Royal Pawn (Jacky Leon Book 6)

by K. N. Banet

  “And Hasan…Damn it. What was that guy? A giant? Hasan can deal with it. If he gets hurt, though, it’s going to be my fault…” I slammed my hand into the stone wall and cracked it.

  “That werecat, he’s your father?” Fiona whispered.

  “Yup. Member of the Tribunal, leader of the werecats,” I said, pushing hair out of my face. “He’s here to witness the duel because whoever wins takes the seat on the Tribunal. Brion is one of the founding members. Oisin took the position when Brion disappeared with you. We’re not just fighting over the fae throne, Fiona. The Tribunal rules most, if not all, the supernaturals in the world. They wrote the Law.”

  Fiona nodded, her expression hollow. “And those…redcaps…”

  “I don’t know. I don’t know why they’re here, but the first kill they made set everything off.” I ran my hand through my hair, looking for a window, but there weren’t any. “I don’t think they were the only ones doing the killing.”

  Heath nodded his head and huffed.

  “Yeah, glad you agree,” I mumbled, looking at him and his ice-blue eyes. He was a beautiful and exceptionally massive wolf, like a timber wolf sized up. If I was guessing, he probably weighed in at over three hundred and fifty pounds but knew it was possible I was way off. His feet looked as if they could crush my head with ease. His mouth opened, revealing a set of teeth even I had to respect, and I was a saber-toothed feline.

  But he didn’t scare me at all.

  “We need to sit down and have a long conversation about this growing thing,” I said to him softly, reaching out to scratch him behind his ears. He leaned into my touch. I didn’t spend much time with Heath in his wolf form unless it was a full moon when I was always a massive cat. Neither of us liked hanging out in the forms given to us by our curse, not for very long. I sometimes strolled around my territory when I really needed to stretch my legs or felt the need to patrol it, but I found more fun and love in the human side of my life now. Heath rarely went into his wolf form unless he intended to fight or hunt, neither of which happened often.

  He tilted his head and sat down. For a moment, we took a breather. We’d gotten out of the madhouse. It would take someone time to find us in the palace, even though we were relatively close to the courtyard. The route I had taken was simple enough to remember how to get back outside.

  I looked at Fiona and saw tears streaming down her face. She was completely silent, and it broke my heart.

  “Hey,” I whispered, moving to her. I sat down slowly, trying not to shock her. “Come here,” I murmured, pulling her to me.

  “My boys,” she sobbed. “They’re out there fighting, and I’m in here doing nothing.”

  “There’s…Fiona, there’s not much you can do except stay safe. With you secure, they’ll be able to focus on their own survival.”

  “I’m their mother, and I let you run away with me. I should be out there!” Fiona curled into a ball, but she didn’t struggle against my hold. “I let this be brought on them! I should have fought with Brion to leave them with Rian. They’re good boys!”

  “They are.” I rubbed her back. “I know.” I didn’t know either of the older sons, but she couldn’t smell a lie, and platitudes would help me more than brutal honesty. “I left my father out there. My father, who didn’t even know I was involved in this. I understand.”

  She hiccupped and got up from the couch. I could have held her, but I didn’t.

  “Your father. You don’t look like him at all. Those boys are my flesh and blood. I carried them for nine months and birthed them. You don’t understand.”

  “Do you always attack other people when things don’t go your way?” I asked, crossing my arms. “If you ever question my relation to my father in front of him, not even your husband will be able to save you. I am his daughter. He gave me the life I have now. He Changed me into a werecat, and that’s all that matters. He became my father that day, and he will be my father for the rest of eternity.”

  Heath growled softly, but when I looked at him, he was staring at the door.

  “Do you hear something?” I asked softly, dropping down to a whisper.

  He whined and moved closer to the door. I inhaled deeply and realized the magic that permeated the place was different. Something about it was alive, rich, and active. Someone was using magic near us.

  “Heath, get away from the door,” I ordered.

  He didn’t listen, moving and whining. I watched him carefully and noticed how every step was a struggle for him and a shake taking over his entire body.

