The Day Human King

by B. Kristin McMichael

  ‘What if it isn’t the same poison?’ Nessa asked. It could have just been a coincidence that they were all poisoned on the same day. While unlikely, hers could have been different. They had no way to know.

  Devin stared down at the dead body; Nessa had made a good point.

  “What are they doing?” Devin asked both Nessa and Owen. The robed men had moved on in their preparations, and a faint spell had been cast above the dead man’s feet.

  “They are enchanting his body to make it last for one year to put in the crypt. We celebrate the death of a sidhe with an after year of viewing and remembering. They make it so he doesn’t decay as he lies in the crypt,” Nessa explained. She had shown Devin the crypt extensively, but she wasn’t sure why it was relevant now.

  ‘Make them stop,’ Devin ordered as he stooped down next to the upper half of Bray’s body.

  Nessa wanted to snap at him that she wasn’t his secretary, but his tone of voice told her that she shouldn’t. She didn’t understand, but listened to Devin anyway. “Stop now,” Nessa said, commanding the men to stop.

  Owen began to protest before noticing Devin by his grandfather’s head, and he immediately positioned himself to take his grandfather away from Devin.

  “Don’t touch him, day human.” Owen snarled, moving to attack Devin. However, Devin didn’t even flinch as he continued to check the man for poison.

  ‘The poison is stuck where they already preserved him for his after year. I won’t be able to get it out if they continue,’ Devin told Nessa. Her anger at his direct commands lessened as he explained. Nessa had been trying to give Devin more of a chance since she found out he actually loved her, but it was hard. Everything inside of her told her to fight back when he was brash. ‘I think there’s enough not fixed to get a sample. It might be small, but you’re right. We do need to see if it’s the same poison. We need to know if this is just one group or if there are others also acting with poison.’

  That made sense. Even Nessa was unsure how the sidhe would react to not being able to use assassins. Would they all turn to poison, since Devin had banned the assassins? They needed the poison to examine it, and Owen needed to back off. Nessa prepared herself to fight if Owen tried anything.

  Owen jumped at Devin as he conversed silently with Nessa, and she leapt at the approaching sidhe. She defensively stood in front of Devin, and waited for the fury of the younger O’Ryan. Owen wasn’t going to attack Devin while he worked. Nessa would be sure of that. She may not have liked Devin’s tone in ordering her around, but he was still her bonded human. Nessa glared at Owen, waiting for him to move, but nothing came. As Owen jumped, he seemed to bounce right off an invisible shield which was surrounding Devin and Nessa. Owen hit the floor with a crash and Nessa stood back up.

  ‘What is that?’ Nessa asked Devin. She didn’t feel anything around them.

  ‘Protection,’ Devin replied, standing with a small bubble of poison above his hand. “They may finish now,” Devin told Nessa.

  Nessa nodded to the men who were waiting and watching the scene. No matter what Owen said or did, Nessa was their future queen, and they were not going to move without Nessa’s orders. Owen stood up from where he landed on the floor ungracefully.

  “What is that?” Owen asked, pointing to Devin’s hand and accusing Devin with his eyes of doing something evil to his dead grandfather.

  “The poison,” Nessa replied, rolling her own eyes at Owen. He was just trying to pick a fight. Owen was the prime example why Nessa couldn’t stand most of the elite sidhe; they were all like him. “And now we just need to find out who sent it to you.”

  Although Nessa didn’t need to explain more, she was upset that the sidhe thought that by being an outsider Devin was doing something bad or evil. Devin was the only one in the palace, beyond her own cousins, that had no agenda to sabotage a single person. Even after Maureen, one of the elders, sent her son after Nessa, Devin wasn’t looking for revenge.

  Owen stayed by his grandfather’s body as he glared at Devin. Nessa was unsure what the glare was for, but guessed that he didn’t like being bested by an invisible shield. Nessa had to try to keep a serious face. She had no idea why the sidhe kept underestimating Devin even after he received her grandfather’s powers. Their attempts were fruitless even before he had them. They stood no chance now.

