by K. M. Shea
Aphrodite—forgiving him, apparently—picked her way over to the Paragon and settled on his lap, drawing a smile from him.
“The Day Court has been in excellent condition as long as I’ve been queen, though,” I said.
“It prospered even before Nyte died,” Skye added.
Solis set his teacup down on his knee. “Yes. Because I made a bargain.”
My blood froze in my body at the prospect, and I winced in sympathy—don’t make bargains with fae, it was one of my rules to live by.
“With Manith and Angstra?” Chase confirmed what we all assumed.
Solis nodded. “They arrived approximately right when Nyte started to go after Killian Drake in earnest—they probably made a deal with her as well, to give her support in the fight against Killian. Nyte once used a holy elf sword against him, and I’m almost positive Angstra and Manith supplied it. But although I suspected it at the time, it was already too late to act on it. I’d been in a bargain with them long before then, and I wouldn’t be released until I paid the price they asked for.”
“What did they do for you?” Skye asked.
“They stabilized the Day Realm—which solved the unrest and fear in the Day Court. Every month they used magic on the failing wards, and they fixed the structural problems within the palace. I suspect, based on what the Paragon and I have discussed, that they used elf magic, and Manith and Angstra were actually repairing the barrier each month. As long as I did what they asked, they’d keep repairing the barrier, and the Day Realm stayed healthy and didn’t lose land. But then they named their price.
“I was stupid,” Solis continued. “When I made the bargain I was so desperate that when they said they would come up with a price at a later time I agreed, even though they openly told me I wouldn’t be allowed to refuse the request…which came in shortly after the night mares were released. They informed me, I was to kill the next monarch of the Night Court.”
Solis glanced wretchedly at me. “I had to—the bargain made it impossible not to. But for all of Manith and Angstra’s cleverness, they’d never thought to specify how hard I had to try to kill the next monarch, so my attempts were halfhearted at best. I hired Rigel because I knew once the next monarch was crowned, he wouldn’t be able to hurt them. I sent spiders because those were some of the smallest and easiest to defeat monsters Manith and Angstra had at their disposal. When I came to know you, Leila, I can’t tell you how I regretted my bargain. I tried to fight it, but a price must be paid.”
“But that’s why the attacks by you were easy to fight off,” I said. “You only attacked me when I was surrounded by my people, and in ways where there wouldn’t be any collateral damage—like the shadow snakes in the movie theater and the attack in the market.”
“I tried, yes,” Solis said bitterly. “But Manith and Angstra figured out what I was doing over the winter. When they made me attack you around the time Rigel returned, I meant to only send over a few spiders. They added to the spell and sent the whole swarm they’d been breeding for months.”
“The attack during the Magiford Midsummer Derby—the spell Myron planted. Did he get it from you?” Chrysanthe asked.
“No.” Solis stared down at the log he was holding and finally tossed it in the firepit. The fire crackled, but the log didn’t burn at all—proving that it had to be magic. “He made a deal directly with Manith and Angstra—he met them visiting a business acquaintance in the Day Realm,” Solis said. “After that I tried to be a lot more careful about who I let them fraternize with, but they outmaneuvered me several times—like the time you all came sledding, and when you first met them at your celebratory banquet, Leila.”
“Based on what you could say at Birch’s Summer Palace, I take it your only role in Amaranth’s kidnapping was to keep the gate open and purposely not see anyone go through it?” Rigel asked.
“Yes. They originally meant to snag Leila. But I’d dug my heels in and refused to do more. They tried to force me into submission,” Solis continued. “They refused to patch the wards, and the Day Realm lost land.”
“You should have tried to tell her, Solis—like our boy Rigel. Though let the records show he did a hideously bad job at it.” Linus threw a brotherly arm over the Day King’s shoulders—even though Solis was older than him. “If she’d known, Leila would have tried to help you.”
Solis flexed his hands and stared at them. “I occasionally dared to hope, but I thought forgiveness would be impossible. I’d betrayed Leila—betrayed the fae of the region. My greatest hope was to minimize damage to the Day Court and attempt to keep Manith and Angstra from succeeding. I was banking on the fact that sooner or later I’d be killed—either by Manith and Angstra or by Rigel if he found a way to break our contract—and pray that Leila would be merciful to the Day Court once I was gone.”
Morbidly curious, I studied Solis’s face—which had a few more wrinkles around the corners of his eyes and his mouth than usual. “Why didn’t you just try to kill me? Like, for real try?”
“You became my friend. I’ve had a sorrowfully short supply of those among the monarchs, and I didn’t want you to pay the price for my stupidity. Moreover, you became the center of fae political power in the region. Harming you would be a blow we fae wouldn’t recover from.”
I made a noise of disbelief in the back of my throat. “I don’t know about that. I mean, I can’t protect my own realm,” I said. “I don’t even have a connection with it.”
“Yes, but the good news is now the region is remarkably clear of death threats for you.” The Paragon eyed me over the rim of his teacup, then scowled when he realized some of his beard had gotten in the cup. “That should clear up your schedule. You’ll be free to focus on your realm, now. And I imagine Solis would be happy to offer you whatever expertise he can.”
