by Sage, May
She wished it had.
Rook shrugged. “Of course, it would not have affected me, but I would have had to replace my guard. That would have been a shame. I like those guys.”
“Please don’t say another word. I won’t listen to another word, unless what’s coming out of your mouth is some sort of an explanation about what’s going on here.”
Rook smiled. “Always so focused and dignified. That’s what I like about you, Devi. Come, sit. You eat, I talk.”
She walked into the formal dining room, set for two with golden candelabra, porcelain dinner sets, and silver cutlery.
A candlelight dinner? She attempted not to recoil. She’d always known Rook fancied her, and the fact had been nothing more than a slight annoyance; now it was downright repulsive. He’d better not have designs over her.
“Oh, but I do,” he answered her thoughts. “But you’re quite safe from me for now, don’t worry. I never have and never will touch a female without express consent.”
She wasn’t surprised that he could reach her mind; she’d left most of her walls down, making her an open book to anyone with mental skills. Most. All her energy was focused on keeping one small piece of information to herself, just the one. She hoped she had enough willpower to keep it hidden.
Rook couldn’t know about the devices. If he did, all would be over. She’d seen him fly. He was faster than any fae she knew. He’d rush to the Court of Stars and take them before the night was through. She couldn’t let that happen. She wouldn’t.
Devi sat, looking at the delicate, fancy food on the plate before her. She’d take dry meat on the back of her horse in Vale’s company over this anytime, but she grabbed her knife and fork.
“Is it poisoned?”
Rook chuckled. “No poison can affect you—or me. But you know that. Go on. I have a chef traveling with me. He’s quite talented.”
She ate, partially because she was ravenous after using her strength, and partially so he’d explain himself. The food was nice. Okay, it was fucking delicious, but she gave no outward sign of delight, because fuck him, his fancy dinner, and his chef. At the tenth mouthful, she reminded Rook, “You said you’d talk.”
He grinned from the other end of the table. “That I did. Long story short, Orin raped my mother, cut her with his sword, and never again thought of her for the rest of his miserable existence. I killed him for it.”
He said it with little feeling, as if they’d been discussing sports or the state of the finances of the realms.
Rook was amused. “Come on, you know me better than that. I take the finances of the realms very seriously,” he said, answering to her thoughts. “Orin’s life was of no worth to me.”
She took another bite of food. “Okay. I get it. I’m all for murdering rapists. Can we skip to the part where you decided it’d be cool to attack the unseelie realm, hunt your brother through three realms, and terrorize villages for kicks?”
Because there was no doubt that he was behind what had happened at Rhionhave.
Rook sighed. “It’s complicated.”
“Try me, or get out of my face.”
Why was she pushing him like this after realizing how unstable he was?
“Because you know I’ll try my best to fight my instincts with you. I will not harm you.”
The moment he said it she knew it to be true. Despite everything, she would have sworn that Rook would rein in his rage when it came to her.
“Of course, you should be aware that I will redirect my anger on my brother, should you displease me.”
She froze and lifted her eyes to look into his. Had she understood him correctly?
She dropped her cutlery.
“I took over the management of Corantius, with the blessing of my other brother. A charming male. Very fond of family and entirely focused on his newborn. He and I agree that one race has been too long forsaken in this world. We intend to open the wall surrounding the Isle and welcome them here, in our haven.”
She couldn’t have heard him right. Surely not.
“You’re insane. Orcs! Billions of orcs, here?”
Rook shook his head. “Not billions, no. We’ll only open the wall in one point and let through a few of them; the children and smarter ones. It’s only fair.”
“There were five continents, and the two that weren’t protected are now barren wastelands because of what those creatures—”
“Don’t you dare!” he screeched, getting to his feet. “Don’t you dare talk of them that way, you spoiled, selfish little princess, coddled from birth. You know nothing.”
She closed her mouth, and her eyes widened. He was one of them. A half-orc.
Devi’s heart tightened in her chest.
“This,” he said, “this is why you’re here. No pity. No disgust. Just empathy. You know what it’s like to be different from the rest of them.”
“I’m nothing like you,” she told him.
They might both be hybrids rejected by half of their kind, but Devi had never—would never—use that as an excuse to destroy them. She could have. So many times. She could have annihilated the Court of Night without effort.
“Yes, you’re kinder than I am, which is why I need you. When I am overking, I will be cruel. It is in my nature. My queen will need to balance that.”
She closed her eyes to suppress the rising wave of nausea. “And if I refuse?”
He smirked, showing all his white teeth. “Well, then, I guess I won’t need to keep my brother around as leverage, now will I?”
She seriously wished she’d read him wrong earlier, when he’d mentioned that her displeasing him would affect Vale. Apparently not. He was truly that disgusting.
“I’m done eating—and talking.”
“But you’re not done thinking. I’ll give you until the end of the day. There are matters that cannot be avoided today. Your friends are making a nuisance of themselves in the west. Make up your mind before dusk. In the meantime, get comfortable. There are forty-seven soldiers, all scions and more experienced and better rested than you. Try to leave and they have orders to bleed out the Blackthorn boy. Slowly.”
