by Sophie Oak
The phooka’s eyes narrowed to slits. “You could do a hell of a lot more than you’re doing now, Your Highness. Has cowardice been good to you?”
The words hurt because she saw some truth to them. “Please go away.”
The laugh that huffed from the phooka’s mouth couldn’t be termed humorous. “No. Not until you learn a thing or two. Tell me something, Your Highness. What gives you any right to wear a crown? Is there anything about you that is meaningful besides the fact that whatever brat you spill from your thighs will have royal blood?”
The creature was pulling at her every nerve. “I have done nothing to deserve your scorn.”
“Oh, yes, you have done nothing and doing nothing absolutely deserves my scorn. You ran when the palace fell. I can forgive you that. You were a child. But a woman stands before me now. A woman who has done nothing while her people are slaughtered, while innocent bondmates have been taken to Torin’s hags and tortured and turned into weapons to be used against our once allies. You are a woman who has done nothing while her kin have suffered, fought, and died rallying behind her family name. Did you know your cousin Keir died?”
Her sweet cos, Keir, had only been a few years older than she was, but she knew the story. After Torin had killed her father, Keir had raised an army.
And his army had been slaughtered, Keir along with them.
“Other revolts have been started all under the Finn banner. But Bronwyn Finn hid and plowed her fields and kept her head down. You still have a head. Many of the brave ones don’t.”
“What is your point? If it’s to make me feel bad, then you win.”
“My point is that it is past time for you to be a woman. My family has a daughter named Paige. She’s already made a heart bond with a young man named Charles. Charles was taken and sent to the palace because he could bond. Paige has been placated by the fact that the boy’s fathers are promising to free him. If they cannot, then I fear Paige will try herself because my young Paige is more woman than you can ever be. And she will die and that will break my master’s heart forever. I fight for the ones I love, Bronwyn Finn. It is too bad you cannot say the same.”
“You will call me Your Highness and you will keep a civil tongue in your head around me. Is that understood?” If she was going to do this, she would do it right. No one of sane mind would follow a mild-mannered peasant princess, but she remembered her father’s arrogance well.
Her father. He’d become a sluagh and left instructions for her. Sir Giles. Niall wanted her to go to Sir Giles. She sought her memory. Sir Giles was a landholder not too far away.
Who should she trust?
“Now that sounds more like a royal who might be worth something.” The phooka’s mouth curved up in an approximation of a smile. “You know if you stay here, your husbands will cart you back to the Unseelie plane and you’ll spend the rest of your life spitting out their heirs. I’ve spent some time with them. I’ve got no doubt they want you, but they will keep you in the palace, away from anything to tax your lovely brain. You’ll be their sweet wife, coddled and loved and marginalized. Is that what you want? Or do you want more?”
Perhaps once she could have been satisfied with being a wife and a mother as her own had been, but she’d been changed. Pain, loss, and work had transformed her.
She didn’t want to sit on the sidelines as her mother had done. If she wore a crown, it would be because she’d earned it. She’d already given her blood. It was time to give more.
Shim and Lach. They had been in her dreams for so long, but she had to deal with reality. Reality was the Seelie plane and Torin.
“Help me escape.”
The phooka practically purred. “It will be my greatest pleasure, Your Highness. I am your servant.”
“Turn around. I need to get dressed.”
The phooka turned. With shaking hands, she dressed. When she was ready, she looked at the bed where she’d lost her innocence. Given it. No matter what potion she’d been under, she’d wanted them. She’d loved them.
The phooka guided her out the window, and Bron wondered if she would ever see them again.
Chapter Twelve
Shim stepped off the final step and into the small store, his eyes on his sister.
Gillian looked so different than he remembered her. Thinner. Older. Wearing practical clothes where once she’d preferred gloriously feminine garb. Gillian McIver was a few years older than he and Lach, but she’d always seemed much more mature. After their mother had died, Gilly had run the household. She’d taken care of everything, including certain political situations. The Unseelie plane had lost a valuable royal when Gillian had been caught here. His sister stood looking over maps, her eyes serious as she spoke.