“Of course,” Solis said. “It would be my honor.”
I tried to smile. “Thanks, Solis.”
“I have a question.” Indigo pushed her cat eye glasses farther up her nose. “Not for King Solis, but for you, Paragon.”
“Ask away!” The Paragon gestured with his teacup, almost spilling his drink on his bundled-up cat.
“How did you confirm it was shadow magic that Manith and Angstra were using?” Indigo asked.
The Paragon stroked Aphrodite’s head.
The hairless cat and powerful fae exchanged glances, and the wrinkles folded into the Paragon’s skin multiplied tenfold. “My contact could tell,” he said.
Rigel narrowed his eyes. “What kind of contact can classify different kinds of elf magic?”
The Paragon finally looked away from his cat. “One who is an elf.”
Chapter Twenty-Six
Leila
I’m pretty sure my heart stopped beating. “What?”
“But that’s impossible,” Indigo piped in. “They’re all dead!”
“Almost all,” the Paragon said.
“Not almost all—for certain all!” Indigo said. “They were killed in the last great battle between the elves and the rest of us supernaturals! Every last one of them was hunted down.”
“Their numbers were already limited—from all of the various infighting between the different families,” Skye added. “The battle involved all of them—no one escaped.”
This was one of the things we kept from humans—the reason why the elves were gone. We always said they “died out,” but that was the nicest way to describe “exterminated”.
Elves, you see, were once the most dangerous kind of supernatural of all.
All powerful, they held all of us supernaturals at their mercy. The fae had served them for generations as the reason why the elves were so powerful—the reason why they bowed to no one—was because of their very natures. They could—by existing—create magic.
At best the elves had been incredibly dangerous, and as time marched on they became less benevolent and more malevolent, until it became apparent that they intended to ensnare not just supernaturals, but
humans as well.
The more advanced methods of human warfare hadn’t been invented back when the rest of the supernaturals found out about this crazy scheme, but they knew it was only a matter of time.
Humans greatly outnumbered supernaturals. Even with the all powerful elves, there was no way they’d survive humans if it came to war.
So the supernaturals turned on the elves. They fought a massive battle and hunted the elves to extinction.
It was a dark chapter for supernaturals, but even now it was difficult to say if there was another way.
The fae and all of our infighting weren’t even half as bad as the elves had been. It was possible that if they’d been left alone, they would have ruined us all.
But we were paying the price, anyway. Though it wasn’t openly talked about much, most of our leaders suspected magic was dying out because the elves weren’t around anymore.
“It’s not entirely true that no one escaped,” the Paragon said. “The young heirs of several families were never found. A few families escaped—it was just assumed they all died because elf magic disappeared off the earth.”
Shock silenced everything in the garden.
I stared unthinkingly into the flames of the fire as I tried to wrap my head around this revelation.
Elves were alive? Not many, obviously, but we’ve been taught for centuries that they were all dead!
“Your contact is a descendant of one of those surviving families?” I asked when I could finally get my jaw to work again.
Elves weren’t immortal—they were close, given that they could live for millennia, but they rarely made it that long because they were so bloodthirsty they often died in battles.
The Paragon waved his hand. “His lineage isn’t important. But I trust him to identify magic—even if he is a brat and sent me on a wild goose chase to find the answer.”
“Where is your contact?” Chase asked.
“Not saying!” the Paragon squawked. “It was blasted difficult to find him, I can’t take any chances!”
He’s here in Magiford.
I knew it with absolute certainty.
The Paragon had once told me he was hanging around Magiford because he was trying to find someone, and he had a source here in the Midwest, who was refusing to give more information.
I’d bet all my clothing budget that the elf knows who the Paragon is looking for, and he’s the hold up on the trail.
I leaned back in my cushion and slumped into Rigel.
I wasn’t going to tell anyone—it was the Paragon’s business, not mine.
Rigel slipped an arm around my shoulders, enveloping me with his warmth.
Scratch that. I’ll tell Rigel—but knowing him, he’s figured this out, too.
“What happens from here on?” I asked.
The Paragon squinted at me. “That partially depends upon you, Queen Leila. Do you wish to charge Solis with any crimes? The Curia Cloisters will respond, and Solis has already confessed—”
“No, no, Solis is fine.” I glanced at the Day King and tried to smile. “I’m not such an optimist to say that everything is hunky dory between us, but he’s my friend. He made a stupid mistake—one he could have avoided if he knew my Rules to Live By—but I’m not going to punish him for it.”
I might have reacted differently if this had happened at the beginning of my reign.
But between talking with Linus, seeing the way my Court responded to me, and hearing about Rigel’s family…the fae were unable to fathom a world where all of this pain wasn’t normal.
They’re scared. Scared to lose everything, scared of failing. And can’t I understand that with all the issues I have with my realm?
I shook my head, trying to brush off my thoughts. “I was actually referring to Manith and Angstra. Have you gotten any useful information out of them? Were they really with the organization you told us about?”
“I can confirm that,” Solis said. “They never told me about it. But given that they were staying with me, I spied on them as much as possible. They had contacts in the Mid-Atlantic region that they gave reports and updates to, and referred to a power structure.”
