“Just wondering the outcome of my sister’s fate.”
“That’s for the council to decide,” she said prophetically.
“And what of the wolves?” I asked her. “What if they want retribution for Zephyr’s death? What if burying her isn’t enough closure?”
“Then we’ll deal with it when the time comes and, in the meantime, we’ll hope and pray for forgiveness.”
Forgiveness. As if it were that simple.
Although the notion wasn’t a foreign concept to me, it wasn’t something I was going to break out my rosary beads and pray over. But Violet had always found solace within the walls of the catholic church. Something she and my mother had in common.
“Yeah,” I murmured. “Forgiveness.”
When we arrived back to our hometown of Knox, Maine it was dark, but we tended to the horses before leaving for the esbat gathering. Faerie horses got mean if they weren’t tended to properly after being ridden. More so when they were forced to rest for any length of time in the mundane world.
“Are we done yet?” Leo asked, foot tapping.
“Somewhere to be, Leo” I asked.
His face said it all, and I was revelling in his impatience.
“You know I do!”
“Then go. We’ll finish up and meet you.”
“See you soon, then.”
“Later, little brother.”
With the horses rubbed down, fed, and watered and left tethered in a small makeshift stable at the bottom of the yard, Violet and I headed for the esbat gathering taking place at Trinity.
“I thought you two were bound for Arcadia tonight?” Luke said as we entered.
“Something came up and we had to bail,” Violet answered, practically falling into a vacant chair.
Luke frowned. “The wolf pup in Virginia. I heard. Are you sure Ever is responsible?”
“She all but confessed,” I said. “But Pax and Aeron are the two who put her up to it. She never would have done it if it wasn’t for those two.”
“So, what’s the council doing about it?” He asked as he busied himself drying glasses.
“I don’t know. Last I heard, Teague was still investigating. But I can’t imagine that the Winter Court will allow her to remain as Queen once word of this gets out.”
“But she’s… I mean Zooey didn’t—”
“—have any more daughters?” I finished for him. “Technically, as far as the Winter Court and the line of succession is concerned, that is true.”
“You don’t think Rue would take up the mantle, do you?”
“No,” I said and smiled. “She’s quite content where she is.”
“So, who then? Leo?” As Luke spoke, my gaze went across the room to where Leo stood talking to Piper, an infant cradled in his arms.
“Maybe before… but if he and Piper have made up and it looks like they have, I doubt very much he’d want to.”
“Well enjoy what’s left of the esbat, you two,” Luke put down the dish towel. “If you’re looking for Niamh, she’s upstairs trying to put your little one to bed. Phoenix was being fussy earlier.”
Typical Phoenix. I had hoped she wouldn’t torture my great aunt tonight but it wasn’t to be.
No sooner had I finished that thought then he’d disappeared into the back room reserved for staff. I saw Luke pick up the phone, after which he closed the door. He wasn’t one who often needed total privacy when making a call, so it could only mean one thing.
“I think your father is planning something,” I told Violet.
“Planning what?”
I shook my head. “I don’t know exactly, but I’m pretty sure it has to do with Ever and the mess she got herself into. Luke wanted to know if Leo and Rue would be contenders for the Winter Throne.”
“Do you really think my father would push to see Ever punished that severely?” Violet asked. “He’s known your mother for twenty years. He’d never risk that friendship. Surely.”
“Ever killed a werewolf pup,” I whispered. “There're consequences. Even Teague said as much. I wouldn’t be surprised if she wound up stripped of her crown. But I think what Luke and the other wolves want might be bigger than the loss of her title. I think they want blood.”
“And you’d be right,” Piper said as she and Leo approached, with the baby in tow.
“Then we have to stop them,” I said. “Or at least warn the Winter Court.”
“You’d interrupt the course of justice so easily after what your sister did? She should pay for what she did!” Piper said.
“I agree. She should be punished, but I’m not going to stand here and listen while you and the rest of the pack plan her execution!”
