“Luce believes she will heal, but…” Balour looked away, lips pressed in a thin line. “I don’t know who is in that room. He looks like my son. Sounds like him. But it is not Benji.”
“I am sorry,” Caden spoke, his voice low. “We will find who is responsible. They will pay.”
“Thank you.” The poor man struggled to take a breath as he looked at the closed door. “Is there any hope for him?
“If there is, we will find it,” Caden said. I hoped there was something to be optimistic about, but I doubted there was.
Tanner had inched closer, his voice low. “I…I didn’t expect to see you here, Brighton.”
“I didn’t expect to be here either,” I admitted, having no idea what else I could say other than, “We need to talk later.”
“Yes, we do.” He nodded, watching Caden as Benji’s father turned, slowly walking away. My heart hurt for Balour.
Before I could respond to Tanner, Caden turned. “I want to speak with him.”
“Of course.” Tanner moved to open the door. “Do you want Kalen or Faye to join you? Or Prince Fabian?”
“Brighton will join me.”
It took everything in me not to smile because doing so seemed wildly inappropriate given the circumstances.
Tanner looked as if he’d swallowed something that made him ill. “Of course.”
“I would like to be a part of this,” Faye said, lifting her chin. “He is my cousin.”
Caden studied her for a moment and then nodded. Relief didn’t flicker across her face. Steely determination lined her features.
Across from me, Ren pushed off the wall. “Be careful, he’s a biter.”
“Noted.” Caden strode forward, stopping in front of me. “Ready?”
“I am.”
“Okay.” Then he lowered his head, and his lips met mine.
Caden kissed me, right there in front of everyone, hammering home the point that we were together.
The shock of Caden kissing me in front of everyone gave way to the all-too-brief burst of warmth and pleasure, of rightness.
He was mine.
And I was his.
Chapter 13
Benji was young.
He couldn’t even be old enough to drink if he were human, and he looked so much like Faye. His hair was the same soft black, his skin a deeper, pewter shade, but those eyes were like Elliot’s, the youngling Benji had gone in search of. They were pitch-black, so dark that the pupils weren’t even visible.
The moment he saw the three of us, he pulled against the chains bolted to the wall. His hands were secured behind his back, and the length of the chain that connected to his ankles couldn’t be more than a foot long, so he didn’t make it very far.
He hissed though, the sound so eerily feline that the tiny hairs all along my body rose. His attention was focused on Caden.
“Hello, Benji,” Caden said.
The youngling growled, his lips peeling back. “You’re going to die.”
“Is that so?” Caden replied flatly.
“You’re all going to die.” Benji looked at Faye and then to where I stood. He sniffed the air. “Especially you, human.”
I rolled my eyes but remained quiet. This wasn’t my interrogation. Although Caden hadn’t said that, I knew I was here to listen. Not to engage. I wouldn’t get anything out of Benji.
“And yet you’re the one chained to the wall,” Caden pointed out.
“For now.”
Caden chuckled, the sound dark and cold. My gaze darted to him. “Do you really think you can escape me? Your King?”
Benji snapped at the air. “You’re no longer my King.”
“So, who do you answer to?”
“The one who gave us this world to rule, who will return humans to their rightful place as cattle,” he snarled. “I answer to Queen Morgana.”
Faye sucked in a sharp breath, her eyes squeezing shut.
“How can you answer to someone you’ve never met?”
“She will rip out your entrails and feast upon them.”
“Sounds delightful, but you didn’t answer my question, and my patience is already running thin.”
Benji threw his head back, letting out a high-pitched whining sound. Jerking forward like a cobra striking, he snapped at the air again. “It doesn’t matter if I’ve seen her. She will be freed, and you will bow to her. You will serve her.”
“Thought she was going to rip out your entrails,” I muttered.
Caden snorted.
Benji’s head snapped in my direction. “She’ll flay the skin from your bones, you stupid, fucking cattle. She’ll—”
Benji’s threats ended in a choking sound as Caden shot forward, clamping his hand down on the youngling’s throat. “My patience ended right there. Look at me,” he commanded. “Look at me, Benji.”