“That’s probably the most proof we’re going to get—at least until we can take a crack at them,” the Paragon grunted. “The Dominant, the Ancient, and the Magister will arrive in Magiford sometime this afternoon with their elite forces. They will take charge of Manith and Angstra, and see what information we can get from them.”
“You’re not going to take part in that?” I asked.
The Paragon shook his head. “Those three are more than capable of handling two nasty fae, and I’m on the cusp of a breakthrough with my own personal mission.”
Rigel narrowed his eyes. “They don’t want you to leave Magiford,” he guessed.
“It’d be a risk.” Linus folded his arms behind his head. “The organization might try sending someone else after Leila.”
“The area has obviously become a target for them,” Chase agreed. “Strategically, it would be best to have the Paragon here to keep an eye on things.”
“None of you are any fun,” the Paragon said. Though he sounded sour and put out, he gently cradled his cat, and when he peered at me, there was a smile in his eyes. “But I will admit to an ulterior motive. With all of this talk of Leila being the hope of the fae—and seeing how her Court has rallied behind her—I have wondered if she has the potential to be the fae emperor.”
I scoffed. “Please. If I can’t fix my own realm because I lack a connection, there’s no way I could be the emperor. Besides, aren’t emperors really rare?”
“Mmm, the last one died over fifty years ago,” the Paragon agreed.
“Whatever. It’s not happening.” I looked to Indigo, Chase, and Skye, expecting backup.
They were all awkwardly silent.
Thanks for leaving me out to dry, guys!
The Paragon took pity on me. He picked Aphrodite up and squeezed her against his chest. “Regardless! What’s next, Queen Leila?”
“I want help with saving my realm,” I said.
“Solis is going to help you,” the Paragon reminded me.
“I will never have enough help until the day it’s fixed,” I said. “Besides, I wanted to hear what you’d think of making Rigel king. He has a connection with the land, he might be able to fix it.”
The Paragon frowned thoughtfully. “Or perhaps he could at least form the connection point between you and the Night Realm. It’s an idea worth pursuing. What do you think, Day King?”
“Perhaps it’s possible. But if she was bound to the Court by the night mares I would think he’d get very little power. At least in the eyes of the ancient magic that rules the Court,” Solis said.
“My daughter doesn’t need him,” Linus insisted. “There’s got to be a special artifact we can find that will help her!”
“Queen Rime’s siblings are able to help her,” Indigo pointed out. “I think that would indicate that other people could chip in.”
“Ahh, yes, but they are all winter monarchs in their own right,” Skye pointed out. “Even if their Courts are individualistic, they share that bond.”
I relaxed into Rigel’s side as the chatter swirled around me.
I was thrilled everyone was going to help me with my realm—finally, it could be the top priority—but mostly I was relieved that everyone was welcoming Solis back.
When Linus stepped into my life, and when I first met Rigel, I assumed that as fae they could never learn to love and wouldn’t be anything but dangerous. I was wrong, and I don’t want to repeat that mistake with Solis.
Rigel slipped his arm farther down my back, easing his hand around the curve of my hip. “Everything okay?” he asked me in a lowered voice.
I let out the breath I’d been unknowingly holding. “Yep. Everything is fine!”
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Rigel
I stalked through the halls of the mansion, Leila slumped against me a
s she slept soundly in my arms.
We’d gotten back late from our meeting with the Paragon, and then had a security meeting to make sure the mansion was prepared in case Manith and Angstra’s organization decided to strike in hopes that our guard would be down.
The meeting lasted until well after midnight, and Leila fell asleep in her chair while Indigo and Skye distributed refreshments.
Rather than rouse her to send her up to her room, I had opted to deliver her myself.
Thankfully, when I approached our rooms I saw her bedroom door was open. I maneuvered my way through the door, kicking back with a leg to nudge it shut when we were through and I was certain the room was safe and secure.
Her bedroom was dark with no lights on, but as a night fae I was at home in the darkness, and it was an easy thing to make my way to her bed.
I sat down on the mattress and carefully tipped her against my chest so I could free one of my hands to twitch back the covers for her, and pull off the pair of slippers she was wearing.
I tossed the slippers aside—they brushed against one of the drawn curtains. I’d have to shut them, or the morning sun would wake her, even if the serene moonlight was only a dim light right now.
Bed preparations completed, I gathered Leila in my arms again…and sat there.
I should put her on her mattress.
It was logical—I brought her here so she could sleep.
And yet, I couldn’t let her go. I didn’t want to let her go.
Her head rested against my bicep, her black hair spilling around her shoulders.
Leila was beautiful. I’d long been aware that she was classically attractive—as both a fae and a human. Her eyes were especially gorgeous, but personally I thought she was at her most striking when she was smirking—or pointing a gun at someone.
She stirred, interrupting my thoughts. She curled against me, wriggling closer so her head rested on my shoulder. This placed her in a more difficult position to accomplish my goal—get her into her bed without waking her—but that insistent stirring in my chest that I’d been experiencing for some months didn’t seem to care about logic.