She didn’t regret last night. She simply ached for what she’d lost—or nearly had.
“Keen will marry Illa, Hakon’s daughter.” Reese attempted to keep her voice steady. “Will that protect him?”
“Possibly,” Camille said. “The engagement is official. Hakon reported as much through a magical messenger. Keen returned to New Kingdom palace hours ago and announced his betrothal to Illa in front of queen and court.”
Right after he made love to me.
Reese’s legs weakened. She locked her knees and stared straight ahead, but her chest ached like a sledgehammer had hit it. “So it’s…to take place.” Her voice shook, and she had to clear her throat to get the sentence out.
Camille nodded, and Elena moved closer to Reese, their shoulders nearly touching. Reese wouldn’t look at her, though. If she did, she’d fall to pieces in front of the entire castle guard, who all seemed to be congregated in the great hall.
“Does Portia think Derek will just hand over the kingdom?” Elena visibly bristled beside Reese. “What kind of fool is she? These are Derek’s people, and he’s determined to protect them from another ruthless ruler. Not that Keen would be ruthless, but he wouldn’t be the one in charge. Portia would be.”
Camille’s bland expression didn’t hide the distress Reese sensed from the Fae. “Derek has served the kingdom well, but he is at a disadvantage. He gained the respect of his men, but there are many in this land who do not approve of him—who wish him harm for daring to take leadership of our kind. Old Kingdom respects name and blood, both of which Hakon Radnor possesses in full measure.”
“And so does Keen,” Reese murmured, remembering how Keen had told her Derek’s father murdered his family.
“Yes,” Camille agreed. “The king had Keen’s family eliminated when Keen was an infant, removing them from the succession. He forced an oath from Keen when Keen grew of age, that he would forfeit his birthright. But Osulf Niall hadn’t planned on Keen outliving him, making that oath null and void. Keen is eligible again—if he manages to take control from Derek.”
The situation was going from bad to worse. With Theda’s death, they’d lost their best chance at regaining New Kingdom for Elena, and now it seemed Derek would have his birthright taken from him as well—by Keen.
They weren’t safe in New Kingdom, and if Derek lost Old Kingdom, they wouldn’t be safe here either. Reese would have to return to the Earth realm, which she’d always intended to do, but for some reason the notion felt off now. She wasn’t the same girl she’d been when she arrived—not physically, and not emotionally. She was tied to this place and people. And she wasn’t sure how she’d ever go back to her old life.
Reese had no reason to stay in Tirnan, but she would help her friends as long as they needed her, and then she’d leave. And remain a commitmentphobe for the rest of my life, she thought bitterly. Only now, she didn’t want to be unattached. She wanted what she couldn’t have—to be with the stubborn Fae who’d risked everything for her.
Derek crossed the room and joined them. “The soldiers are preparing for a full-out battle with New Kingdom.”
“Isn’t that what they did the last time?” Reese shook her head. “How can this one end any better?”
A chill seemed to rack Elena’s body. “She’s right, Derek. It wasn’t enough. We had soldiers from Old Kingdom, from Emain, and the New Kingdom warriors my mother recruited. She thought…” Elena’s face went blank. Reese squeezed her hand, and Elena blinked. She swallowed and cleared her throat. “My mother thought it would be more than enough. She knew Portia hated her, that Portia would make her the target. She didn’t count on Beatrice attacking me. Portia is unpredictable, and now she’s grieving and desperate. We can’t go back. Not unless we have a better advantage.”
“But we do…” Reese looked at the tree. “If we make a few changes.” She turned to Camille. “You said Fae can increase their powers with the Ancient Allon just like Halven, correct?”
“Yes.” Camille’s eyes shimmered, as though she was thinking the same thing.
“Have all Old Kingdom soldiers drunk the tea of the Ancient Allon?” Reese asked Derek.
He scratched his head. “Probably, but I’ll make sure.”