  I ran for him, grabbing him to pull him back from the door.

  “Don’t move,” someone hissed. I couldn’t identify where the noise came from, but fear gripped me as I froze.

  Slowly, a fae walked out of a deep shadow in the corner of the room. She extended a hand and helped another come out of the darkness. The shadows clung to them as if they were physical cloaks on the shoulders of these fae. As they moved into the center of the room, one looked at Fiona, and the other looked at me. Mine was a black-haired beauty with a cruel smile.

  “Beasts are so easy to control,” she said softly, touching my cheek. “So, so easy for the fae to control, at least. I’ve never had an Alpha werewolf as a pet before, though. Or a werecat.” Her fingers curled, and her nails bit into my soft cheeks. I felt the bite of them, and blood began to run down my jaw. “Unblock the door,” she ordered.

  I couldn’t stop myself. My feet began to move, and I pulled away the furniture I had carefully used to barricade the door, throwing it to the side with ease. Once it was clear, the door swung open, and two more fae joined the party.

  “Fiona,” one greeted softly. He smiled gently, passing me without a glance. Magic poured off him in waves, flooding my sense of smell.

  “Lie down,” the raven-haired fae snapped at Heath, who fell to his belly, whining and growling without pause. I knew he hated this.

  “Do I know you?” Fiona demanded, looking at the fae who had gotten too close to her. I struggled to find the strength to move to her side, and I couldn’t reach it, couldn’t move my feet, could barely breathe. Fiona smartly moved to put the couch between her and the intruders.

  “You don’t know any of us,” the new man said as he walked through the room to her. “But we’re friends. We’re here to help you get out of this mess and keep your family.”

  “What do you mean?” she asked frantically, and I saw the disastrous hope in her eyes.

  No, Fiona. This can only be a trick. I know you’re scared of losing Brion and your sons, but this is a trick. Don’t try to use it. Please.

  “We heard you earlier in the gardens with your guards,” he said, casting one glance back at Heath and me before turning his full attention on her. For that split second, I felt the full weight of his stare, the power in it. Even a moment of eye contact was enough to relax me for a second, thinking everything was okay.

  He turned that power on Fiona, and her shoulders relaxed, and her eyes grew misty.

  “Yes. If he reclaims the throne, I won’t be able to be his wife anymore, will I?”

  “No, you won’t,” the fae said sadly, pitifully, so sad for her, but it wasn’t genuine. I knew it wasn’t genuine. “But there is a way to stop the duel, stop the fighting, so you may leave with me and live your happily ever after.”

  “Tell me. I’ll do anything for my family. Please!” Fiona leaned forward.

  “Come with me,” he said softly, extending his hand.

  I watched in horror as the one person I had to protect took that treacherous offer and walked out with him and two of the others, leaving Heath and me with the black-haired fae who had control over us.

  “Little idiot,” she said, laughing as she shut the door. She smiled at me, then Heath. “Now it’s time to break you two, so I can keep you. Payment, you see, for helping them with this. I hope you don’t mind. I’m a beastmaster. The animals of the world do as I say and join my menagerie. You’ll be well taken care of, o
f course. You’ll be the perfect warriors of my home.”

  35

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  I stood, horror filling me with every breath as she sat down.

  “See, normally animals adore me, but you moon cursed are too human. You.” She pointed at me. “Change. That’s the only reason it took so long for me to gain control of you. I already have enough to deal with trying to tame an Alpha werewolf. I don’t need your human side fighting me at every turn.”

  I fought it. I truly did. I didn’t want to be owned and kept. I wanted to go home, to feel my own earth under my feet. I wanted Carey, Dirk, Oliver, and Landon to be in my life every day. I couldn’t get myself trapped in the fae realms. I couldn’t.

  I stripped, dropping my clothes to the ground. I saw an ugly pleasure in the fae’s eyes as I revealed myself. She stood and came to inspect me as I moved as slowly as I could to undress.

