by K. N. Banet
“Th—” Heath stopped before he said thank you, then looked uncomfortable because he was too polite not to say something.
“Only the foolish young fae or the weak need to trap people in the bargains of a thank you for something freely offered,” Sorcha said softly. “I am neither of those, but the thought of your gratitude is noted.”
She closed us in, and I listened as her heels walked down the hall until they faded away.
“Well, Rian did something right,” I whispered, looking at Heath as he surveyed the room.
“Did he?” my lover growled.
“He was hoping to find his father or his brothers,” I reminded him, going back to what Rian had said. “And he did…in a sense.”
“Damn it.” Heath’s dry, humorless laugh made me feel as hollow as he sounded. “This is out of my depth, Jacky.”
“Out of mine, too.” I reached for him and took the chance to wrap my arms around him when he didn’t pull away. “At least we know you won’t lose time with Carey.”
“You won’t, either,” he said, turning in my arms to embrace me in turn. “How do these things always go so wrong?”
“We’re unlucky,” I said, shrugging. He chuckled and kissed my forehead, then dipped lower. A soft growl made his chest rumble against mine right before his mouth descended to claim my lips.
“We are,” he agreed. “But I’m grateful, too. Sometimes, our unluckiness runs into a stroke of luck. Look at this. We’re in the fae realms, yet we’re in a stable one where we won’t lose time in our normal lives and show up a hundred years in the future. We’ve also found Cassius, though I wish we hadn’t.”
“Same. I just wanted to protect Fiona. I don’t want to get in the middle of fae politics, but he could help us. He might want to defend his family, even if he doesn’t know about them. We could use him.”
“We could,” Heath agreed again. “I guess we’ll find out when you talk to him.”
“I wish you were going to be there for it,” I admitted softly, leaning to put my head on his chest.
“Why?” he scoffed. “You know your way around the powerful. I’m not his equal the way you are—a child of powerful people expected to maintain something—I’m a werewolf Alpha who reported to a council, which reported to Callahan, even if he did sit on it with us. He only did that for appearances, to make us feel close to him, trust him more, and so, he could keep an eye on us to make sure we could never challenge him.” Heath shrugged this time. “I’m not Cassius’ equal, but you are. Royalty.” He pushed some of my messy hair from my face. “Why don’t we try to find the bathroom to clean you up?”
“Am I dirty?”
“I can still smell blood and silver,” he murmured, kissing my cheek. “I can’t do anything about the silver, but you can at least walk in there feeling a bit more confident, if not for you, then for me. I don’t want to send you to him looking vulnerable.”
“Would you make Landon clean up?” I carefully asked as he pulled away to grab my hand. I let him lead me to a few of the side doors, checking each one until we found the expansive bathroom. There was a door on the other side, which he checked as well. It was our second bedroom.
“Yes,” he finally answered as he started the shower, testing the temperature. “If I was sending him to see another werewolf, I would make sure he was the best I could make him. While he never got many, people did challenge him for his position in the pack. Landon never fit well with a large pack, and he had to fight. Even though he was my son, it didn’t make him untouchable, even if that was the perception. Over time, he was challenged less and less, but the threat was always there. So, if he was injured, I personally cleaned him up, making sure he would walk out looking less vulnerable. I never wanted there to be a day when my son didn’t come home to me.”
By the time he was done talking, I was stripped down and ready to get into the shower. When Heath didn’t leave as I got under the water, I realized he was treating me the same way he would Landon. He looked over my injuries, made sure the blood I couldn’t reach was well and truly washed. The touch was caring but not romantic, helpful but not overstepping.
“What’s next after the shower?” I asked, wrapping myself in a towel.
“Appearance,” he said softly, then a pained look passed over his face. “Emma wore what she called war makeup.”
I remembered Emma—half-witch, half-werewolf, able to use everything from both of her bloodlines. Or maybe she was like Subira, not half anything. Subira had been born a witch and been Changed. She was both. Emma may have been like that. Emma became power-hungry and had been so offended by Heath not giving her power, she had led a coup against him and Tywin to take the Dallas pack. She had taken both her husband and Richard, Heath’s oldest son, down that dark path.
None of them had survived it.
“Tell me,” I said softly in the silence Heath left behind.
“She said as a powerful woman, she had to work harder. It wasn’t so much throwing on a suit as I could, or Landon often did. She had to make sure everything was perfect because if she was even a little wrong, people would see her as less competent. Now, we don’t have any fine things for you to wear, but you can at least clean up.”
I nodded. He was right. I dried and left my hair down, something I didn’t often do. I normally kept it pulled back and out of my way. It was longer than I had remembered. The curls bounced at the bottom, but it was too long and heavy to be curly throughout. I washed my face, glad my skin was clear. I had bags under my eyes but didn’t have any makeup, so there was no hope for that. Plus, Cassius and Sorcha knew exactly what state I was in when we had been dragged through their doors. This was all purely to appease a werewolf who was so far out of his element, he was clinging to something he understood.
Heath was gone by the time I was done. I got dressed in the only set of clothes I had and went into the main bedroom to find him sitting on the edge of the bed.