Camille scanned the men in the room. “The Ancient Allon will not make Fae much stronger than they already are, but it will enhance our abilities slightly. Amund and his men have never drunk from the tree. In our history, Newlanders and Sunlanders have rarely been allowed here. And certainly not to gain powers. Until now. Amund and his soldiers, and anyone else on our side, will drink from the tea of the leaves, myself included.”
“And I’ll drink from it too,” Reese said.
Elena’s eyes widened. “No, Reese. It won’t hurt a full Fae like Camille, but it could kill Halven. It has killed Halven. And humans don’t stand a chance; they never survive. It’s not worth the risk.” She shook her head fervently, tears blooming in her eyes. “I can’t lose you too.”
Reese reached for her friend, holding her tight. She wasn’t afraid of drinking the tea. Her biological father ensured she came from a royal Fae bloodline, but she understood Elena’s fear. She’d just lost her mother. Even a slight risk of losing someone else close to her was too much right now.
Reese had nothing to lose and everything to gain by building her powers. If she could help her friends with a stronger ability and tip the balance in their favor, it would be worth a little illness. Even if she couldn’t tell Elena her plans right away. The alternative was to return home, knowing she could have done more and hadn’t.
Knowing the kingdoms would be ruled by a madwoman.
Knowing the one person she loved might lose his life because he’d sacrificed for her and everyone else.
24
Reese waited in the room she’d been given. It was a simple space with stone walls, similar to the dungeon back at New Kingdom, but warmer and with a large, comfortable bed.
And this was one of the finer rooms in the castle.
A fireplace in the corner provided heat, and wooden chairs and a small table offered creature comforts. She’d already bathed—in a wooden tub. That was a new one. But whatever, she’d smelled Keen’s scent on her skin and it had been making her crazy. She’d washed it off with the soap the maid gave her. But the moment it was gone, she regretted it. What if she never saw him again—never smelled that cedar scent mixed with man, and a hint of metal from the weapons he never seemed to be without?
Reese paced her room, and darned if this didn’t feel like her time trapped in New Kingdom. She’d had a moment of doubt, when she considered doing as Elena asked and not taking the tea. The last thing she wanted was to make things harder for her friend. But this was bigger than the both of them. She couldn’t sit by and wait for things to happen. There were no guards outside her door, no one in this castle waiting to attack her the way they were in New Kingdom.
A knock sounded, and her maid entered the room. “Your food, miss.” The girl crossed quickly and set a tray of cheese, bread, and strange Tirnan fruit on the table.
Before they’d parted, Elena and Derek and the others had decided a quick meal and rest in their rooms was best for tonight. The Fae who’d never drunk the Ancient Allon tea were doing so this evening. They’d need rest, or so Elena and Camille had said. Even Fae needed to sleep and heal from the effects of the Ancient Allon.
The maid turned and clasped her hands in front of her, a mild but friendly smile on her face. “Is there anything else I can get you?”
“Yes. Tea from the Ancient Allon. I’ll be drinking it this evening as well.”
The girl’s gaze dipped down Reese’s body. “But miss, it is poison for one such as you.”
Elena had said the tea was deadly to humans and could cause death to Halven. But the belief was that Halven with royal blood survived. Derek and Elena had, and they’d benefited from the magical properties of the leaves.
Reese had been a prisoner and a victim in thi
s land, and she was done. She wanted to be strong. She wanted to do more.
“I am of noble Fae descent. I can drink the tea without harm, but”—Reese stepped forward—“do not tell anyone, do you understand?”
“Miss, I cannot help you. I must do as my king commands.”
“And what were his commands?”
The girl studied her warily. “To provide the tea of the Ancient Allon to any warrior who requests it.”
“And I am a warrior.”
Reese was no dummy. She made sure her maid agreed not to tell anyone that she was taking the tea, by binding the girl with a promise. And now Reese lay on her bed, her stomach cramping, her head throbbing, wondering what the hell she’d done to herself.