  “Slightly scarred,” she murmured, her fingers daring to touch my skin. Heath snarled, but she ignored him. “That’s okay. It’ll only help me use you to intimidate my enemies. The Wild Hunt is infamous for their werewolves. Now, I shall be infamous for my matching moon cursed set.”

  I whimpered as I finished undressing, and the Change began, breaking my bones one by one, moving them under my skin. I never fought the Change before, rushing through it, letting the explosive pain run over me and end quickly. Today, I fought, dragging it out, fighting the call of my other half. What normally took less than a minute, I was able to drag out to nearly five minutes and counting, still not even halfway through it.

  I was buying time. I knew I couldn’t fight forever, not without killing myself or worse, losing control completely. The pain was blinding and unbearable, but I knew pain was better than anything waiting for me on the other side.

  “J…Jac…”

  I heard Heath trying to connect his mind with mine, but I ignored it.

  Then I heard a roar that shook my broken bones.

  I couldn’t see what happened, but something warm hit my skin. I could smell the blood, then a large body bumped into mine as something in my mind fell away.

  I pushed through the Change and looked up, panting to see my father standing over me.

  “Thank you,” I said to him, grateful.

  He snarled and began to Change back. It was stupid of me, but I joined him. Heath didn’t try to Change back, already sniffing around us, probably looking for a trail we could follow. Hasan beat me to our human forms by a minute. The excruciating ordeal was slow for me this time because I had put myself through the punishment too soon.

  “Jacqueline,” he said darkly.

  “Can’t…can’t talk right now,” I said, panting as I groped for my clothing. “They have Fiona. They tricked her. They told her they had a way she could stop this. She left with them.”

  “Fucking idiotic humans,” he snarled, grabbing me off the floor. He helped me find my clothing and even dressed me. “When this is over, you will explain to me what the hell you think you’re doing here…and why Heath Everson is with you.”

  I didn’t have time to be shocked by his acknowledgment of my werewolf.

  “We need to live through this first, but the short version is that we were blackmailed. He wanted both of us, so he blackmailed us,” I said. Once I was fit to be seen, I started running, letting Hasan live with that piece of information. Heath was already a dozen or more feet ahead of us, trotting as he followed the scent. I could pick Fiona out of scents of the fae. As a human, she was the easiest to identify.

  We rushed into the Courtyard, finding the chaos and devastation had only grown since I had gotten Fiona out of it. Only one section of it was free of blood, which was where the Tribunal sat. Both of the witches were on their feet, their hands high. I saw their mouths moving in a chant or spell. Whatever they were doing was keeping the others of the Tribunal safe. Callahan and Corissa were still seated, watching everything unfold in mild shock and amusement. The vampires looked hungry, their eyes blood red, but they were still in their seats.

  I couldn’t find Fiona at all and had to keep searching, but first, I had to get rid of Hasan.

  “Hasan, you have to go back to the Tribunal seating and stay there,” I ordered, pointing at it. He grabbed the back of my neck and snarled.

  “And let you fight the fae alone? Do you think I’ve lost my mind, daughter? Do you think I’m willing to watch you die when I can stop all of this right now by killing one of those two?” he pointed at Brion and Oisin. “Earlier today, I would have said Oisin, but maybe both of them can die. Brion knew better than to test thousands of years of friendship by involving one of my children in his schemes.”

  “This is why you can’t get involved. You’ll break the Tribunal. This is why I didn’t say anything. If you break the Tribunal, it’ll be war within the decade, and you know it! Do this for me. No, not just for me but for every werecat out there relying on you to keep the relationships between us and the werewolves stable. They’ll be the ones lost if you get involved beyond helping me.”

  He released me, his expression dark.

  “You sound like your sister,” he snapped. “Everyone around us is dying, and Zuri wants to talk about the politics of their deaths.”

  “Then I learned from the best,” I snapped. “Stand aside, Father. You have no other choice. You have to trust me. We need to find Fiona.”