Goosebumps pimpled my skin at the change in Caden’s tone. It had lowered, but at the same time, seemed to blanket the room in soft, warm silk. I recognized the power in his words.
Glamour.
He was using glamour on another fae, something only the most powerful Ancients could do. And now I knew why he hadn’t wanted me to be here. He’d been worried that seeing him use glamour to compel Benji to speak would remind me of Aric.
It was unnerving to be reminded of how powerful Caden was, but nothing about him made me think of Aric.
Benji quieted, his mouth hanging open as he stared up at Caden.
“Who do you answer to other than Queen Morgana?” Caden asked.
“I…I answer to the Winter Court,” he answered numbly.
Faye opened her mouth as if she wanted to speak. I reached over, touching her arm slightly. She exhaled roughly and then nodded.
“Why do you answer to them?”
“Because they are…”
“They are what, Benji?”
“They are my masters.”
Caden’s head tilted slightly. He asked the question again, and then phrased the same question in a different way, but Benji, even under glamour, couldn’t say why he answered to them.
And it became clear that several months of the boy’s young life were simply gone. He couldn’t say when he’d been here last. When he last drank any liquor. All he could repeat was that he answered to Queen Morgana, that he served the Winter Court, and that he only knew one name.
“Who is the Ancient who represents the Winter Court.”
“Neal,” he said. “I answer to Neal.”
* * * *
After we left, Benji returned to his former state of hissing, snapping at the air, and threatening to kill everyone. We’d moved to one of the many meeting rooms on the first floor. Kalen and Faye sat beside Fabian, who was seated at one end of the table. Tink had moved off to the common area, where he could receive his daily dose of unfettered admiration. The fae loved him something fierce and were almost always in a constant state of awe around him, partly due to the fact that many had never seen a brownie. Ren was beside me, and Ivy was supposed to head over once she was done with her meeting with Miles. Fabian sat to my left at the other end of the table, and beside him, across from me, was Tanner. Where everyone was seated seemed to be important because when Caden pulled out my chair, every fae in the room stared as if he’d kissed me in front of them once more.
“Even under glamour, Benji couldn’t answer why he serves the Winter Court,” Caden told the room. “He doesn’t know, not on an conscious or subconscious level.”
“He has no memory. It’s like his life has simply been wiped away,” I said. “The only thing I’ve seen like that is a few humans who’ve been fed on and under glamour for long periods, but still, never to this level.”
“I haven’t seen it either,” Ren agreed. “Could it be the Devil’s Breath then?”
“It would have to be,” Fabian answered. “I cannot think of anything that would strip the will and thoughts so deeply.”
“They basically become a minion of the Winter Court without rea
son.” Ren dragged his hand through his hair. “This isn’t good.”
That was the understatement of the year.
I looked over at Caden. “He knew Neal’s name, though. That was the only other name he could say.”
Caden nodded. “That doesn’t tell us if Neal is still in the city or active. I couldn’t get anything else out of Benji.”
“And we already knew that Neal was involved and have checked out his bar. There was no sign of the Devil’s Breath there,” Fabian stated, his fingers tapping on the table.
“We need to find Neal,” I said, thinking more in terms of how I would do it if this were something the Order was handling. “He has to be the key here.”
“We’ve been searching the city, as has the Order,” Tanner said, nodding at Ren. “If he’s still here, he’s gone to ground. But with Aric’s death, I’m willing to bet he’s left the city.”
“It’s not like there aren’t places he can hide that we haven’t looked or thought to check,” Ren pointed out. “And given how many Winter fae are here, he’d have a lot of help doing so.”
“I’m in need of refreshments.” Tanner rose. “What would everyone like?”
Ren and Caden asked for water. Fabian and Kalen had gone for a soda, and my tongue tingled at the thought of carbonated goodness. I knew one soda wouldn’t harm the baby, so I requested one too.
Tanner nodded. “Faye, why don’t you help me?”
