“You’re my heir, too,” Liliana said softly. “You don’t have to go back there. I know it doesn’t call to you, not as our own court must. The shadows crave you, daughter. I feel them.”
“I renounce your throne,” she hissed.
“You can’t, you can’t just renounce it. It needs an heir that can hold it. Without one, the Shadow Court cannot be within the ranks of the lesser courts, and the Horde needs them now more than ever. We’re not the only ones who survived; I sent thousands into the woods, Lilith. War is coming, and I have to have an heir at my side.”
“You have one, your daughter. I am not your heir anymore; I am Lilith, Heir to the Court of the Night, and I renounce your throne and your bloodline.”
“It doesn’t work like that, Lilith. Did your father teach you nothing?”
“My father couldn’t stand to even look at me! He looked at me and saw you, so my entire life before I left him was lived inside a fucking room people weren’t allowed into because I may have died and needed protection. My life was being sheltered because Gods forbid he lose his heir, or have to look at her face that reminded him of his ghosts. So teach me? No, strangers came into my room and taught me to rule, that in times of need or time of trickery an heir could walk away by renouncing her bloodline if those she chose to leave had used trickery upon her. I’ve been nothing but tricked by you and Lara. I’ve been lied to and abandoned. I love you both, but for my sanity, I renounce you both. Lara deserves to be your heir; she’s strong enough to stand against anything, considering she’s Horde Fae.”
It wasn’t selfish, she told herself. To keep Lara close, she’d renounced the line. To keep her sister with her, she’d renounced the line. She’d forced Lara to remain in the lower realm of Faery by doing so. She’d sealed the line, protected her people, and now Lara couldn’t abandon her.
“Lilith, I wasn’t going to ever leave you.”
“Get out of my fucking head, Lara,” she warned coldly.
“You’re my heart. You’re my sister by choice, let alone bloodline. I needed you, I need you so much. I don’t need a title!”
“You do because holding them both is too much for one person. She needs an heir, you’re her heir. I can’t be the queen of both courts, and I’m going to kill him for using me to pay the tithe. Do you understand? I’m going to murder my father for using me to pay it when he didn’t have to. I’m going to save myself from what telling you those secrets cost me before that betrayal costs me my life.”
“He…didn’t, you’re…oh no,” Liliana said as she surveyed the men around them. “I should have been there to gather it, to pay it for both courts.”
“You weren’t there to protect us.” Lara’s tone was angry, her hand absently stroking Lilith’s arm to calm the anger and rage that burned through her sister’s soul.
She’d paid for their deaths, for the people who now watched them. She’d poured every ounce of energy into rebuilding a court that the world didn’t care about, and this entire time they’d been here or elsewhere while their heir worked from morning until night, righting the kingdom for them. All for the ghost she believed watched her, watched them. And here there were thousands of them, alive.
Lilith had paid the tithe selflessly, knowing her father could have paid it if he’d cared to, meanwhile allowing her other court to starve to death, slowly. She’d trotted into the Horde’s stronghold and removed the corpse she’d thought belonged to her mother at the tender age of sixteen, bringing it home to be buried in a grave fit for a queen that she herself had erected. Endless days she’d begged her father to see her, until she’d stopped caring if he ever did. He’d taken lovers, producing children he bragged about, and yet his own heir was banned from his hall unless it was time for her presence to remind the court he had one.
Law stated that each caste of the lesser Fae have an heir for when the tithe came due, and he’d made sure they knew. He’d recited her duties, reminded her of what was to come, and then she’d been free to leave until he summoned her again. He hadn’t cared that she rather remain in the ruins of a palace than locked in a room.
“What do you want, Lilith?” Asrian asked, and her ice blue eyes lifted to his. In her entire life, no one had ever asked her that.
“I don’t want to be here.”
He grabbed her, vanishing into thin air as Lara watched.