“Better?” I asked, gesturing at myself as I walked into his view.
“Much,” he murmured, pulling me to stand between his legs. He wrapped his arms around my waist and put his face against my stomach. “Sorry if I seem pushy right now.”
“It’s been a long week,” I reminded him, playing with his hair.
“No…this. We’ve faced everything together. It was hard letting you deal with Price on your own, but I knew you had Hasan. If I’m ever not there to back you up, someone from your family is.” He gave some mix of a sigh and a growl. “But you have to talk to Cassius alone.”
“You’re just across the building,” I whispered.
“Across the building is too far,” he countered.
“He won’t kill me.”
“We don’t know that.”
No, we didn’t, but I didn’t tell him he was right. Cassius was the lord here, the ultimate power, and if I deeply offended him, he would have the justifiable right to kill me and send everyone with me out on their own or kill them as well. I didn’t know Cassius, didn’t know what he was like, and he was backed by a woman like Sorcha. Something about her screamed power, but not in the way of Brion or Cassius. They had both been brimming with power, which made them apparently deadly. Sorcha was nonchalant, casual, smiling, and charismatic, which made me wonder if she was the most powerful of the three of them. I had seen that act before. Many in my family were very good at it when they needed to turn it on.
We waited in silence, knowing the summons could come any minute. A soft knock on the door had me walking to it without thinking to stop. Heath followed me, having my back as I answered it, his body tense with held-back energy. He was ready to launch into a fight to defend me at any moment.
I was greeted by the man who had been riding with Sorcha with the hunting hounds.
“The lord and lady will see you now, Jacqueline, daughter of Hasan.”
19
Chapter Nineteen
I followed him in silence through the expansive mansion or castle…whatever it was
. Was there really that much of a difference between a castle and a mansion? I let it distract me because it was easier than thinking about the conversation I had to have.
We stopped at a set of double doors, which my escort knocked on three times. They opened on their own, and he led me into a large room with two desks on one end and a mini library or study on the other. The desks were clearly an office space, letting whoever sat there look out the large windows over the grounds. The library space on the other end seemed more relaxed, like where they would take a break between important meetings or hold serious discussions. They being the Lord and Lady of the land.
Cassius and Sorcha were in the library section, surrounded by books I felt more comfortable thinking of as tomes—big, leatherbound things, filling every space. The colors of the room were warm, warmer than both of the sidhe. The carpets were a deep red, the couches a cozy brown—I still hated brown, but they looked soft—and the matching throw pillows and blankets were in burnt orange. I stopped in front of a couch, both of the sidhe watching me enter.
“Lord, the midday meal will be arriving shortly,” my escort said, bowing. With a single nod from Cassius, he left us alone.
“Take a seat, Jacqueline,” Cassius ordered softly. He was seated as well, but Sorcha was behind his couch, keeping a hand on his shoulder. Their relationship seemed cold.
I sat down, trying to maintain my posture.
“Get comfortable,” he said, eyeing me.
I let my legs sprawl out and leaned back into the softness, which made me realize something was wrong.
“What?”
“Someone used a persuasion spell on you recently,” he said mildly. “I’m powerful enough to take advantage of it. Would you like me to clear you of the effects?”
“I knew about the spell, but I thought it had worn off or stopped working. I would be grateful if you removed it, but what would you like in return?”
“The whole truth about why someone would bespell you, then send you here,” he said simply. “The whole truth about those with you. The whole truth about the intentions of everyone in your little party.”
“I can give you that,” I said, nodding. “As much as I know, at least. I don’t know their minds.”
“Done.” He got up and walked across the space between us, then stared me down. When he touched my face, I felt the small magic finally leave my chest, but Cassius frowned. “I could remove that. You’ve been touched by fae magic before. I can’t remove all of it. Why can’t I remove all of it?”
“I have,” I confirmed. “And you weren’t supposed to try. That wasn’t the agreement.”
He gave me a sharp smile. “You’re right. It wasn’t the entire agreement. So, feel free to begin your story however you wish, daughter of Hasan.”
“Thank you, Prince Cassius.”
He stiffened, but he went back to his seat, keeping his eyes on me.
“I’ll start at the beginning. Nearly three years ago, I was called to Duty to protect Carey Everson, a human daughter of a werewolf Alpha, dealing with a coup in his pack.” Cassius seemed as though he was interested but didn’t interrupt. It probably wasn’t where he expected me to start the story of how I ended up in his domain, but he wanted the whole truth. I needed to tell him how I met Brin and what had been done for any of the rest of it to make sense. “I ended up having to take her on the run, and we found a motel and gas station run by a fae, his human wife, and their three sons.”
Cassius narrowed his eyes.
“An odd place to find a fae.”
“I thought so, too.”
“And? What type were they? I could see a goblin or a gremlin choosing that lifestyle.” He looked away thoughtfully, but I knew he wanted my answer quickly.
“They were sidhe, like you, though I didn’t know that term at the time,” I said. “Fiona, the human of my group, was the wife. Rian is the youngest of the sons.”
Cassius’ eyebrows went up. “So, about three years ago, you met them, and now you’re protecting her.”