She moaned and curled into the fetal position. It would be all right. Everything would be okay. She’d survive this. She had to. Because she wasn’t leaving this land until she helped her friends ensure their people would be safe from Portia. Reese couldn’t bring Elena’s mother back, but she could help her regain the right to protect her people. And she could make sure Keen wasn’t a slave to Portia, even if he was married to another.
A stab of pain shot through her midsection and she cried out. Her eyes teared up from the throbbing of her head. She leaned over the bed and expelled the contents of her stomach, too weak to get up and find a bowl.
She breathed shallowly, her hands tightening and curling after the loss of fluids. The room winked…and then faded entirely.
Reese heard shouts, a female voice—anxious, distraught…
Moments, or hours, later, she woke without opening her eyes to a warm pressure on her arm. And sensed terror from the person touching her.
“Sister, what have you done?”
Illa.
“What is the meaning of this? What has happened to my daughter?”
Radnor? And he, too, was frightened. She’d been sick after drinking the tea. So sick. She still felt like death.
Reese managed to blink. Radnor was staring down at her, a look of terror in his gaze.
He turned to a soldier behind him. “Get the castle alchemists.”
A few moments later, Reese woke to the prodding of a man in monk’s robes—except this man had golden hair, rosy lips, and he was beautiful, like all Fae. He placed a hand on Reese’s forehead.
“Well?” Radnor said.
“I cannot predict whether she will live or die. Only the leaves determine such things.”
“You imbecile!” Radnor shouted. “Heal her.”
The alchemist lifted Reese from behind with his strong arm, and she moaned, the movement making her head swim and throb simultaneously. He brought a bowl to her lips. “It isn’t much, but the broth of the sibel flower strengthens the blood.”
She tried to sip it, got some down, and then coughed nearly all of it back up.
Radnor gripped the bedpost, his eyes wide, an avalanche of emotion pouring off him. And then Ulric entered.
Along with Keen.
Despite her poor physical state, Reese’s heart managed a weak lurch.
And then she gagged and expelled the precious drops of liquid the alchemist had managed to get down her throat.
The alchemist handed her a cloth and helped her lie back. When she caught her breath and opened her eyes again, Keen was standing over her, looking angrier than she’d ever seen him. And then she passed out.
“Why would you give her the tea?” Keen shouted. Reese would know his voice anywhere.
Her stomach rioted, her head pounding so hard that when she opened her eyes she couldn’t see anything for several seconds. Her vision cleared—to Keen squaring off with Derek.
“She is small! What were you thinking?”
“I didn’t give it to her,” Derek bit out. “She suckered one of the maids into getting the tea. And Reese may be small, but she’s strong.”
Not small—five foot six, Reese would have said if she could.
Keen punched Derek in the face.
“Keen!” That was Elena.
Derek touched his bloody lip, then tackled Keen.
“Damn you both,” Elena shouted. “We don’t need this right now!”
Off to the side, Hakon pressed his fingers to his forehead and shook his head.
“Stop,” Reese said, so weakly she feared no one would hear her. “Please.”
Keen’s head whipped around. He rolled to his feet and strode over, his nostrils flaring. “Reese.” The word came out like a prayer, so soft and full of longing.
She closed her eyes, taking in the sound. Was there anything in the world more comforting?
“Don’t fight,” she whispered.
“No, little one. Not until you are better and I can punish you thoroughly.”
Her eyes were closed, but her mouth curled up at the edges. It was a hollow threat, and they both knew it.
Someone grabbed her hand, but it wasn’t Keen. Reese opened her eyes and found Illa at her side. Elena stood in the background, biting her thumb, worry rolling off her as Derek wrapped his arm around her shoulders, his bloody lip nearly healed.
Illa brought a bowl forward. “Sister, please drink more of the alchemist’s broth.”
Reese tried to sit up, and this time it was Ulric who helped her. She sipped the broth and twisted her mouth away from the bowl when she couldn’t get any more down.