“Fox is right,” Violet agreed. “What Ever did was wrong, but she doesn’t deserve to die for it. Pax and Aeron…”
“Looks like our night isn’t meant to end here,” I said despondently. “I should go upstairs and let Niamh know.” I kissed Violet on the forehead. “Back in a few.”
We returned home to Spring Street to retrieve the horses. Piper had left her infant son in the care of her mother, having decided to come with us to warn Ever of what loomed on the horizon. I didn’t like to think of my sister dead on account of something she wasn’t solely responsible for. While she may have wielded the knife that had indeed killed Zephyr, Pax and Aeron had told her of the ritual. Why they sought to go against the treaty was a riddle yet to be solved, but I knew one thing for certain. They weren’t clueless. They’d known rituals such as these had been banned for the last fifty years.
“Wrap your arms around me,” I heard Leo murmur. I would have scoffed and made a joke at his expense had I not known he was trying to right a wrong. “The trods can be tricky.”
“Ready, you two?” I asked instead.
“Yep. Let’s go.”
The faerie roads were quieter the second time around, probably on account of the Wild Hunt, which was probably still in procession.
“I thought most of the ways into Arcadia were closed,” Piper mused.
“They are,” Leo said. “Except for a scant few like this one.”
“Where are the other trods that are open?”
“Keep asking questions like that Piper and the boys will suspect you’re a spy,” Violet said. “You don’t want to be considered a spy, do you? At least not where we are headed.”
“N-no,” Piper said. “Of course not. It’s just these roads are creeping me out. Talking takes my mind off of it.”
“The faerie roads are like that,” I agreed. “Don’t worry. We’ll be out the other side soon enough.”
And in a matter of minutes we were out.
Darkness greeted us and for the first time in a long while I found myself a little scared. There was no one to greet us, and no one even knew we were coming.
“Prince Alexander,” the cait sidhe, Grimalkin purred. “What brings you back? I had thought you and your companions had left.”
“It’s Winter Court business and no concern of yours,” I told him.
“Careful boy. While your mother may not be Queen, I still carry her favour and rumour has it Ever’s got herself caught in quite the sticky web. You wouldn’t want to make an enemy of me, now would you?”
“I don’t have time for your games, cait sith,” I grumbled.
“No, perhaps not, but you do need an escort through the woods,” he said. “It is awfully dark.”
I sighed. “Fine. Show us the way, but then be gone. You might have my mother’s favour and perhaps my sister’s, but you don’t have mine.”
“Noted,” he said. “You know if your sister is forced to abdicate, you’d make a worthy contender for the crown. You do after all have an heir.”
“I have absolutely no desire to rule over the Winter Court.”
“And what of you, Prince Christopher?”
“Are our Christian names not good enough for you?” Leo asked but Grimalkin didn’t answer.
“This way.”
We
followed because we had no other choice, but I had half a mind to speak to my mother about Grim’s attitude towards us. Despite our choice in partners, we were still fey and Princes of the Winter Court. Grimalkin ought to have more respect.
Soon enough we heard the rabble of horses and the din of fey talking in low voices.
“Fox!” Rue exclaimed. “You came back.”
“And you’re not alone,” Tristan murmured.
“Dad!” Leo groaned.
“We didn’t come back for the Hunt, unfortunately,” I said ignoring my stepfather’s reaction to the fact that Leo had brought Piper along. “We think the wolf packs are planning something. They want retribution for Zephyr’s death.”
“That still doesn’t explain why she’s here,” Tristan said. “Why you’d bring a stranger—”
“Piper’s not a stranger, Dad,” Leo stated. “She’s Violet’s best friend and—”
“We think the wolves want Ever dead!” I cut in.
Somewhere behind me Mom gasped.
“But that would throw the Winter Court into chaos,” Mom said. “There’s no one to rule after Ever.”
“The direct line of succession has been broken before,” Ash said.
