by Dyan Chick
The sound of his voice seemed to echo inside me, sending a vibration to my core.
Lainey curtseyed and after giving me a quick glance, she scurried away.
I swallowed and slowly turned to face Tristan. I'd been so desperate to see him, to make sure he was safe, that I hadn't thought about how I'd react to him once he was here.
"You wanted to see me?" Tristan asked.
"Thank you for coming," I said.
"I considered sending a message instead," he took a few steps closer to me, "but I am curious to see what you have to say to me while the others aren't around."
Tristan and I had spent some time alone over the past few days. Enough so that I knew that while he might get close to me, he had never done anything unwelcome or pushed too far. "I heard something. No one seems to want to tell me the answers. So far, you seem to be the only one who thinks I can handle knowing the truth. So I thought I'd ask you instead of listening to rumors."
"You know I'm going to ask who told you the rumor, don't you?" He moved even closer to me.
My pulse elevated with each step he took closer to me but I tried to ignore it. "You know I'm not going to tell you that."
He smirked. "You're deliciously loyal, Cassia. It's one of the qualities I admire about you."
He was standing so close to me now that I could nearly feel the heat of his body. My thighs clenched involuntarily at his closeness and I forced myself to focus. "I heard a rumor about the assassin's target."
"I agreed with Cormac this time, that the details weren't necessary for your ears." He narrowed his eyes and seemed to study my face. "But I think he underestimated you. Not a mistake I'm about to make. Yes, the assassin wasn't meant for you. And yes, some of my nobles called in their troops. I can see you working out the pieces, that brain of yours, with the Autumn hunter mentality. Puzzling it all together. Honestly, if it weren't for the strategies those Autumn hunters can come up with, the Winter Court would have succeeded in taking over rather than leaving the other courts behind."
"So that's what happened?" I asked, relishing the new piece of information I'd obtained about Faerie's past.
"Yes, that's part of what Cormac doesn't want you to know. However, that doesn't matter to us now."
"What's going on here, Tristan?" I asked.
"I'm not sure yet, but I have a feeling we're heading to war again. And this time, I'm not on the inside. But when I have more information, I'll let you know. I don't see why you have to be kept in the dark," he said.
"Why not just tell me that? Why let me think someone was after me?" I asked.
"Because some of them are after you, Princess," Tristan said.
I frowned at his use of the word princess again. "I'm not a Princess."
"With all the time you've been spending with those princes, it's likely only a matter of time." Tristan shrugged. He didn't seem jealous in the slightest, an observation that made my stomach turn. For some reason, I wanted him to feel that way. To be a little bit upset about what I had with the others.
"You realized none of this makes sense. Why keep me in the dark? As you said yourself, I can put the pieces together. I can help."
"No, you can't. Not right now, anyway," he said.
"But-"
Tristan put his hand up, interrupting my objection. "There's something you should know about the Queen's sister," Tristan said. "They're half-sisters, two different fathers. One of them, was Winter Fae. She's gifted at reading minds. Probably the most gifted I've ever met."
"Is that something all the Winter Fae can do?" It was something I'd wondered about for a while since meeting Angela.
"No," Tristan said. "Some of us have the gift of sight instead. Some of us have none of those gifts."
He cocked his head to the side and furrowed his brow. "Do you have either of those gifts?"
I swallowed, not sure how to answer that question. I'd had flashes of moments that felt so real that I wondered if they were the future. But I didn't know what any of it meant yet. "I'm not sure."
"Interesting," Tristan said. "Well, whatever you're hiding from me and the others is about to come out. Tiana is very thorough."
I clenched my jaw, trying not to show Tristan that I was nervous about anyone reading my mind.
"We shouldn't keep her waiting. Was there anything else you needed from me?" he asked.
"Are you safe?" The words tumbled out before I could think them through.
Tristan laughed. "Am I safe? Why would you care?"
I crossed my arms over my chest. "Maybe I worry about you, alright?"
"You accused me of trying to kill you," he said.
"And I said I was sorry. I meant it. Why can't you believe that I'd be worried about you when I hear that your nobles are plotting against you and someone broke in here to kill you?"
"You know," he said. "You're the first female I've ever met who turned me down."
I stood in stunned silence. Was that what this was all about? My refusal to sleep in his chambers? I opened my mouth to say something but Tristan already had the door open.
"We're late, princess. Time to go."
Pursing my lips, I marched through the open door into the hall. Tristan had a way of making me feel like I wanted to simultaneously scream at him and tear his clothes off. It was one of the most infuriating and confusing feelings I'd ever had.
Worried I'd betray more than I wanted, I silently followed him down the hall.
I had a mind reader to meet and I hoped she'd keep everything she found in my head to herself.
Chapter Seventeen
I followed Tristan up the stairs and down the hall on the fourth floor. As we approached the room I had just left, I saw Cormac, Ethan, and Dane waiting in the hall. Beyond them, two guards that weren't wearing the colors of the Winter Court were standing on either side of the now closed door. I stared at their burgundy and gold uniforms, trying to place where they came from. Were they traveling as envoys of the Autumn Court or were they directly from the Queen's palace?
