by K. N. Banet
“Okay.”
Cassius shoved the doors open and walked through, Fiona following.
33
Chapter Thirty-Three
I sent a desperate look at Heath, who returned a resolved one, his ice-blue eyes telling me everything I needed to know about what he was thinking. He was ready. I wasn’t sure if I was but didn’t have much choice in the matter. We swore to protect Fiona, and she was out there, heading to her husband’s side.
We went out together, moving quickly to get to Fiona’s side. We tried not to crowd her, but our positioning was clear—we were there to protect her, and if anyone wanted to touch her, they had to go through us. When she reached Brion’s side, Heath and I stood behind her.
Finally finding the courage to scan the crowds, I saw the seating area someone had set up. Alvina stood in front of it, and behind her was only a handful of tables. I saw the vampires and the witches first, both covered in a deep shade. Then I saw Callahan and Corissa, who looked curiously at Heath and me. I had no idea if they recognized Heath’s werewolf form or could smell him over the distance.
My father sat alone, and the look on his face could only be described as furious.
“Today—”
“Hold,” he said, his bright gold eyes on me. He was one of the family I perfectly matched when it came to our werecat eye color. The gold glowed in the shade and reflected the sun as he stood.
“Hasan—”
“Hold,” he snarled at Alvina.
“She was called to Duty to protect Fiona, Brion’s very human wife,” Alvina snapped. “That’s all.”
I watched his muscles ripple as he tried to stretch them. Hasan was an intimidating man who made no effort to be anything else. Even when he doted on his children and was loving to his wife, he was intimidating. His nostrils flared as he glared at me. He knew I had kept secrets from him. I didn’t know what he was most angry about, but a combination of things would be running through his mind. Not only had I kept another secret from him, but it had once again led me into danger. Danger he couldn’t help me with, nor could my siblings since none of them were in attendance. I was certain if he had known I would be there, he would have brought at least two of them, Hisao and Jabari being the obvious choices.
Instead, he was standing there alone, and if he tried anything, it would start a fight.
We both knew there was nothing he could do.
“We’ll speak later,” I promised him from across the courtyard.
“Yes, we will, daughter.”
People gasped, looking frantically between us.
“I do apologize, old friend,” Brion said, extending his hands in apology. “I needed a werecat, and I had already prepared one for the task. I only learned she was your daughter later. She didn’t know who I was until recently. Smell and know I speak the truth to you. It was never my intention to bring pain to your family.”
I could smell the truth, but it didn’t stop the growl from coming out of my throat in frustration and anger, and it didn’t stop Hasan’s snarl. He stomped back to his seat.
“Now, I will continue,” Alvina said, looking between the two men, then back to the crowds on the other side of the courtyard.
“Today, we bear witness to a duel between the old king, Brion, and our current king, His Majesty Oisin of the fae realms and member of the Tribunal. The terms of this duel are as follows…”
I knew Alvina didn’t like duels, she had said as much once before, and now I could see it hadn’t been an act the day Price challenged me to one. She was still disgusted by the events around her, but she was swallowing that disgust to make sure a better king was on the throne, the king she wanted to rule with.
The rules were simple. The duel was to yield or death, with the winner deciding if a surrender was valid or not. Magic and weapons of any kind were allowed. Outside interfering was not. The duel was to be contained in the courtyard. Whoever breached that border first was to be held as a cheater. Cheaters would be swiftly dealt with.
“Now, allow me to introduce the king of the fae, Oisin,” she finished, throwing a hand to another set of doors leading into the courtyard.
Oisin came with an entourage. He didn’t look like his siblings, but then, I was growing used to that. Each of them, as Cassius had just told me, was unique. Where Brion had bright red hair, and Alvina sported thick blonde waves, Oisin’s hair was a strange shade of dark green, and his eyes were grass green. If I was looking for an idea about his magic, I would have guessed he could do things with plants. He wore white and silver, which I could only assume were the colors of his house or the throne.
His entourage spread out around him, protecting his back. There was something organized about them that made me feel like our group was a bit ragtag and looking at us, we were. Sorcha and Cassius were standing off to the side, Sorcha looking annoyed with something as she stared at the crowd of nobles and other fae gathered. Fiona was human and dressed like it. Heath and I weren’t even fae.
“Brother, I’ll give you the option to surrender now,” Oisin said with a smile as he entered the center of the courtyard. “Before we meet for this duel.”
“You’ve sent assassins for my wife and for me. If surrender had worked, you would have asked for it. Instead, you tried to kill me,” Brion retorted. “Don’t play the games I invented and have always beaten you when we played against each other before. You should be the one putting the crown down and allowing me back into my position.”
“You didn’t want it. Your failure of a son didn’t want it. Someone had to rule.”
“Then there’s nothing more to say.” Brion stepped into whatever invisible circle had been created. “It never had to be like this.”
“It’s always been coming to this. Did you really think you could just come back and take your throne?”
“If you hadn’t tried to kill me, there was a chance I would have left you to it.”
“I had to eliminate a threat. Certainly, you understand. Alvina wanted you back here. She’s made that clear. I had to stop her from making any progress.”