Chapter 12
They sifted right outside of the Guild, and he flinched as something sailed past his head. He moved, reaching for Lilith but she dodged the attack, turning to look at where it had come from. She reached behind her, unsheathing an arrow which she nocked and sent sailing at the demons that were on the edge of the warded barrier. One after another, she hit her target perfectly, skillfully. All the pent-up rage was being given to the demons as one after another fell to the volley of arrows she let loose.
“Gods, she’s like Zelda, only prettier,” a female voice said with a chuckle. Asrian flinched at the sound of Erie’s voice and then felt his brethren as they sifted outside to see what or who had entered their barrier, pausing to take in the lone female slowly chiseling away at the demons who kept coming.
“Lilith, her name is Lilith, and she’s my bride,” he admitted.
“Does she like you, because her aim is pretty outstanding, and if she doesn’t, it’s going to suck to be you, dude,” she laughed as she clapped her hands and wiggled her eyebrows.
“Outstanding observation, Erie,” he groaned. “Don’t give her too many ideas, she may use them.”
Lilith exhaled before letting an arrow sail through the night, hitting a demon right through the eye. Her head tilted as it didn’t fall, and then she turned towards him and went still. Asrian followed her eyes, flinching as Ryder stood behind them, in his beast’s form.
“This should be fun,” he muttered.
Synthia sifted in beside Ryder, her gaze dropping to the arrow and then up into Lilith’s terrified eyes. She expelled a soft sigh as she realized what the problem was.
“Fairy, you’re freaking her out. Your father slaughtered her people, so change before I turn you into a frog or something clever. Welcome, Lilith. I’m Synthia, this is Ryder, and you need to lower the bow,” she said as Lilith brought it up and aimed it right at Ryder.
“Fucking problem?” Zahruk asked as he made his way down the stairs and noted the tense situation. “You let that loose, sweetheart, you die.”
“Lilith, it won’t kill him.” Asrian stepped in front of it. “It’s been an intense few hours, I get it. It’s not often you find out your sister and best friend was spawned from Alazander, or that your dead mother isn’t even dead at all. But that arrow, it won’t kill him. He isn’t your enemy. He isn’t the one you want to hurt.”
“It won’t kill him, but it won’t be pleasant either.”
“Wait, what did you say about Alazander, am I the only one who heard it?” Synthia asked, but they ignored her even as the brothers around them gaped at what Asrian had said.
“Oh, I like her, she’s got big balls!” Erie laughed, her red hair a mass of unruly curls as she nodded her head and pointed at Lilith. “She gets an invite to girl time this week! Right? Right. So glad you agree.”
“Erie, this isn’t the time,” Synthia hissed as she stepped away from Ryder.
“Pet?” Ryder growled.
“Love you, but I have babies to tend to and all that, and I’m not sure I love you enough this week to take an arrow for you. Besides, she’s right, it won’t kill you.”
One minute she held her bow, arrow at the ready, and the next she was standing there with her hands still in that position but nothing in them. She blinked, staring at the Horde King, who held it, his golden eyes alight with laughter.
“Welcome, Queen of Shadows and Night, to the Assassin’s Guild. While I suspect you may not like me, you don’t know me. Please wait to hate me until I give you an actual reason to. I can either be your friend, or I can destroy you and solve Asrian’s problem of an unwanted bride. I don’t e
njoy your father or much care for any man who can toss his own daughter to the Horde so he doesn’t have to get off his ass to collect twenty percent of the tithe I asked for.”
“You asked for twenty percent?” Her heart dropped at his words.
“I asked for anything he could spare, you were what he offered.”
“Because if you took me, he could blame you for ruining the court and taking his heir,” she assumed.
“Most likely, yes. He seemed all too willing to hand you over, but we don’t intend to harm you. You will be placed on his throne with Asrian by your side. At that time, you can choose to remain with him as your absent husband, or remarry.”
“What?” Asrian uttered. “No, I am her husband!”
Ryder lifted a brow in question in Asrian’s direction and then shrugged. “You two work it out. I have too many courts to deal with as is.”