“We will need to move out after dark. The guards are dead, but at least five got away. There’s no telling where they ran to or who they will tell. I can only promise that someone will talk and reinforcements will be sent.” Gillian straightened up.
Simon Roan stood in the small store. The floor had been cleared out, a large table brought in. Maps and vampire technology covered the table. And yet Simon Roan seemed to have eyes for only one person in the room. The vampire’s whole being was focused on Gillian McIver.
Fuck. He should have thought about it, but he’d been utterly overwhelmed by being close to his bondmate.
“The vampire wants our sister,” Lachlan whispered. “I didn’t remember how bright her glow was.”
Gillian glowed. He could see it because of his vampire blood. It told the royal vampire which beings contained blood that would elongate their lives. It called to the royal.
Shim’s protective instincts flared.
“Don’t. Not yet. Give Gillian a chance to deal with him. She’s done an amazing job here. She’s not a delicate flower. She’s survived and kept our Bron alive. She deserves our respect.” Lach stepped forward. “Sister.”
Gillian’s smile grew vibrant. She opened her arms. “Lachlan!”
Shim watched Simon Roan as his sister embraced his other half. The vampire watched her like a hungry predator, his eyes following every move she made. And Shim would swear the vampire’s fangs were out.
Gillian embraced Shim, hugging him to her. “Brother, I thought I might never see you again.”
“Yes, I thought the same,” Roan said, every word a silky threat. “Imagine my surprise when I went to wake you so we could leave Aoibhneas. You were gone, Lach.”
Lach let his sister go. He didn’t back down an inch from Roan. “I believe I mentioned that we should leave earlier. It was a good thing or our bondmate would be dead.”
Gillian straightened her shoulders. “His Highness, the Prince of the Unseelie Fae, is correct. Her Royal Highness, the Princess Bronwyn, would be dead if her mates had not saved her. You were late, mercenary.”
“I was attempting to keep the princes alive. Torin has guards on the roads. He has spies everywhere. I don’t doubt that the events of the day will reach his ears soon. His Royal Highness has created a huge cluster fuck for my men.” Roan leaned across the table. “There is a reason your father put me in charge.”
Gillian laughed, a short, sharp sound that made Shim wonder what the vampire had done to set his sister off. “Is my father paying you? He shouldn’t.”
The air practically crackled around them. Roan’s eyes got dark and big. The damn vampire wasn’t even trying to control himself. “Your father and I made a deal. I don’t get paid, princess. I get a boon. Your father intends to make sure I get what I want.”
“I’m sure someone of your stature will want gold. That’s what you poor vampires want.”
“If you think that is what a vampire cherishes, you haven’t spent enough time on our plane. Understand this, princess, I mean to get what I want,” Roan growled back. He shook his head and seemed to calm a bit. “Prince Lachlan, would you like to explain why you and your brother chose to run away from the guard your father sent?”
“I think they were jus
t horny.” Dante Dellacourt had a smirk on his face as he leaned against a wall.
“Well, you would know.” Lach seemed to be in a ridiculously good mood. Shim had never seen his brother so relaxed.
Dellacourt stood up straight. “Is my cos all right? Goddess, I can’t believe Bron’s alive. Can I see her?”
“Bronwyn is fine. She’s perfect. And she’s tired. She’ll be down in a little while,” Shim replied, though he wasn’t completely sure she was fine. She’d seemed very disconcerted. They needed to talk, but he would prefer to do so while they held her, bonding with her, skin to skin. It was necessary. They had been close to her mind for so long that she didn’t trust the physical presence. “Though she’s sure she’s lost her mind.”
Lach put a hand on his shoulder. “She was just confused by the potion.”
“Potion?” Dellacourt asked.
Gillian took her eyes off Roan and frowned Dellacourt’s way. “Your sweet cos was nearly executed today for being a witch. It was only my brothers who saved her.”