“Mercy isn’t with you?” Locke asked.
“No. She stayed behind… for the burial,” I said, giving away as little as possible in case he wasn’t aware of her true nature.
“It would appear we are heading for home a little sooner than expected,” Herne announced. “Very well.”
“Sorry to break up the festivities,” I said.
“No matter.” He smiled. “There’ll be other Hunt’s just around the corner.”
“That there will,” Arawn agreed.
We rode in silence, headed straight for Herne’s cottage. Given the unsurety of the fate that awaited Ever, regrouping anywhere but on neutral territory was most unwise.
It was there that we were met once more with Teague.
“Bad news, I’m afraid,” he said, bringing life to all that I feared. “The Winter Court is calling for Ever’s head.”
“The wolves too,” I stated.
“We don’t know that for sure, Fox,” Violet said.
“Yes, we do!” Piper interjected.
“Who exactly are you, again?” Herne asked. “I don’t think we’ve been formally introduced.”
“You haven’t, and you won’t be if I have anything to say about it,” Leo snarled.
“Testy tonight, aren’t we?”
“My sister’s life is on the line and everyone is looking at Piper like she’s the devil incarnate,” Leo said. “I don’t like it.”
“Careful there lad, you don’t want to go around slinging around those types of insults.”
“Apologies Arawn, I didn’t mean to offend, it’s just…”
“Piper and Leo are in a relationship and if anyone here,” I paused, looking at Tristan. “Has an issue with it, they can leave.”
“A wolf, Leo, really?” Tristan raged; hands balled into fists. “Fox, I get but you?”
“Oh, so it’s okay for Fox, but not for me?” Leo asked. “How is that even fair?”
“Can we get back on track please or have you forgotten Ever’s life is at stake?”
“Of course, I haven’t,” Tristan responded, looking at Leo. “We’ll talk about this later.”
“There’s nothing to talk about, Dad,” Lee said. “Piper and I are a done deal.”
“We’ll see.”
I looked around, suddenly panicked. Ever had been seated before me on her horse, but now she was gone. Great. All our bickering had done was scare Ever off. “Ever’s gone.”
“What?” Mom shrieked.
“She was right there, and now she’s not. I don’t see her anywhere and in all the commotion she probably got scared and ran off.”
“Scared?” Teague asked. “You must be confusing your sister with someone else. Nothing scares that girl.”
“Except maybe everyone talking about how she’s going to die,” Leo deadpanned.
“Except that.”
“You’ll want to find her before a member of the council does. A messenger was dispatched telling them to assemble so that Ever’s punishment could be decided.”
Great. I sighed. “Violet, Leo. Let’s go. Last thing we need is for Ever to wind up down in the Winter Court dungeons, or worse.”
“Do you really think they’d subject her to the trials?” Leo’s voice shook as he spoke and my breath caught in my throat, making me unable to answer my younger brother’s question. I wanted to believe they wouldn’t be so heartless. But the punishment for going against the treaty could warrant subjecting Ever to the trials.
“Teague, no! You can’t. Ever won’t survive. I almost didn’t when they subjected me to them, having accused me of fraud,” Scarlett said.
A grim look crossed the executioner’s face. Almost as if he was reliving a bad memory. But a memory of what I didn’t know.
“Not my call, I’m afraid,” he said. “But it is likely she’ll be subjected to the three trials.”
“I’m not going to let you or any of the council take my daughter!” Mom screamed.
“And they won’t,” Tristan declared, as if that was enough to stop what was already happening.
“Fox?” There were tears in my mother’s eyes and I knew why.
The three trials that Teague spoke of where the trial of air, fire and water. Ever would be forced to endure the whip, branding iron and the docking chair. Drowning is what almost killed Scarlett. It’s what would possibly kill my sister, and if Ever died, I’d be the only one who could see her. Not even Arawn would truly see her. He’d possess her soul, but that would be all.