  “There’s only one place to look,” Owen said, very sure of himself and his assessment. “The Millers did this.” Owen stood, waiting for a reply of agreement.

  Devin turned to look at Owen. The O’Ryan heir was still mad at Devin, but he was back to his cocky self. His ego didn’t seem to stay bruised. Devin shook his head, and even Nessa found Owen a bit much to handle.

  “If that’s true, why did they poison two of their own this morning along with you?” Devin revealed.

  Owen opened his mouth to reply, but didn’t have one. Even Nessa was shocked by the news. Devin took her hand in his—the one that wasn’t holding the poison—and walked her back to her room. He kept his thoughts to himself even though she could have eavesdropped into them. Devin was already trying to figure out the puzzle.

  “How did you know?” Nessa asked as they approached her apartment.

  Devin dropped her hand to open the door and grinned.

  “I heard the healers mention they already had done two bodies over at the Miller’s wing today when they entered the room.” Devin motioned for Nessa to go forward.

  Nessa shook her head. That was the best part of people ignoring day humans. If they didn’t run in fear, they tended to be careless around him. And Devin, being Devin, would always use that to his advantage. He was just what the sidhe needed.

  The auditorium filled quickly with the elite sidhe families. Devin had to make only one demand to get them to meet him in the large room, and they arrived in fear. Those that knew the old king feared what Devin could do, and those that did not know feared what they saw in their elder’s eyes. Even after their rough treatment, Devin had waited as patiently as he could for the sidhe to remove their dead to the crypt before announcing to all of them to meet him in the auditorium. That didn’t mean he was in a good mood. He was fuming from the assassinations and the attempt on Nessa’s life. Devin had specifically told them to stop killing each other with assassins. He had meant the “stop killing” part as the emphasis, but the sidhe took it that the hidden assassins were the problem. They didn’t see the wrong behind the continuous killing. Devin needed to make them stop, and had to figure out how to change the way they saw the world. Not too big of a task.

  The sidhe were gathered together so that Devin could see each and every one of them. He needed to look into the faces of the elite sidhe to tell who was lying. Someone had ordered a hit on the people who were killed. Three families had been attacked. It was likely one of the two families left had planned it, but he wasn’t completely sure. He didn’t put it past the sidhe, who had no problems killing people left and right, to kill their own family to hide themselves. Who would go against his demand that they stop the assassinations, though? He wasn’t just figuring it out to save Nessa. The elite sidhe were killing each other off. Didn’t they see that at the rate they were going, it would lead to everyone ending up dead?

  Devin could sense the elite in the auditorium waiting for him to arrive. He needed to take his time. His temper was getting the better of him now that the adrenalin had worn off from his rush to save Nessa. The feelings he felt for Nessa were new. Devin was used to being able to control all of his emotions. Even when he found himself in love with his last charge, he still was able to keep it at bay and do his job. Unfortunately, it wasn’t that easy with Nessa. More and more, he found that he was losing control. He wasn’t sure how Nessa could get him bothered, but he was upset about what happened. Devin felt responsible for leaving her behind, and not being there as soon as she fell sick. He wasn’t going to make that mistake again. He would protect Nessa … no matter what.

  Devin thoroughly looked around the
palace to see where each sidhe was, and discovered they were all waiting in the auditorium for him. It was time to go interrogate the elite. Nessa was safe sitting in the room with him, but he had to be sure she would stay safe. He needed to be the monster sidhe that the old king had made him. It was time to get the elite to fall in line with his demands. When Devin stood and walked to the doorway of Nessa’s apartment, she followed.

  “Not you,” Devin said to her without turning around to face her. He couldn’t let her go there where she could be a target.

  “What?” Nessa asked, shocked by his statement, and upset that he was acting bossy again.

  “There is no what,” Devin replied. “Someone in that room tried to kill you and several others today. I do not want you there. It isn’t safe.” He couldn’t make it any clearer.