Brion shook his head sadly. “And to think, I once thought you would have been a fine heir. Power has corrupted you.”
“I am the true king.”
“Not while I’m alive. You are keeping my chair warm and from what I hear, doing a terrible job of it.”
“Then it’s a good thing you’ll die today. You won’t have to hear anything more.”
They both drew their swords.
“Commence with the duel!” Alvina yelled over the crowd growing loud.
I flinched the moment their swords clashed. Even from a distance, I could smell the silver, the metal of choice for the fae, who couldn’t touch iron or any of its varieties.
It started off with swordplay, Brion and Oisin engaging in a fight of footwork and who had the longer reach. I moved closer to Heath instinctively, wondering when the real trouble would start. It was bound to come. There was bound to be a moment when this got out of control.
The duel continued, and eventually, it seemed as if the crowd was growing bored. Swords clashing, the fate of the throne on the line, the future of the fae decided by this clash of two great powers in their world, and people were beginning to find their seats, ordering drinks, and talking.
“What is going on?” I asked softly, watching them in confusion.
“The duel can take some time while they’re only using swords. They’re testing each other, playing a battle of wills right now. My father is using this opening as a chance to warm up. It’s not a real fight yet,” Cassius explained, moving closer to me. He ignored his brothers and his stepmother, keeping his unreal blue eyes on me. “The crowd wants to get to the good part. They want answers, but they’re above showing their anxiety in this environment. So, they’ll lean heavily in the other direction and pretend they don’t care.”
“Once first blood is drawn, it will move faster,” Sorcha said lightly, staying at her husband’s side.
“Nothing is ever straight with the fae, is it?” I asked, crossing my arms in annoyance. “I mean, you two are fine. You haven’t done anything crazy yet, but everyone else...”
“We’ve tried to be less of a stereotype,” Cassius said, nodding. “We spend a lot of time with straight-talking people.”
“We tease and mess around with those straight-talking people, but it’s safer not to play those games. We’re powerful enough to put a stop to them at our door or not engage in public when we’re not in the mood,” Sorcha added.
“You mess around and tease them while I stay on their good sides. I have a reputation to keep.” It didn’t seem Cassius was all that serious.
I let the conversation die and went back to watching my father in the courtyard’s shaded sitting area. Someone had brought him a glass of wine, but it sat ignored. He didn’t watch the duel. He watched me. The anger was still there, but that wasn’t the part of his expression that worried me. He was thoughtful, trying to put the pieces together. He wanted to figure out how I got here. Brion had given him a vague but truthful answer, but Hasan would easily put the pieces together.
He looked ten years older, his brow wrinkled as he stared at me. He raised a brow when he realized I was watching him in return, and my face flushed. I couldn’t hear when he said something, his lips moving, but I couldn’t read them.
Callahan’s growl could be heard across the courtyard, though, so it had been something offensive to the werewolf or about werewolves in general.
“Ah, Hasan continues finding ways to make Callahan angry,” Cassius said softly.
“I wonder what he said,” I mumbled, knowing no one could really answer me.
“Probably something offensive. Your father knows how to push that werewolf’s buttons, and Callahan always takes the bait.” Cassius shrugged. “I’ve been watching their exchanges for centuries.”
I had heard some of the verbal barbs my werecat father liked to throw at Callahan. It wasn’t a side of Hasan the family dealt with—Hasan, loving most of the time and stern when he needed to be. Tribunal Hasan was superior in every way to his counterparts, and he made sure they knew that. His confidence around them was damn near offensive, and he had a particular knack for pissing off the werewolf Alpha.
I couldn’t do much about Hasan right then, so I turned away from him and went back to watching the duel. Brion and Oisin were still just playing around from the looks of it.
“When do you think Oisin will strike?” I asked.
“The moment he realizes he’s going to lose,” Cassius answered.
I crossed my arms and stepped closer to Fiona, who shot me a dirty look.
“You all talk so casually. Can you remain focused on the task at hand? Brion might get killed out there,” she snapped.
“My father doesn’t know how to die,” Cassius whispered.
“He only knows how to get everyone else killed,” Sorcha muttered bitterly.
A hush came over the crowd, but the duel remained unchanged. I frowned, but Cassius’ curse made me jump. Heath leaned into me, and I gently touched his thick fur, hoping his body blocked the action from Hasan’s gaze.
“Who invited them?” the prince growled.
“Who?” I couldn’t find any newcomers. Cassius pointed to the far end of the courtyard, and I finally saw them.
“The redcaps,” he said softly.
They came in a small group of four, walking up behind Oisin’s entourage. Redcaps. I searched my limited fae knowledge base for where I had heard the name before.
“The ones who dip their hats in blood?” I asked after a moment.
“It started with a single goblin,” Sorcha said softly. “And soon his sons became an entire people, unique from the goblins, more like cousins. When they get their first kill, they cover their hats in the blood of the person they defeated or dunk their entire heads if they’ve misplaced their hat, which is rare. It’s said they gain power from the blood of the foes they defeat in battle. If they’re here, they’re expecting to kill someone.”