On that note, Rook got up, and as he left the dining room, he addressed the two guards who had stood behind her the whole time. “Show the lady to her chambers. Keep an eye on her until I return.”
Twenty-Six
The Great Halls
Kira was never going to admit it to the annoying male she’d accompanied west, but she was glad to be here. Glad to have aided his purpose. Kallan Blacks had changed her mind about fae.
After dusk, on the day the crow had brought them news from the Blackthorn prince, they started to follow Kallan’s plan. They sneaked to the Fortwall and commenced the long, miserable hike up to the ridge.
Kira did not like hiking. The next day, however, they reached a thin gap in the mountains—the entrance to Carvenstone. Then they got to have fun.
There were a hundred guards. A hundred against two were the sort of odds she liked. This would be a story worth telling when she returned home.
“Are you laughing!” Kallan screamed over the brouhaha of clashing swords and smashing skulls.
“If you’re not having fun, you’re not doing it right!”
She had to give the male this: he was pretty handy in a fight, better than she would have believed. And he also happened to always ensure to be positioned behind her so no one could hurt her. At first, it was disconcerting, as Kira was used to watching her own back, but she got used to it fast enough.
Kallan was all bow and arrows when he could, but he switched to his sword when an adversary got within range. Similarly, Kira used her fire for long-range attacks, when she could hit a few enemies at once so as not to waste her energy. Up close, she used her staff or the daggers tucked in her sleeves.
It took them perhaps an hour, but they found themselves back to back with a hundred fallen bodies at their feet. Kallan was breathing in and out hard.
She rolled h
er eyes. “Someone shouldn’t skip cardio.” She tilted the head of a corpse with the toe of her boot to get a good look at its face. “They aren’t seelie.”
“Corantians,” Kallan stated. “Let us hope that’s the last of them.”
Kira doubted it. If these weaklings had come here alone, the gates would not have fallen, not if the rest of the folks of Carvenstone were half as well trained as Kallan.
“How many soldiers were patrolling the Fortwall?” she asked.
“Two dozen,” he replied. “Not our strongest. They’d be in the city, closer to the shore.”
Kira snorted. “Great strategy. Let’s leave our gates unmanned and hope for the best.”
“We were at peace. The purpose of the guard here is to warn us of unwanted visitors. Hopefully, a scout reached the city before the Corantians made it through the gates.”
Kallan called his horse, and they ate while they waited for him to join them; then they rode all night until they reached a magnificent mountain, taller than any mountain in Wyhmur. There was moss, grass, and thin trees along its slopes, and a wild waterfall cascaded into a beautiful lake. The light of dawn shone through its clear water, and Kira, for once, had nothing to say.
“Beautiful, is it not?”
She just nodded.
“Come on through.” Kallan carefully led the way through a path circling the lake until they arrived at the waterfall.
Kira grimaced as he walked forward, under the water. “I don’t like getting wet.”
“Such a fussy princess.”
Nothing else he might have said would have made her move as fast. Discountenancing that he knew how to manipulate her so well after just a few days.
Shivering as the water drenched her to the bone, she warmed herself by calling to her fire. Without thinking, she lifted her hand to Kallan’s face and pushed some energy through him too.
He lifted a brow. “Useful trick. Thank you.”
She was ignoring him, her gaze taking in everything. When they’d been before the waterfall, she’d felt nothing but wildlife—the occasional deer, a bear perhaps, some wolves—but now, she sensed so much more. Looking at the opposite end of the cave, she found an impasse.
Kallan walked forward and put his hand on the dark, damp stone. Its dull gray surface came to life; the rock changed, smoothing to reveal the shape of a round door so large three dragons could have passed through side by side with ease. Kallan pushed it, ever so gently, and the wall entirely disappeared, revealing great halls with impossibly high hammer-beam ceilings meticulously carved into the stone.
They were greeted at lance-point by three dozen armed soldiers in formation. The moment they saw Kallan, they lowered their lances. Two soldiers, a male and a female, detached from the formation and rushed to hug him, laughing.
“I knew you were too stubborn to die!” said the female.
The male turned grave. “Valerius?”
Kallan smiled. “Alive and traveling north to end this madness.”
Everyone relaxed, their shoulders dropping, and sighed deeply.
“Come, our people need to see you and hear you and…” The female stilled. “You’ve brought a girl.”
Kira couldn’t recall the last time anyone had called her a girl. Probably not since she’d learned to wield all kinds of weapons at the age of eight.
She stiffened, wondering if she might encounter some animosity, but the female yelled enthusiastically and rushed to hug her, too.
Shit. Kira did not hug.
“Calm down, Nyx. Kira, meet Nyx, head protector of Carvenstone, and Kit, her brother. Guys, meet Kira. She bites.”
They were led down the halls, which grew in grandeur the deeper they walked inside the intricate network of caves.
“This is the Court of Sin?” Kira asked, baffled.
Kallan snorted. “An ominous name, I’ll allow, but it keeps strangers out of our business, and that’s all that matters.”
“I heard you take in folks of all races here. That your master is attempting to be less barbaric than the other fae.”