Ulric set the broth on the nightstand and went to stand behind Illa. He placed a hand on her shoulder, and Illa absently reached for it.
Reese’s brow furrowed. “Shouldn’t you be holding Keen’s hand?”
Shame and confusion tossed around inside Illa. Her hand fell to her lap.
Ulric shot a glare at Keen, irritation and jealousy cutting through him.
Being ill made the emotion storm around her more nauseating. She was too weak to block it.
Keen didn’t seem aware of the tension coming off Illa and Ulric, or he just didn’t care. He was staring at Reese with utter mortification, his chest heaving.
“Everyone out.” His tone was deadly calm.
“But—” Elena started.
“Now!”
They left the room one by one, except for Hakon, who lingered near the door. “You will let me know if…”
“She will be fine,” Keen said over his shoulder. “But if… I will let you know.”
Hakon closed the door behind him.
Keen moved closer and gently set his large arm over her chest, cradling the side of her face. “You cannot die, little one.”
Stubborn man. As if she had a say in these things.
She turned into his warm palm and swallowed the ball that had knotted in the back of her throat. “I don’t plan to. Strong…”
“Yes.” His voice was strangled. “You are strong. Remember, it is I who am weak when it comes to you. You must not leave me.”
“You…left me.”
“Never. I’ll never leave you.”
She shook her head. “They won’t let us be together.” Her forehead scrunched. “Not sure who they are…maybe the universe. We’re not meant to be together.”
He pressed his hand to her chest above her heart. “We are together in here,” he said softly, and touched his forehead to hers.
Warmth spread through Reese’s body, and the pounding in her head eased slightly. She breathed deeply and fell asleep.
25
Reese woke with a head that no longer pounded like the devil. And found herself being spooned by Keen.
For just a second, she lay there with his arms wrapped around her and pretended they were of the same world, and that this was how she would wake every morning. In his arms.
But they weren’t of the same world. And this wasn’t how things could be. Keen would marry her sister, and Reese would return home. To school. To her messed-up parents. To a life that meant little after everything she’d experienced in Tirnan.
She wanted more. More with Keen. More with Halven and Fae and her powers, and learning what her ancestors meant t
o this world and the Earth realm. They had to exist for a reason. She had to be here for a reason. She’d survived the Ancient Allon leaves. That must mean something.
Reese reluctantly rolled to her back, and Keen stirred.
He rubbed a hand down his face and sat upright. He took in her expression. “How do you feel?”
“Better.”
He let out a deep breath, his eyes soft for only a moment before they hardened. “Good… Now I must kill you for what you put me through. What were you thinking, drinking the tea?”
She rolled her eyes. This man did not scare her. Not one bit. She sat up and pressed her face to his neck, breathing in his scent, because he was still in bed with her and she could lap it up all she wanted right now. “I was thinking I’d like to kick some ass in the realm of my ancestors, and that I needed a little extra power to do it.”
“That is a terrible reason to put your life at risk.”
Tough words, but his heartbeat kicked up a notch as her lips pressed against his throat. “Sure.”
“I am serious, Reese.”
She leaned back. “In hindsight, it was stupid. I didn’t realize it would affect me that badly. I won’t do anything like that again.” She narrowed her eyes on him. “But don’t think you can tell me what to do, Keen Albrecht. You have no say. You’re marrying my sister, for goodness’ sake. From now on, I’ll do what I have to in order to survive.”
He sighed and stared at the ceiling. “What am I going to do with you?”
“Those are my thoughts. What am I going to do with you? You drive me nuts when you’re near, with all your bossiness, but…I don’t like it when you’re gone.” She scrunched her nose, remembering how distraught she’d been when he left her at the tavern. When she worried she’d never see him again.
His emerald eyes were warm. “The feeling is mutual.”
Illa entered the room without knocking, and Keen rose swiftly from the bed. She glanced at him curiously, then at Reese. “You look much better. How do you feel?”
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