She blinked as if coming out of a daze and rose. I nibbled on my lip, watching her follow Tanner out. I wasn’t the only one whose eyes were glued to her. Kalen had been like a hawk where she was concerned, his gaze flickering to her every few seconds.
“Do you think she’ll be okay?” I asked when the door closed behind them.
“They were close, more like siblings than cousins.” Kalen tipped his head back. “She’ll be okay. Eventually.”
Eventually always sounded manageable, except it could be a lifetime from now.
“So you think there’s no hope for this kid?” Fabian asked.
“All of the others who consumed Devil’s Breath had to be…put down,” Caden said, his elbow propped on the arm of the chair as he dragged his thumb along his lower lip. “I imagine if Benji hadn’t been restrained, the same would’ve happened to him.”
“But we have one alive,” I said. “That means we can at least find out if this is reversible. Hopefully, in the process, we can figure out how the Devil’s Breath is able to make these younglings loyal to the Queen—a person they’ve never met.”
Ren kicked back in his chair, planting a boot on the table. “The borrachero drug can make humans compliant, but that’s only for a short period of time and when they’re under the influence.”
“Hopefully the specimens Luce took from Benji will tell us if he’s still under the influence.” Fabian crossed his arms. “If not…”
“Then there is no option,” Caden said. “He will have to be given peace.”
His brother nodded.
“He can’t be kept here where there’s a threat of him escaping, causing more harm.” Kalen dropped his hand on the table. “His family will understand that.”
“Will they?” I asked. “Truly?”
Kalen’s gaze met mine. “No one here will ever risk the whole of the Court for just one. Not even for their family.”
That seemed harsh, but I fully understood it.
“Except there is someone here who isn’t just willing to risk the Court,” Caden said, his thumb stilling under his lip. “But who is actively working against the Court.”
“You think whoever that is has something to do with Benji coming home?” Ren asked.
“The youngling didn’t indicate as much, but it would be unlikely that they aren’t connected,” Caden answered.
“So that leaves the question of what the goal of having Benji come back here was,” Ren asked. “To cause mayhem? Remind the Summer Court that even though Aric is dead, the Winter Court is still very much active?”
My stomach dipped a little at the mention of Aric.
“Or Benji was acting as a scout. Or at the very least, a test,” Fabian said, his gaze meeting his brother’s from across the table. “He could’ve been sent here to see what was going on, in the hopes he’d get back out.”
Caden’s jaw tightened.
“Or he was sent as a test against our defense systems.” Kalen nodded slowly. “But that doesn’t seem as likely. Why wouldn’t whoever the Summer fae is that’s working with them be able to give them that information?”
I thought about the Order, how there was a hierarchy involved. There was one here, as well. “Maybe the fae helping the Winter Court isn’t privy to the kind of information that could tell them how weak or strong your defenses are.” Several gazes landed on me. Still unused to speaking up, I found being the center of attention unnerving. “It doesn’t have to be someone any of us know. It could literally be any fae. And to me, it makes more sense that Benji was a test instead of a scout. If the Winter Court truly has no idea how prepared Hotel Good Fae is or not, they can’t be stupid enough to only expect Benji to make it back.”
Ren’s lips pursed as he nodded.
“You have a point.” Respect flashed in Caden’s eyes as he looked at me. “A test does seem more likely.”
“Not that any of this isn’t important,” Ren said, and Caden arched a brow. “But Benji was all hail Queen Morgana, talking like her coming back wasn’t something in the distant future but more like an event not too far from now. Was that crazy talk, the dying battle cry of the Winter Court? Or something we need to be concerned about?”
The door opened then. Tanner returned with Faye. Luce was behind them, carrying the bottles of soda under her arm and a file in her other hand. She saw me and did a double-take.
I slid a little in my seat. Yet another person I needed to talk to STAT.
Tanner told Luce who had the sodas in a low voice. She placed one in front of me, her eyebrow raised. I gave her a sheepish grin.