“As was right. We’re her husbands,” Shim pointed out. “And we knew she was in danger. We’re bonded. We can feel her. Dellacourt, tell me you can’t feel your consort.”
Dellacourt frowned. “Most of the time, though she’s good at shielding. It pisses me off. She tends to do it when she wants a spanking. But I understand what you’re saying. I can feel my Kaj.” He smiled a bit, his eyes losing focus. “She’s happy right now. She’s also curious about the village around her.”
Shim turned on the vampire mercenary. He didn’t understand them. He couldn’t. “See? You don’t have a consort. You don’t have the bond. You can’t understand.”
Roan laughed, a disdainful huff. “No, Your Highness, I don’t have a consort. I haven’t had the cash or the connections to keep one. But that will change.” His eyes went right back to Gillian.
She hugged Shim. “Stop baiting the mercenary, brother. I will try to do so as well. He’s only here to try to help. And I’m grateful since otherwise we have nothing but you and Lach to protect our precious Bron.” She smiled, her face vibrant. “She’s wonderful, isn’t she? When I first came to negotiate your marriage, I worried she was far too young and spoiled, but she’s been magnificent through all of this. You should know I have come to love the girl dearly, and I will kick both of your asses if you cause my Bron a moment’s pain.”
Shim liked that his sister was so protective of their wife. “We love her, Gilly. We’ve been lost without her.”
“But we have some work to do with her. I’m worried she’s angry at you,” Lach said, his eyes going back to the stairs.
Gillian sighed. “I am sure she will be. I thought it best to simply be her guardian. We’ve met so many nobles here who would have used her as a rallying point.”
Dellacourt’s foot tapped as he thought. “Not just a rallying point, I would suspect. Bron is the last Finn on the plane. And she’s female. If I were a betting man, I would lay a lot of gold on the fact that noble families here would see her as a way to take the crown. Oh, wait, I’m actually quite a good gambler. I also bet that’s what you were doing here in the first place.”
“I was attempting to negotiate a proper, advantageous marriage for my brothers,” Gillian replied. “When the coup occurred, I protected the princess. She died. Do you understand that, vampire? She was dead, but my magic brought her back to life. I was the one who used magic to cover up the fact that she was alive. She’s here today because of me.”
Gillian was wrong about her magic. It had been he and Lach who had brought her back, but Shim kept his mouth closed. Gillian needed all the help she could get with the vampires.
“And you intend to use her to unite the crowns.” Dellacourt’s voice was without a touch of emotion. Bland, even. But there was a shrewd ruthlessness in the vampire’s eyes that let Shim know he had an angle to play. “It might work except for one small fact you’ve overlooked.”
“Really? I don’t think I overlooked a thing. When Torin falls, and I will see that bastard fall if it is the last thing I do, Bronwyn will assume the crown and my brothers will be kings. My father will step down and the triumvirate will rule both planes.” Gillian made her announcement with a brutal practicality.
“That will be interesting to see.” Roan crossed his arms over his chest and smirked, his fangs peeking out.
Dante sighed a bit before making his point. “I believe Their Majesties, Beckett, Cian, and Megan Finn will have something to say about that when they reclaim their throne. Or were you planning on Bronwyn going to war with her brothers? I assure you I love my cousin, but I will not allow her to claim her brothers’ rightful throne. Certainly not when she would be an Unseelie puppet. But then your brothers would be puppets, too. You want to be the power behind the throne.”
Shim stared at his sister, Dellacourt’s words sinking in. “Gillian, Lach and I have no intentions of fighting with the Seelies.”
“We’re taking Bronwyn home. We’re going to make sure she’s safe,” Lach said. “Her brothers can have this plane.”
Gillian rounded on them both, her eyes alive with fire and anger. “Where is your bloody ambition, brothers? I don’t care that the Finns bonded or that they think they can waltz in after thirteen long years and reclaim their throne as if they never ran.”
“They had to run,” Dellacourt argued. “And don’t think they haven’t tried to fight.”