"You do look like a princess, love," Dane said.
I lifted an eyebrow in silent protest.
"The colors of the Winter Court look especially stunning on her, don't you think?" Tristan asked.
"She'd look good in anything," Ethan said.
"That's probably true," Tristan said. "Look at us, agreeing on something."
"That is nice to see for a change," I said.
The only male standing in silence was Cormac. His gaze seemed fixated somewhere beyond me as if he wasn't even seeing me.
"Everything alright, Cormac?" I asked, my brow furrowed in concern.
He blinked and then looked at me, as if seeing me for the first time since I arrived. "I'm fine. Lots to think about."
I'd seen Cormac walk away to sulk or be alone. I'd never seen him lose focus in front of me. It was concerning to say the least. "You sure?"
"You should be worried about yourself right now, not me," he said.
"She'll be fine," Ethan said. "I'm sure she'll dazzle her."
My stomach twisted into knots as I realized the Queen's sister was here waiting for me. How did one respond to the sister of a queen? Especially in a place where the title is earned through a trial instead of birth?
"We'll be right outside, Love," Dane said.
"You're not going to see her with me?" Suddenly, my mouth felt very dry.
"She's requested an audience with you alone," Cormac said. "You have nothing to fear."
"Except for any secrets you don't want us to know," Tristan said.
"Cassia," Ethan said. "You have nothing to worry about because you have nothing to hide."
I swallowed and nodded slowly. I hoped I had nothing to hide, but I didn't know enough about who I was or what I was doing here to know what was right or wrong. Was the magic I had going to cause trouble for me? Was my relationship with these males in danger or had I endangered them? Would she now be able to tell how confused I was about everything?
The door opened and another guard stepped out. His burgundy and gold uniform looked so bright against the stark grays and whites of the Winter Court.
I glanced at the princes, wishing I had thought to ask questions that were useful.
"She's ready for you," the guard said.
I turned back to the door as a weight settled into my body, making each step more difficult than it should be. Slowly, I walked toward the door. I didn't look back at any of the princes. I was afraid that I'd lose my nerve if I did. Or that I'd have another one of the strange sexual encounters flash into my mind in front of the mind reader.
I stepped through the threshold and stopped a few steps away from the double doors. Two chairs had been brought into the nearly empty room while I'd been dressing. One was occupied by a female in a gold dress. She stood when she saw me, sending the iridescent fabric of her dress rippling in the weak afternoon sun. She was a few inches taller than me and had long, curly blonde hair that cascaded down her back.
Expression serious, the female seemed to examine me with her blue eyes. Her sharp, pointed nose moved up and down as she made no attempt to mask her thorough examination of me.
I swallowed against a lump in my throat and clenched my hands together as I waited for her to speak.
She walked in a circle around me, the only sound the gentle whisper of fabric over the wood floor.
After what felt like minutes of silence, she walked back to the chair she had been occupying, and sat down. Then, she gestured to the chair opposite hers. "Please, sit."
I sat down in the chair across then remembered my manners. I bolted up so I could drop into a curtsey. All of my informal time with the princes had caused me to forget protocol. "Forgive me, Your Grace."
"Sit, girl. There's no one to see us in here. Besides, I'm not the Queen. I hold no royal titles. I was born into nobility, yes. But I doubt I'm any more high-ranking than you."
"I'm not sure where I would rank." I sat back down, thinking about how nice it would be to sink into anonymity somewhere.
"You really don't care, do you?" She leaned back in the chair and stretched her long arms along the armrests, wrapping slender fingers around the end. She tilted her head and narrowed her eyes, inspecting me again. "It's rare to meet someone who doesn't worry about such things as rank. Truly, you seem like you'd almost rather be a nobody."
I wasn't sure what to say. All of her comments were true, of course. But I hadn't said anything that would make her come to those conclusions. Was she already reading my mind? "I wasn't born here, or at least I wasn't raised here I mean, I suppose I was born here. Somewhere in Faerie at least. But I didn't even know I was Fae until a few days ago."
She lifted a hand and waved dismissively at me. "I know all that. Cormac told me everything. How they found you, the attack at your wedding, the fact that your father was paid off by someone. I'm here to figure out if your powers might give us a clue as to who sent you to that horrid place to begin with."
I leaned back in the chair, considering her words. She probably knew the whole tale of my time with the princes. She probably knew of the attacks by the monsters and how we hunted them. It was possible she even knew about my relationships with two of them. "We were on our way to see the Queen." The words sounded stupid as they came out of my mouth, but I didn't know what else to say.
"I'm aware. I'm also aware of the fact that you show an affinity for three, maybe even four Courts. That's something that shouldn't be possible. Even our strongest, most elite warriors do not have affinity for more than one Court. Those like me, born of two Courts only hold the power of one. There have been stories of those who have carried the powers of both their mother and father, but they've never been proven as true. For you to have all four is impossible. Unless..." she trailed off, then pushed herself to standing.
"Unless what?" I asked.
She moved on silent footsteps until she closed the distance between the two of us. My heart raced, as I sat glued to the space in the chair staring up at the female. I could tell she was dangerous, it wasn't even a question in my mind. I knew this was someone you did not want to cross.