“The Winter Court is nowhere near uttering their final, dying battle cry. Unfortunately,” Caden said, nodding his thanks to Tanner as he placed a glass of water in front of him, “even without some of the Ancients, they are so very much a threat, but the doorways to the Otherworld are sealed. They cannot be reopened.”
My gaze flicked to Tanner as he sat across from me. The doors could be reopened, but as much as I liked Ren, I would not trust him with that information. I wouldn’t trust any Order member with that.
A shock surged through my system. I wouldn’t trust any Order member? Wasn’t I one? Could I even still be one once married to the freaking King of the Summer fae? Sure, they’d kept Ivy on, and she was a halfling. And Miles was open to things that other sects would’ve been dead set against. But Caden had…well, Caden was different.
Did I even want to be an Order member?
Being part of the Order was ingrained in my blood and bones. What would I be without my duty? Not that there was anything wrong with being a wife and a mother, but I needed more than that.
But the better question was, should I even still be Order when I wouldn’t turn over highly necessary information about how the gates could be opened at any time by Caden?
While I had my little moral crisis, Caden was saying, “Unless she’s somehow tripled in power, which is impossible, there is no way for her to physically open the gate.”
“They can worship her like she’s a god,” Fabian chimed in. “But they cannot free her simply by praying for it to happen. What they would need is impossible.”
Not exactly…
I wasn’t sure if Ren accepted the answer or not, but he quieted as I unscrewed the lid of the bottle. There was no fizz. Was it flat? I sighed, but flat soda was better than none. I took a drink, relieved to feel some carbonation, although it sort of tasted like...like diet? I checked the bottle just to make sure I could read properly. It wasn’t diet. Looking up, I saw Fabian frowning at his opened bottle
.
“Luce has some information to share,” Tanner announced, drawing my attention.
Luce nodded. “I was able to do a rapid test thanks to Benji’s affinity for spitting when I went in to see him.”
My lip curled as I took another drink.
“I was also able to get a urine sample,” she said, and Caden’s brows lifted. “You do not want to know how I accomplished that.”
“I was there for it. She is right,” Ren tossed out.
“I’ll take both of your words on that,” Caden said, and I grinned a little.
“This isn’t entirely comprehensive.” She opened the folder. “But from his saliva, I was able to determine that he hadn’t consumed any alcohol in the last two hours, but there were trace amounts in his urine.”
“What does that mean?” Faye asked.
“It means that he drank at some point in the last ninety days, but not recently, and not a lot. If the Devil’s Breath is still being mixed with nightshade and liquor, I don’t believe he’s consumed any of it in the last couple of days.”
Faye started to speak and then stopped to swallow before finding her voice. “But we don’t know how long the Devil’s Breath influences a fae.”
“From what I’ve learned about the borrachero, it’s that it only stays in a human’s system for four hours and then is utterly undetectable in blood tests,” Luce stated carefully.
I recognized that tone. Not the greatest news was coming. I started to drown my sorrow in my soda.
“I can one hundred percent say that it works the same in one of us—that it’s only effective in terms of making one susceptible to persuasion for a short period of time. But there were no traces of scopolamine—the drug most similar here—in his system.” Luce drew in a shallow breath. “I know these results don’t tell us much.”
“But what do you think it does tell us?” Caden asked, sensing there was something she wanted to add.
“This isn’t my specialty,” she started.
“I know. Tell us what you think.”
She nodded curtly as she folded her hands over the file. “I think that Devil’s Breath is only a part of the equation here. We know certain drugs and food and drinks react differently in us. Nightshade for example is poisonous to humans, but it gives us the same effect as some alcoholic beverages do. We also know that scopolamine, in most forms, is absolutely harmless to humans and fae. It’s a common ingredient in motion sickness medication but when it’s chemically processed into what we know as Devil’s Breath, it’s a different story. The fae could obviously be susceptible to it, but I have no reason to believe that it wouldn’t have worn off by now. Very few human drugs have any impact on us.”
The Summer King Bundle: 3 Stories by Jennifer L. Armentrout Page 47