I continued to explain Brin, the magic he’d done to me, and what happened after the full moon, how I had been shot several times, and that family saved my life.
“How did you get from there to protecting her now?”
“Back in April, I was dealing with some werewolf problems. I’m a werecat; it happens. Alvina was standing in as mediator to keep Hasan, my father, and Callahan happy. The werewolves learned of my ability to use something like pack magic and thought I might have stolen the ability from werewolves.”
Cassius was nodding. “Or that maybe your mother did and gave it to you,” he said softly. I was surprised. He gave me a rueful smile. “Subira is well known among those of us who have lived a very long time. I was around when the Tribunal was formed, and I know why she doesn’t sit next to her mate. Inconvenient, those rules about purebloods ruling. It’s the only assumption the werewolves would have about you having something like pack magic.”
“Well, Alvina went into my mind to gain proof that it had been a fae who did it to me, and…she discovered something…more.” I had already revealed to Fiona and Rian who Cassius was, but telling him was a scarier prospect. “She discovered who Brin was and told me.”
Cassius’ eyes narrowed. “I see.”
“He didn’t,” Sorcha spat. “That—”
“Brin is King Brion of the fae,” I declared, getting it over with. “Rian is your half-brother. Fiona is his current wife.”
“My father…” Cassius stood and walked to the large windows. “And now you’re here with them.”
“Well, you may know more than I would about how this happened. My family has been tracking some rumbling among the fae, but we decided not to get involved. On Saturday night, which was only last night for me, King Brion and Fiona showed up. He’s blackmailed me and Heath Everson into protecting Fiona, then Fiona called me to Duty, just to make sure it was official.”
“Archaic,” Sorcha hissed. “That lousy—”
“He’s still the king, Sorcha,” Cassius said, his words blank of emotion.
“We were attacked, and Rian was able to make a portal. He was trying to find his father or his brothers, and we ended up here, on your land. He found a…brother. During that attack, one of the assassins tried to persuade me to hand over Fiona. Because he’s an Alpha, Heath was able to break it and get me moving through the portal.”
“The magic I can’t remove from you is my father’s,” Cassius said, nodding, but he didn’t turn back to me. “Well, it seems you did have something I needed to know.”
“Fuck him,” Sorcha growled, and I saw a flash of inhuman teeth. “He walked out. He left. Fuck him and the horse he’s riding back in on. He gave up the throne and expected you to break your back to keep everything perfect for his return.”
“Darling…” Cassius turned to her. “I know.”
“We made a promise,” she hissed. “We made a promise that we were done. We were going to hide out here to protect our friends from this and never get involved with the mess your father turned the family into.”
“I know,” he murmured, reaching out to her as he crossed the space.
I had thought they had a cold relationship, but I was very wrong. The tenderness in his touch, her fierce protectiveness of him—they were in love. They were a beautiful couple who would go to the ends of the earth for each other. It was clear in the way they held each other for a moment, his hands on her face, his eyes locked on hers, her hands on his hips, holding him so he couldn’t walk away from her.
“He hurt you, and for that, I will never forgive him,” Sorcha whispered.
“We weren’t even together when it happened,” he countered with a smile.
“That doesn’t mean I can’t hold him accountable. I’m one of three who can.” Then she eyed me. “You have brothers again and don’t believe they deserve to be abandoned to his schemes. That’s what you’re thinking, isn’t it?”
“Yes, it is,” Cassius declared
, releasing her and going back to his cool, professional persona. “Rian, the youngest, is he a good man?”
“He’s protective of his mother, and his magic is a bit out of control from my understanding. I don’t have a reason to dislike him,” I said.
Cassius nodded slowly. “Let’s eat and talk about what happens next. We’ll tell you about our place in the current goings-on with our people. You have been pulled in and made a pawn by my father. He likes to do that to people he thinks will be useful. He’s also capable of lying, so anything he said to you could have been a clever misdirection to keep you from his true motives. We’ll discuss it all, and I’ll find a way to…get you out of this alive. The last thing we need to do is enrage Hasan.” He sat back down, and this time, Sorcha sat with him. He was the one who started pouring tea for us and dividing the sandwiches. He was the one who handed me my plate as he gave me a tired smile. “What’s the blackmail?”
“Sorcha figured it out,” I said, nodding to his wife. “I’m a werecat. My lover is a werewolf. He’s here with me. Heath Everson.”
Cassius winced. “And your position would make that a dreadful revelation. You run the risk of your lover dying to your family or your family casting you out. The werewolves might react violently as well.”
“It’s like Romeo and Juliet,” Sorcha said with a teasing smile. “We’re going to help them, then? Even though it’s your father?”
“Especially because it’s my father,” he replied. “If it were just him and Oisin, I would let them battle it out. That was my intention. My father would win, and things would be better for the fae. I wouldn’t have to get involved, and he would smartly leave me alone now that I’m married to you. But he’s dragging in other supernatural species, and…and I have brothers.” He looked away, his gaze distant. “Rian…the youngest of three. I know how it is to be the most powerful and also the one who is out of control. He’ll be the one our father hurts the most before this is over.”