  He stepped back, and I took that as a good sign and turned to Heath, only to see him running. I chased after him, trying to find his target. He leapt and hit a fae nearly ten feet away. The fae’s head crashed into the stone, killing him instantly. Sorcha turned and smiled.

  “Thanks for the save!” she said, but she was desperately pale, and blood covered her armor.

  “Are you going to be okay?” I asked. There was a blue tint to her lips I had never seen, she was breathing too hard, and her hands were shaking.

  She nodded quickly before turning to kick away someone and stabbed them without much effort, but she was slower than I was and lacked grace.

  “I was hit with an arrow earlier. I pulled it out, but there’s no time to find a healer to handle it. I’ll be fine,” she promised. “I just need to find my husband. He was dueling a redcap, and I haven’t seen him. What are you two doing?”

  “Looking for Fiona. She…”

  “No…” Sorcha looked stunned for a second. “How did they get her away from you? You know what? Tell me when this is over. There’s no time. They’ll use her. I haven’t seen her boys since the beginning of this either. Go. Go find her!” She waved us off and started running, probably hunting for Cassius.

  “Heath, can you catch her scent?” I asked, looking down at him. We were standing in the middle of a war, fae turning against fae, but we had a moment to breathe. He sniffed the air and shook his head.

  “Damn,” I muttered. Whatever those fae were planning was probably going to happen.

  Then a terrible scream cut over the sounds of fighting, and I turned.

  Cassius stood over the body of a redcap, roaring in fury as he brought his sword down into the goblin’s chest. Sorcha laid to the side, her hand over a new injury her chainmail hadn’t been able to stop. She was bleeding out, far too quickly for anyone to do anything. I ran for her, grabbing a fae I didn’t know and tossing her aside. Heath jumped on another, trying to attack Cassius as he fell to his wife’s side.

  “Sorcha,” he moaned as I grew close.

  “The arrow was poisoned,” she whispered to him. “I was already…d-d-dying. I wasn’t going to let them take you, too.” She reached up and touched his cheek. “I couldn’t let that happen. I couldn’t…” Her hand dropped, and Cassius screamed, pulling her to him. Her body was limp in his arms, but her blood was still pouring onto the stone.

  “I need a healer!” he roared. “Now!”

  For a moment, a hush fell over the fighting as everyone turned to Cassius and his lost wife. I looked over the chaos to see both Brion and Oisin looking horrifie
d.

  Cassius clung to his wife as the ground started to shake, and cracks began to break through the stone.

  No healer came through the crowd.

  “A healer!” I screamed. “Find one!”

  Heath howled, piercing the silence. A woman came running through the crowd and fell to her knees at Sorcha’s side. Cassius glared at her for a moment, then let her touch Sorcha.

  “I…I can’t…heal this,” she whispered as she surveyed the damage. “The body I can fix but…the poison. It’s Titania’s Bane. There’s no cure. Prince…I’m so…I’m so sorry.”

  Cassius broke, weeping over the body.

  “Brother…you know I would never…” Oisin reached out to Brion, who slapped his hand away. Fury passed over Oisin’s face at Brion’s immediate dismissal.

  “I know you have tricks. One of your people has killed the greatest treasure our parents have ever given our people,” Brion snarled in fury. “You will answer for it.”

  “Fine. Let’s end this, then, shall we? Bring forth the prisoners!”

  I felt my jaw drop as three fae popped into existence, one roughly holding Fiona, who looked terrified.

  “You have a choice, Brion. You can have your wife, or you can have the throne. You do not get both.”

  “Love—”

  Fiona didn’t get a chance to plead her case or say anything except that one word. Brion didn’t get the opportunity to even consider his options.

  An arrow flew, right after the first word was said, and buried itself in Fiona’s heart.

  I had lost a charge, and now, a callous fae was dropping her dead body to the ground in surprise.

  Brion roared, and power sent everyone except Oisin flying back. I hit a stone wall and groaned in pain. Blinking several times, I watched as Brion called upon the very plant life in the courtyard to hold his brother.

  Brion was still screaming as he beheaded Oisin, and the king’s head rolled.