“How about we don’t talk about Ever as if she’s already dead. It’s morbid and I for one don’t enjoy peaking in on the dead unless it’s absolutely necessary.”
“Y-you can see the dead?” Piper asked timidly.
“Ever since I was a child, unfortunately, yes,” I told her with a quirk of my lips. “My gift. Part of being born with the blood of two courts running through my veins.”
“So cynical,” Piper mused.
“You would be too if you’d seen what I have.”
“Alright, Fox,” Tristan placated. “What is it you suggest we do?”
“We find her,” I said simply. “Get her to turn herself in and convince the council that she will abdicate by the end of the Winter Solstice and retire to Knox.”
“Banishment?” Mom asked. “Is that honestly the best course of action you can come up with, Fox?”
I blanched. “It’s better than watching her be subjected to the trials or beheaded. Don’t you get it? The wolves want Ever dead. At least if she’s banished, she’ll be alive.”
“I hate to be a wet blanket, but I agree with Fox. Better to be banished than dead,” Tristan said.
Mom was crying and yelling. Distraught, that much was clear.
“We’re wasting time!” I announced.
“Quite right,” Herne said. “Fox why don’t you head for the Winter Palace, take your brother with you. With any luck, it’ll look to the guards that you are just visiting your sister and that you forget she stepped out to join the Wild Hunt.”
“You want us to lie?” I asked.
“You’re human, aren’t you? Partially at least, it shouldn’t be that hard.”
“Fine,” I grumbled. “But what happens if we run into any of the council?”
“Use your head.” I saw the telltale signs of frustration in Herne. “Figure it out.”
“Right,” I muttered. “We’ll get going then.”
“Send word if you hear anything,” Teague called.
As if! I thought to myself whilst pretending not to have heard him.
“Leo?” I raised my brows. “You coming?”
“One second,” my brother replied before whispering something to Piper, which had her dismounting swiftly from the horse’s back.
“I�
��m to stay behind too, then?” Violet asked.
I gave her my best apologetic smile. “Probably better if Leo and I handle this one,” I said.
Violet smiled weakly in return. “Right.” She nodded. “Should have stayed in Fairfax.”
“Sorry, Violet.”
She brushed me off with a wave of her hand. “Yeah, whatever. Go! Save your sister from herself.”
“Violet,” I groaned.
“I’m a big girl, Fox. I can take care of myself,” she said. “I just wish your sister could do the same once in a while.”
“Violet!” Mom’s voice cut through the air like a knife.
“Sorry,” Violet said tersely. “It’s the hormones.”
Mom smiled knowingly at me. I knew she didn’t buy Violet’s excuse, but I wasn’t about to interject. Violet’s shifting mood could be attributed to the simple fact she’d been sidelined because of her pregnancy.
“Do you think we’ll find her before the council does?” Leo asked me once we were out of earshot of the others.
“I don’t know,” I answered. “Kind of hoping we don’t have to entertain that possibility.”
“But if they do?” he insisted.
“Then I guess we go home empty handed.”
My brother wore a forlorn expression, thick with longing. He missed his twin more than he would admit to openly, and I wasn’t about to call him out on it. Especially not in front of Piper when they’d only just gotten back together.
And while Ever was all Leo could think about, I tried to think about anything but her.
I couldn’t afford to dwell on the what if’s because if I did, I’d falter.
We hadn’t been that close as kids and it was in this moment that I regretted it.
What if the council had already found her and she was already dead?
“Fox?” Leo’s voice was soft and eerily upbeat. “Are you okay?”
“I never thought about what it would be like to not have her around,” I murmured.
“Yeah… I know,” Leo said just as softly. “I didn’t think I’d miss her as much as I do, when she left for the Winter Palace.”
“Yeah,” I said forcing a smile. “I heard you moped around the house for an entire week.”
Falling for Shifters: A Limited Edition Autumn Shifters Collection Page 93