“Yeah, about that. You remember the woman we spared, the one who was barely breathing who we were supposed to string from the walls of the Stronghold? She’s the Queen of Shadows, and technically still is the Queen of the Night Court.”
“Liliana is the Queen of the Night Court too?” he asked as he folded his arms, not releasing her bow.
“It’s quite the tale.”
“Your father raped my mother,” Lilith said coldly. “My sister is your sister.”
“The Horde has one female child, woman.”
“Now it has two, beast.”
“Watch your tongue.” Ryder’s growl reverberated from deep in his chest.
“Or what, you’ll skin me alive, hang me from your walls? I might actually welcome it right now. And I don’t really like you or your people. You take, you murder, and you rape women and leave monsters behind for us to deal with. Do you know what happens to a lesser Fae when the Horde comes through and uses them? When they leave their whelps behind? Or do you even care, because once they’ve been with the Horde, they’re soiled garbage that is tossed aside. They’re thrown out of the courts, no shelter and no food. If they can work, they may survive, but more often than not the Horde takes only the prettiest ones, which means they end up dead in the woods, or birth their bastards and trade them to be used as guard dogs, or worse for target practice. Lara was lucky she was spared. She was lucky I found her when I did because she may be Horde, but she is nothing like you, which wouldn’t have changed what they would have done to her. She is everything right in the world, everything nice. So if you want to skin me, monster, let’s dance. I’m done being pushed around and used.”
“I love you too, sis,” Lara said, causing Lilith’s shoulders to droop.
“Is this your idea of not here? Because here is almost worse than there.” Lilith muttered.
“Lilith, you’re loved. You’re wanted, even if your father couldn’t admit that to you. He loved you once, more than life. More than his throne,” Liliana whispered through the crowd.
“I don’t need love, what I need is to be left alone.”
“No, you don’t. We can feel it, you know. Lara and I are both empath, we feel your needs. We feel the betrayal you think has been done to you. Pushing us away to protect the Court of Shadows isn’t going to protect it from joining this war. We’re in it already. We’ve trained, we’re ready to defend Faery. You and your sister, however, will remain away from the battlefield during it.”
“I’ve trained to kill him since the moment I could walk, woman!” she hissed.
“Ryder didn’t rape me. He didn’t slaughter our people. Ryder saved us, vowing that what happened to the dragons would never happen again. Without him, it would have been my corpse you retrieved outside the Horde stronghold that day. Without him intervening, our people would be nothing but a memory in a history book. I know it’s hard to let it go, Lilith. I know you’ve spent your life planning to defend your people, but you have to. It’s consuming you from within.”
“Bouncing big balls,” Erie chuckled.
“Is she normal?” Lara asked as she took in Erie. “She’s related?” she asked Sinjinn, who chuckled at her response.
“She’s somewhat adopted, I think. She comes here to rest when Callaghan is healing from Gods know what she’s done to him. She’s pretty much insane, but you learn to roll with it.”
“My father took you, and you had her?” Ryder asked as his golden eyes seemed to see through Lara, unsettling Lilith, who stepped closer, ready to defend her.
“He won’t hurt me. He’s blood; I can feel it and so can he. Just as I felt the brothers when they appeared. I’m not leaving you, ever. You saved me, even if you don’t think you did. I was preparing to kill myself when you showed up that day. I’d found enough iron to drink that it would have worked, but you strolled right in and smiled at me, and I knew everything was going to be okay. I am not as strong as you are, Lilith, not fit to rule.”
“You’re stronger than you think you are, and they’re not your family. I am. I don’t care what you feel, or what they do. You belong with us, with your people.”
“The demons are rallying; maybe we should take this inside and make some coffee?” Synthia offered.
“I sleep with Lilith,” Asrian snapped.
“Well Fairy fucking Saints, Asrian, we sure hope so. Or you’d have some ‘splaining to do, bro,” Ristan smirked, his silver eyes slowly taking in the small female. “Damn, she’s tiny. You mated with her and managed not to break her. I guess I can’t call you Wreck-It Ralph anymore.”