  Nessa stared at him, unable to respond. Nodding as if the conversation was done, Devin opened the door. Since Devin could feel every sidhe and no one was near her, he knew she was safe alone in her room. He needed her to stay safe so that he could concentrate on what he needed to do.

  “You can’t just keep me locked in my room,” Nessa replied, anger rising. She obviously didn’t like the situation, which Devin could understand, but his need to protect her ruled over his empathy. “I’m a big girl, after all.”

  Devin didn’t even respond. He just walked away. Nessa tried to follow, but the room was surrounded by the same invisible barrier he had accidentally used before. He was happy that he’d learned the trick, even if it was because of stress, and knew she wouldn’t be getting out. Devin heard her exasperated scream as he walked away, but he didn’t care. He’d already left her unprotected today, and he wanted nothing except to keep her safe, so he wasn’t letting her walk into a room full of sidhe ready to kill her.

  ‘If you don’t come back right now, I’m never going to talk to you again,’ she threatened when she found screaming didn’t work.

  Turning, Devin gazed at her. She was obviously unhappy that she was stuck in her room, and he had to fight not to go back and take her hand in his. He wanted her to be happy, but more so he needed her to be safe. She meant too much to him to endanger her. He just shook his head before turning back around.

  ‘I mean it,’ she yelled through their connection. However, he didn’t even miss a step as he walked down the hall, in the direction of the auditorium.

  When he finally arrived, there was no one left to wait for, so he could start immediately. He needed to get it over with quickly before Nessa got too mad. Rolf—the only elite that Devin trusted to tell him the truth about the rules of the sidhe world when he needed it—waited by the door as asked, and escorted him to the front of the room. Devin stood before the sidhe and looked from each family head to the next as the room quieted.

  “Today we face the task of burying three people. They were all killed by poison,” Devin began. No one spoke; everyone knew what had happened by now. “I had told you before that there would be no more assassinations. I can tell that someone didn’t exactly understand what I was saying. I meant for you to stop killing each other. You are all too blind with hatred to see what you are doing. If you kill each other off, yes, someone will be left standing, but what will they rule? There will be no one left. This needs to stop, and it stops now. If there’s a grievance, it needs to be settled in the courts, not with the death of someone.”

  The sidhe stared blankly at Devin. Most didn’t grasp what he was saying, or understand how serious he was. It was a concept they couldn’t comprehend. Devin searched the faces of the younger sidhe first, and discovered they were defiant to his words. He glanced around some more. The old sidhe were wary of him in general. His message wasn’t getting through.

  “If I find anyone is responsible for the killings today, or any day in the future, I’ll remove their entire family from the noble class of sidhe. You will all be required to go back and live with the common sidhe. If I find that the heads of the family …” Devin looked specifically at Maureen—the lady Nessa thought was her adoptive mother figure in her life, but in reality, she was the one trying to get her killed any way possible. “If it is the head of a family, they will not just be removed from their noble status. The head of the family, along with direct descendants, will be kicked out of the village permanently.”

  A collective gasp was heard throughout the room as they finally understood how serious he was, and Devin had to hide the smirk that was forming on his face. It took drastic measures to get through to them, and he’d hit the nail on the head when he figured out the most important thing to these people was their status. They had such little care for life, but their noble status meant everything. He was angry when he entered the room, but to be able to shock them all with the prospect of being kicked out made him smile. Devin had come to the sidhe without a real home left, knew what it was like to contemplate starting over, but it didn’t scare him like he visibly saw in the sidhe now. They truly feared not being nobles, or not living in the village. Devin couldn’t understand this, as he saw the sidhe people as strong and resilient. After all, they had managed to keep their own culture, yet now he wondered if maybe it wasn’t strength, but rather fear, that kept them going. Maybe the thought of exile was just what they needed to inspire them to stop killing each other off.

  ‘What did you do now?’ Nessa asked in Devin’s head. She felt the chaos falling off all of the sidhe in the room. They were even more scared of him now, if that was possible.

  ‘I see we are talking now. Forever came quickly,’ Devin replied.