“Or many someones,” Cassius said severely. “Opportunistic or hired, that’s the important question.”
“They could be acting alone,” Sorcha agreed. “Kill the weakened winner of the duel, take control of the fae realms. That makes them dangerous to everyone here. If they were hired, promised a position among the courts, only Oisin could have done it. It could be a combination of both. They might be earlier than intended, revealing his hand too soon and trying to cause a disturbance.”
“Keep Fiona glued to your side,” Cassius ordered me. “Don’t let her out of your sight.”
“Wasn’t planning on it,” I growled, not annoyed with him but anxious about the development currently unfolding.
He moved away, heading around the group. Sorcha followed him. Alvina didn’t try to stop them as they passed, heading directly for the redcaps. Brion and Oisin even threw glances their way while continuing their duel.
Before Cassius and Sorcha made it to Oisin’s entourage, one of the redcaps reached out and grabbed one of the sidhe, smiling in Cassius’ direction, and before anyone could try to stop him, he ripped the sidhe’s head off and laughed as people began to scream.
34
Chapter Thirty-Four
“Fuck!” I snapped, grabbing Fiona. “Come on. We need to back off and take a more defensible position.”
She stood there, her mouth agape as one of her sons grabbed her other arm.
“Mother, let’s go.” He helped me drag her away. It wasn’t terribly difficult, but I was used to holding back when I was holding onto a human. We backed away from the circle around Brion’s duel with Oisin. Chaos was breaking out quickly. Someone died in the crowd, and blood poured onto the courtyard far from where the redcaps were. Screams were drowning out the sounds of steel clashing but only barely. More people drew their weapons every step I took.
Across the courtyard, Cassius and Sorcha both had their weapons drawn, and two of the redcaps were running for them.
Heath put his massive body between Fiona and the war breaking out in front of us, using it to push us farther back. The courtyard was large enough to have hedge walls and hidden pathways, but I hadn’t been given a chance to explore the area before the duel. Fiona hadn’t even given me the chance to ask because she’d needed time to be alone. I regretted letting her take it, because now I needed to find a way to get her out of this.
I didn’t have much of a chance to say anything. Holding her elbow, I yanked her into my side, no longer caring that I could bruise her with a simple touch if I wasn’t careful. Right as I did, two sidhe popped into existence near us. One lunged for her, and I jumped out of the way, taking her with me. The other went for Fergus, who screamed as a dagger sliced over his chest. Eamon roared and barreled into the sidhe assassin. They tumbled to the ground in a bloody struggle over the dagger.
I shoved Fiona behind me as Heath jumped into action, grabbing the arm of the assassin who had gone for Fiona. I heard bones break as he shook his head and dragged her away. Pink hair whipped around as she screamed in pain and struggled.
“We need to run,” I said to my charge. Fiona made no move, only staring in horror. “Fiona, look at me. We need to—”
Something slammed into me, and I went sliding on the paved ground of the courtyard. The stone was rough, burning my arm and cheek as I continued to slide into a small stone wall. It wasn’t until I was stopped that I could hear Fiona screaming. I pushed myself up; blocking my view of her was an unknown, large body. At my eyeline, I could only see his chest. I looked up slowly, horror dawning on me as I finally reached his face. He was probably over seven feet tall and weighed three or four of me.
I jumped out of his reach, and another fierce beast joined the fight. The massive giant was taken to the ground by a snarling feline I knew weighed somewhere over nine hundred pounds. Unnaturally massive, Hasan was the peak of what a werecat could be, the largest one I had ever seen. Only Jabari compared to
him in size.
I didn’t have time to say thank you. As Heath continued to tear up the other assassin and the brothers fought the one who had attacked them, I ran for Fiona. Hasan could keep up with that giant. I trusted there was nothing the fae could throw at him that could stop him. As Brion said, my father was too stubborn and too old to die for any fight but his own.
“Fiona!” I screamed as I grabbed her. “We need to find shelter. I need to hide you. I can’t defend you out here.”
She gave me a shell-shocked look. I picked her up, unable to spare the time to snap her out of it. Not everyone was made for excessive violence, and the first time someone encountered it was always hard.
She felt so light to me as I ran with her, heading for the closest door I could find. As I reached it, I was grateful to see Heath was right behind me. With one arm wrapped around Fiona, I opened the door and let Heath run in to check. When I heard no sounds of fighting, I followed him.
“Use your nose!” I called out. “Find us somewhere to hide. Find…find Leith! He might know the servants’ passages, which could give us the shelter we need.”
Heath huffed in response and started searching.
“Leith!” I screamed. “We need you!”
No one showed up, and I was wary of going deeper into the palace. I entered the first room I could find and locked the door once Heath was inside.
“Fuck,” I said, leaning my head on the door as I tried to breathe. “What am I going to do? What happens if our side loses out there?”
Heath had nothing to say, but that didn’t surprise me. He was silenced, thanks to our idea. Real werewolf pack magic didn’t allow for contact to those not in their Changed forms. I moved away from the door and started pushing the furniture I could find to block it. First, I went for tables around the room, which were easier to move, then chairs. Heath herded Fiona to sit on a couch.