“Don’t the elves kill anyone on sight without asking questions for crossing their borders?” Kallan retorted.
Kira wasn’t apologetic. “Anyone? No. Fae in armor, bearing ill will? Certainly.”
They passed many doors that led to smaller chambers. Most were empty, but as they went farther into the belly of the cave, Kira started to see light, hear voices and laughter, feel warmth.
They reached a hall so large Elvendale might have fit inside it twice over, yet it was almost full.
At least five hundred thousand fae were assembled in the hall, some cooking on one side, others chatting in circles around a fire, and others sleeping on the side. They’d set up beds on the floor along the walls; some of hay, some of feathers, others made for fae with covers.
“So many children,” Kira noted as she watched, confused.
It was rare to see a child for a thousand elves; from her understanding, the same numbers could be applied to high fae, yet there were thousands of little ones running around. Only a few had marks of lesser fae, with parts of nature on their features, such as branches, hooves, and antlers.
Kira turned to Kallan, frowning.
“That’s what you get when no one restricts what casts you can wed. There are many lesser fae married to high and common fae here. Our population has grown considerably as a result. There may be more folks in Carvenstone than in the rest of the unseelie realm combined.”
“Less inbreeding is always a good thing, I say,” Nyx helpfully piped in.
The children weren’t the only things worthy of note. They played with a foal of pure white fur sporting a small upturned horn in the middle of its head; other unicorns rested around the room, napping peacefully or walking around the fae, at ease.
Kira had a way with beasts, yet even she could not approach a unicorn that didn’t bolt. Their race had been hunted to near extinction over many generations, but not here.
There were other things, on the ceiling, in the corners of the room, or mingling with the folks of Carvenstone. Bears, wild beasts, phoenixes, and, if Kira wasn’t mistaken, a few dragons. She could feel them; like her, they were creatures of fire.
She’d heard of this place and dismissed its beauty. Now she got it. It was precious and worth preserving.
It was also powerful. Very, very powerful.
“Why haven’t you joined the fight with the rest of your people? This… the warriors among you are an army.”
“An army that shall defend this place, our home. If we go, who will protect our children?” Nyx asked. “We’ll only march to war if Valerius Blackthorn asks us to.”
Valerius Blackthorn, the lord of these halls. Kira had held little curiosity about the elusive prince before seeing the Court of Sin for herself. Now she started to understand why Devi traveled with him and why she had sent her to his companion’s aid. This was another Elvendale. A court forsaken by most, different and strong.
It had been a week since they’d arrived in Carvenstone, and although her mission was complete, Kira had not yet left. No one questioned why she was still there, and they let her take a turn standing guard.
She would have to go soon, but for now, something was keeping her here, anchoring her.
She’d been sleeping on a cot when the noise started. From where she was in the hall, it sounded like knocking. She leaped to her feet and ran toward the entrance of the cave. The noise grew louder and louder as she approached it. She found Kallan and Nyx and twice as many guards as usual.
It wasn’t knocking. Something was hammering at the mountain relentlessly.
“They don’t know how to get in,” Nyx whispered.
Far from a reassuring statement; it meant the intruder was no friend to Carvenstone.
“Will they get through?” Kira asked.
Kallan shook his head. “Not this way. There are many ancient spells keeping this place safe, and Vale and I added all the protecti
ons we could; the main door is sealed with all the elements. An enemy would need to have a mage controlling each one to get through. But they may dig their way through the mountain.”
Even if they dispatched this assailant, they would still have to deal with a brand-new hole that wasn’t as well concealed or well protected as the entrance to the cave.
“Show me another way out,” Kira said. “I’ll get rid of them.”
Whoever was attacking them needed to die, or they would reveal the location of Carvenstone and more enemies would come.
Kallan protested, “We don’t know how many—”
“One,” Kira stated. “I feel one power, one aura. It’ll be a piece of cake.”
Though he knew she was strong, he still hesitated. Kira expected more nonsense, but after a moment, the male nodded. “Not the worst idea, but you’re not going alone. Nyx, can you manage things here?”
The warrior snarled. “I managed just fine while you were out galivanting through the countryside.”
He laughed and then tilted his head to show Kira the way. “Let’s go.”
Whoever was out there, they’d kill them in an instant and come back in time for breakfast.
Twenty-Seven
The Court of Stars
The Corantians led Devi to a frilly room—lace, ruffles, pink and white cushions. She might have puked had she not had more pressing concerns at hand.
The guards made no move to leave.
“Can I have a minute? I’d love to freshen up.”
They didn’t so much as twitch.
Got it. Better save my breath.
Devi headed to the door on the left side of the gaudy bed that could fit half a dozen. Finding a bathroom on the other side, she entered it and shut the door firmly behind her. At least her guards didn’t insist on following her there too.
Devi closed her eyes and scanned the surrounding area frantically, desperate to locate Vale. She’d felt his strength diminished, drained by the strange chains they’d wrapped around his wrists. Somehow, they were stopping him from using his powers, weakening his mind and body. No doubt an enlightened tool. Fortunately, the device hadn’t affected her; she could still access his power, but for how long, she didn’t know.