be as a people?”
There were murmurings around the room. All seemed to agree, or were at least open to her words.
“An alliance between the kingdoms cannot occur overnight. That would be asking what not even our holy forefathers were able to achieve. However, we could place one of our own—an Oldlander of noble lineage now pledged to me, who was wronged by his homeland as an infant—back in his land of Old Kingdom. For diplomacy. To mate with one of theirs. To rule with one of the
irs, while also being loyal to our land.”
Reese hadn’t eaten the bread and cheese set before her, but she thought she might be sick.
Portia gestured to Keen and Illa. “If they would stand—”
Whatever Portia was about to say got cut off.
Because the number of people in the room instantly doubled.
Shouts erupted. Footsteps thundered. And screams filled the room.
Theda and her army had arrived.
19
Theda and her army appeared out of thin air, surrounding Reese and the hundreds of Newlanders sitting at the massive dining table.
Derek and Elena stood beside Theda near one of the doors, their soldiers gathered around them. They were dressed in black and armed with multiple weapons, including the null gun Elena had shown Reese. Derek must have Blended all of them into the palace.
The doors to the large dining room slammed shut of their own accord.
Chairs scraped back from the massive table. People stood and weapons were drawn from secret pockets and beneath skirts, the emerging metal flickering from the candlelight and illuminated sconces on the walls.
And then Keen stormed across the room like a Viking on a rampage. He was one of the first to make a move, and he was at Reese’s side in seconds.
He grabbed her arm and shoved her toward Ulric. “Get her out of here!”
Ulric maneuvered Reese toward one of the closed-off exits, while Keen returned to Hakon and Illa.
She tugged to get her arm free. “Stop it, Ulric. I need to be here.”
He ignored her and continued pulling her to one of the doors. It was locked from the outside and didn’t seem to budge under his impressive strength. He dropped her arm and used both hands on the door.
Reese quietly backed away.
“What is the meaning of this?” Portia screamed from her position at the head of the table, glaring daggers at Theda.
Beatrice held a sword, her pretty face dark with rage as well.
Fates Entwined Page 14