  He looked around the room one last time before leaving. His message had been received. Whoever did this wasn’t going to have help, nor would they willing admit it. Hopefully Devin’s threat would keep the chaos limited to the one assassin that they were looking for, and no one would think to join them.

  Silence was Nessa’s reply to Devin’s comment. He was sure there would be silence the rest of the day, but he knew Nessa well enough by now. She wouldn’t stay quiet for long. It wasn’t in her to do that. At that moment, he didn’t care if she was mad at him. She was safe, and that was all that mattered. She’d forgive him soon enough.

  After Devin’s meeting with the sidhe the day before, Nessa wasn’t thrilled to be waking the next night and having to deal with the fallout. She’d found out from her uncle that Devin—being as overprotective as he always was—told the sidhe that if they continued to put out assassinations, he would disband any family that was involved. Nessa would have told him that wasn’t a tactic that would work with the sidhe, but he was too angry to listen, and she was too angry to help him out. The sidhe would never let another family be made into commoners, but who knew. Devin did seem to have a way to make what he wanted to happen, happen.

  Rolf was early, like the day before, and Nessa was surprised to wake and find that Devin was actually in the room with her. He had already gotten breakfast, and had a tray waiting for her. She continued being mad at him for essentially locking her in her own room, and refused to eat what he’d brought. She didn’t fear the food, as Devin would make sure it was safe, but she needed to make a point. Devin couldn’t just lock her away like a helpless princess. Nessa was anything but helpless. When Rolf knocked, she was grateful to get away from Devin before she caved. It was much harder to stay mad at him now that she knew everything through the bond. He wasn’t even doing this to be mean. In fact, he was being more than caring, and she hated that she could feel it. Since his emotions were something new to her, she didn’t know how to block them out of her mind, and now he was freely sharing. He was worried beyond belief about her. She’d never had someone worried about her safety before, not even her family. It was all new and strange. As she opened the door for her waiting uncle, she had to hide her smile. Nessa wasn’t going to let Devin win, even if he truly was trying to keep her safe and happy.

  “Did you look over the list?” Rolf asked, tentatively glancing into the room. Rolf was back to fearing Devin now that his worry over Nessa ha
d passed.

  Devin nodded to Rolf, and Nessa saw the small shiver that Rolf had in reply. At least one sidhe took Devin seriously, not that Uncle Rolf would have had anything to do with her assassination attempt. Her family gained nothing by her death, as her cousin and Rolf’s son had already made it clear that he wouldn’t take the throne. Since there was no one left in direct line from her grandfather to take the throne, Rolf supported her completely.

  “I figured that list is too long,” Devin answered, joining Nessa at the doorway. Because he was standing so close to her, Nessa could feel the heat coming off of him.

  “It is one of the requirements,” Rolf squeaked out, “to take the throne.”

  “I’m not trying to change tradition,” Devin replied kindly. He had to have seen his effect on Rolf, but he didn’t comment on it. “I was thinking that if Nessa took the elite sidhe complaints, and I took the commoner complaints, it could be done possibly in a day instead of dragging out right up until the moment of the coronation. I know she must decide on the cases, as her word will be law, but I’m bonded to her, and have both her and her grandfather’s blood running through me now. I figured I could just be an extension of her.”

  Rolf’s mouth hung open, and Nessa had to cough to hide her smile. She wasn’t sure Uncle Rolf had even considered that Devin would offer to help, neither had she, and Devin did have a point. He was always prepared. There was no reason he couldn’t be an extension of Nessa.

  “I suppose that will work,” Rolf replied, finally coming to his senses.

  Devin took the lists Rolf had given Nessa the day before and handed one to Nessa, keeping the second for himself. Nessa focused on the paper in her hand as he tried to catch her attention with a smile. At any time he could mentally talk to her, but he was giving her some space. Nessa wanted to be angry that he could act so perfectly, but she was rapidly losing the battle.

  “Then we should get started,” Devin replied, motioning for Rolf to lead the way.