“Inside, before Lucifer shows back up searching for Lucian and Lena,” Ryder grumbled. “He’s been here five times this week. I’m about to sic Erie on him.”
“Ooh, I like him. He’s cheeky.” She smirked.
“Inside.”
Chapter 13
Lilith stood to the far side of the room, away from the creatures who talked, uncaring that she listened. They seemed…normal, as if they did this a lot. Lara was laughing at something Synthia said, and then they both paused, turning those eyes on Lilith. She narrowed hers, uncaring if the Goddess liked her or not. She hadn’t come here to make new friends or allies, and she just wanted to forget this day had ever happened.
Her mother was alive, alive and here. It felt like a betrayal, like she hadn’t been worth coming back to. Her entire life had been lived with the knowledge that Liliana had sacrificed herself to the Horde, and with it, the raw, never-ending anger and need for revenge that had driven her. Now, now everything she’d ever believed was being twisted, and no matter how hard she struggled to accept it, it wouldn’t sink in.
Lara would need a court. One strong enough to accept and protect her against the people who would try to disavow her for the blood she carried. The Court of Shadows would make any of the lesser courts pause, and by releasing her claim, relinquishing her birthright to claim it, she had both protected her sister while managing to ensure she stayed close. Lara’s eyes settled on her once more, as if she felt what Lilith’s inner battle was, and a sad frown displayed over her lips. Lara had always had an uncanny way of knowing Lilith’s thoughts or moods, but an empath? She’d never even dreamt it possible since she’d believed her the child of a human male, and not a High Fae’s bastard-born-child.
She watched as Lara moved closer, settling against the wall that Lilith leaned against, far from the Fae in the room. Her dark, multicolored hair caught the light and shimmered as she turned her tri-colored eyes on her. “I know you think it will protect me, but what about you? What about what you need? The Shadow Court is our home, Lilith. Ours. I’m still me, just different. You accepted me before I could explain, and the moment you vowed to murder any Horde you could find, I decided not to tell you what I was. I had been alone for so long, so scared that others would discover what I was and make it known to the world. But you, you walked in and smiled, and I knew I’d never be alone again, I just felt it. We’re sisters, first and foremost, always. If you still want to relinquish the claim, I can’t stop you. I can only ask that you not do it for me because you’re stronger, smart
er, and able to rule our people far better than I can or will ever be able to. Your father hurt you, and I know you mean to kill him—I think I knew it before you did. But he is your father, Lilith. You do love him, and right now the pain is speaking. Your anger is legendary but mixed with the pain you feel, you’re a powerhouse, ready to explode,” she said softly, her eyes moving to their mother, who watched them from across the room. “You should take some time to think about it first, and I think you should give her a chance to explain it from her perspective. Your father was obsessed with her; he’d never have let her go if he’d known she was alive. A queen is nothing without her people, and her world is her people. Her responsibility was the people of her kingdom first, and her family second.”
“I don’t need the semantics of ruling, Lara. I know why she did it, and I don’t hate her for it, because I’d have done the same in her place. But all these years we’ve mourned her, we’ve spent countless hours building a shrine in her memory as we righted the debts owed in her name, and now here she is, alive and living carefree without hardship. What about what we endured to right the court? To mend the path to bring it back? My entire life has been spent plotting to avenge her, and here she is, unharmed and alive. I don’t know what to do now, how to move forward. I don’t have a purpose anymore.”
“You’re the heir to two of the most powerful courts in the lower realm, Lilith. You’re a leader to the people of the night; you feed them while your father spends his hours in lavish accommodations. You are the chosen heir, not by birth, but for the love you give your people. That is something no one can take away from you. And you have him at your side now,” she said as she nodded to where Asrian was walking towards them. “Use him, strike fear into those who threaten the Night Court, and make your claim felt. They intend to remove your father from his throne, which means you will be the Queen of the Night Court. Rule, fix the breach between the court and the people, and make it the place you want it to be. Feed the hungry, care for the weak, because that is who you are.”
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