“Well, as I’ve been alone and protecting their sister, you’ll have to forgive me for saying that they didn’t try hard enough.” Gillian’s fists were clenched at her sides. “I have fought and protected her. I will not allow them to come in and claim that which I have sacrificed for. I will speak to father. He will see reason. If my brothers don’t want the bloody crown, I’ll take it myself. I’ll take it by right of blood. I’ll bring an Unseelie army back. Father will support me.”
“Your father wants you safe,” Roan said, his eyes hooded.
“My father trusts me, vampire. And you have nothing to do with it.” She dismissed him utterly.
“Your father promised me a boon if I carried this off. Would you like to know what that boon is, princess? Your father has spent too much of his time mourning. He needs someone to come in and train his forces in modern warfare. He would feel so much safer if the general of his army was also his son-in-law.”
“Bloody hell, Roan. Did you have to tell her that now?” Dellacourt asked, cool green eyes rolling.
Shim knew he should be shocked, but he wasn’t. Gillian was a royal. She wouldn’t be marrying the stableboy. She’d planned to offer herself as bondmate to the Seelie twins. She couldn’t be shocked that their father offered her up to the man who would save her.
Except she was. “No. My father wouldn’t do that.”
Roan didn’t move, but there was a certain satisfaction in his stance. “Your father wants you safe, consort. I have done the king and your cousin, Julian, much service and will continue in the future. And you will be my reward.”
Gillian turned to Lach. “Brother?”
Lach reached for her. “Gilly, I’ll talk to father, but you have to see that this plan can’t work. It would mean all-out war between the tribes. I don’t want to war with my wife’s family. Honestly, much of the hatred between us seems very silly now that I’ve walked the plane. They are Fae. We are Fae. We can coexist.”
“This isn’t our war, sister,” Shim said. “We thank you for protecting our mate, but it is our turn to protect her and you. We will go back to our plane, and if the Seelies win the day, we will open relations with them.”
“And you would call yourselves kings.” Gillian shook her head and turned to Roan. “You will never touch me.”
“We’ll see about that, consort.” Roan didn’t move as Gillian strode out of the house.
Lach stared at the vampire. “Find another consort.”
“Your father was explicit, Your Highness.” Roan’s eyes were on the door that Gillian had
slammed with vigor. “If I see you all safely back and lead the Seelies to their glory, my lieutenant and I will claim the princess and take over your father’s armies. King Fergus doesn’t want to unite the tribes under one crown. He merely wants good relations with them. He knows what it would cost. It would cost blood and death and pain unimaginable. Your father is a good king. And your sister is far too ambitious. I worry she’s going to cost you your relationship with your bondmate.”
“She’s pissing me off, that’s for sure,” Dellacourt said. “You can’t believe for a second that Bron will turn on her brothers.”
“I don’t want her to.” Shim ran a hand through his hair. He hated politics. Politics always seemed to get in the way of doing what was right and just. “Give Gilly a little time, but know this, I care not what my father promised you, if Gilly doesn’t want you, I’ll fight to make sure she’s happy.”
“I’ll make her want me,” Roan said with perfect arrogance. “I’m not a stupid man. I can handle your sister.”
“I don’t know about that. A smart man wouldn’t have laid out his plan,” Dellacourt said.
“This gives her time to get used to the idea. If I sprang it on her before the wedding, she just might pull my fangs out. I rather like my fangs.” He sighed and turned to Shim. “Though I would keep my mouth closed about your plans around your bondmate. After everything I heard, I doubt she will be happy fleeing the plane. She cares about these Fae. She was in jail because she tried to defend a brownie. The villagers truly care about her.”
She hadn’t seemed happy about the idea. And they hadn’t even told her about her brothers. Guilt ate at him. He’d been far too busy fucking her to see to her welfare.
“We should have talked to her.” Lach seemed to easily pick up on his thoughts.
Though the full, deep bond hadn’t been performed yet, Shim was finding it so much easier to know what his brother was thinking now that Bronwyn was near.