She stretched her arms out until her hands were hovering on either side of my head. "Don't worry, this won't hurt." She gently touched her fingertips to my temples and then she closed her eyes.
For a moment, I watched her eyelids flicker, wondering what she was doing to me. Then, I gasped as my body involuntarily pressed harder into the back of the chair. I winced, as something uncomfortable withered through me, rolling down my spine and crawling up through my limbs toward my head. It didn't hurt, exactly. But it was uncomfortable and I strained against the unnatural intrusion.
I wanted to free myself from her, I wanted to get out of the chair and run from the room into the safety of Dane or Ethan or Cormac or even Tristan. I tried to scream, but sound wouldn't escape my mouth.
Terrified, I squirmed, trying to break free of the chair. My body was stuck, frozen in place, as if bound by invisible chains. Searing heat sizzled across my skin as a memory replayed in my mind. I was trying to escape my father's home and in the white light I had created, someone had bound me with chains. The pain coursed through my body as if I were really there. When I broke free in the memory, relief surged through me as I made my escape.
The memory was gone only to be replaced by another. I was standing next to Cormac in front of a bonfire and a rush of emotions tumbled through me. Want, desire, sadness, pain, hunger. They mixed into a boiling pool and despite the fact that I knew it was a memory, I reached for Cormac trying to grab hold of him to pull myself out of whatever nightmare I'd been sucked into. As I reached for him, he faded, only to be replaced by Ethan with his arms around me.
I only got the touch of him for a second before that happy memory was ripped from me, sending me into the last monster attack where I had to watch all four of the males I had grown to care about fighting for their lives. I screamed, opening my mouth without sound. I didn't want to relive this memory. I didn't want to see Ethan hurt again. I didn't want to go back to that place where I was unsure if he would live or die. As the battle played out in front of me, I fought against the invisible restraints until I felt the clawing of my own magic inside.
Mentally, I reached for my magic, pulling on it, encouraging it. I wanted out of whatever this was and I was willing to do whatever it took to make it stop. Something felt like it exploded inside of me and I launched myself from the chair, finally regaining control of my body. I landed in a heap on the floor, my breathing rapid as if I had been running for miles.
Slowly, I rolled onto my back and looked up at where Tiana was staring down at me eyes wide in surprise.
I sat up and pushed myself to standing. "That memory is not for you. I am not going to live through almost losing Ethan. Do you understand me?" I knew I shouldn't be threatening her. I knew she was more powerful than anyone I'd encountered so far. Probably more powerful than any of the princes waiting outside the door for me. But I didn't know her, and I was willing to risk her wrath to keep from having to go through that pain again. "You have no right."
"Sit down." The words came out like a command.
I knew I pushed it too far, I didn't have Cormac here to protect me and for all I knew, insulting the Queen's sister could be the same as insulting the Queen herself.
Lower lip trembling I tried to remain calm. I wanted to show her I was strong and that I wasn't someone to be pushed around. "You don't belong inside my head. If there's something you want to know, ask me."
"Sit." She backed away from me, settling into the chair across from me again.
Slowing my breathing, I forced myself to sit. My hands were shaking with anger as I stared at the stranger. Why would she do that to me? Why would she put me through that again? What did she need from my head? Jaw clenched, I forced myself to remain silent while I waited for an explanation.
Chapter Eighteen
"You do have some magic," she said. "And it's stron
g enough to push me out of your head."
"You already knew that. I told you. You could have asked me," I said.
"I was hoping to be able to identify your magic from your memories. But since you won't grant me access to them, which I must admit is a pretty impressive feat for someone who says she had no training, we'll have to do it a different way."
"I haven't had any training. Cormac started showing me how to cycle, but that's it," I said. "Wait, what other way?"
"You have to be tested. I can't allow you to visit my sister until I know what you're capable of. If you won't let me see your memories, we’ll have to do something else."
"It might've gone better if you told me what you were doing. I've never had someone inside my head before. I was scared."
"Oh really?" she said with a smirk. "You've been around Tristan for the last several days and you have no ability to mask what you're thinking. His skills are almost as good as my own. I guarantee you, he's seen inside your head."
Tristan had told me he couldn't see my future, but I didn't know what all he was capable of. I was transported back to that moment in a small palace where I pictured Tristan naked. He commented in a way that made me know he'd seen what I was thinking. Flushed, hoping the female seated in front of me couldn't read my thoughts. But now I didn't know what to believe. "Seeing memories is different from seeing what people are thinking?"
"Yes," she said. "Not everyone who can read thoughts can access memories. As you now know, the process can be uncomfortable for the person who's having memories read. Though, to be fair, I had no way of knowing you had such painful memories."
"Like I said, you never asked." I crossed my arms over my chest. We were going in circles and I was starting to think this was exactly what Tiana wanted. I didn't know what her other method of testing powers was, but she seemed rather pleased that I had kicked her out of my head.
"I'm surprised the princes have agreed to help you with a mouth like that. If I found you, and you spoke to me this way, I would've thrown you to the beasts. You must be a very good partner in bed. There's no other reason I can think of that they keep you around."
