“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 enjoy 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, f
ar 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, smarter, 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.”
As he paused on front of her, Asrian asked, “Are you hungry or tired?”
“A little of both, but mostly the latter of the two,” she admitted.
“Our room is ready if you are, Lilith.”
She blushed as the room grew silent. Lilith peered at the others before letting Asrian direct her in the opposite direction, towards a staircase that led to a different section of the Guild. A few more stairways and several minutes later, they entered what appeared to be a sitting area, one that had several hallways which all led in different directions.
“We’re down here,” he said, slipping his much larger hand around her tiny one. His hand dwarfed hers, engulfing it and yet it was gentle. The touch sent shocks of awareness awakening through her until her heartbeat increased, and her legs waited to stop in place as she reacted to him, to his touch. “Today was a lot to take in.”
“I didn’t handle it well,” she admitted. She’d been horrified, and her entire world had been ripped out from beneath her feet, and she’d panicked, rejecting everything. “I’ve spent my entire life believing she was dead, and this entire time, she’s been living in luxury while our people suffered. And Lara, she needed her the most. You have no idea what being Horde means in our world. It’s a stigma most people hate; people fear them and react based on that alone.”
“But not you?” he asked slyly.
“I loathe the Horde, yes, but not her, not the unwanted castaways they abuse. They’re blameless victims, born of violence on most occasions. I can admit that not all are as bad as we’ve been told, or violent.”
Asrian hadn’t been; in fact, he’d been gentle with her. He’d done what no one else in her life had ever done. He’d asked her what she wanted, and he’d meant it. Asrian hadn’t needed to care what she’d wanted, but he had. He’d sensed her need.
“So I’m not that bad, huh?” he chuckled, and she pulled on his hand, forcing him to stop and look at her.
“Today when you asked me what I wanted, it was the first time anyone has ever asked me that question. It was the first time anyone cared to. Lara has always loved me, that I do not doubt, but I am the one who took care of her. Thank you,” she uttered awkwardly. “And no, I don’t think you’re so bad. But you’re Horde, heathen king. Actually, since I am no longer queen, you’re just a heathen prince now.”
“Titles don’t make my dick hard, Lilith. You do, though.”
“That’s…sweet, almost. I think. You do know you’re rather crude, right?” When he just smiled, she rolled her eyes skyward and let him continue moving them down the hall.
“I’m not good with words or beating around the bush. I say what I mean, and I mean what I say. You were supposed to be an easy thing to hit and quit, but I have this feeling you won’t be. People suck, I won’t argue that. But the Horde isn’t all monsters and mayhem. We have good ones too, and we have some baddies. But we’re trying to fix it. We’ve been trying for a long time, even before we killed our father. You want to know how he saved her. We got there before he did that day when it went down. Ryder told her everything that was coming, and what to do. He explained it to her, and she knew her own court would pay for what they’d done against the Horde. She helped us get people out, but before we could get Lara out—which by the way, we had no fucking clue she was related to us—without suspicion arising, my father struck the Court of Night. She raced to it to protect you. You and your sister were her entire world, but we couldn’t stop him from attacking it, and she offered herself up to pay the tithe, but he wasn’t exactly lenient enough to take her and be done.
“He beat her; Alazander beat her so fucking badly that we weren’t sure she’d survive it. So Ryder took her to where her people had been hidden and left her. We ruined a corpse, making sure our father would never know the difference between it and what he’d done to your mother, and we hung it from the wall. See, the thing is, we didn’t put it together, or why she’d run to the Night Court until now; we didn’t know you were hers, or we could have righted the wrong. You think it was easy for her to decide to stay with her people instead of you? It wasn’t. She argued it over and over again, but if she’d returned, she’d have been hunted by the hounds and dragged back to him, my father. By the time Ryder killed our father, so many years had passed, and there had been no sight or word of Lara surviving the attacks—and you, she knew you were alive and well. So put yourself in her shoes, see it through a queen’s eyes. Her people needed her, and you didn’t. She sent people out of that realm, I’m guessing to check on you. I’m also guessing they returned and told her you were a fucking warrior who was surviving.”
“I understand her choices. I know why she did it, but once he was dead, once the threat had passed, she should have brought the people back.”
“Go back to what? A pile of ruins, debt to the other courts who want the Court of Shadows destroyed? She had always planned to come back, but on top of everything happening, and everything that has happened, Faery itself is now in peril.”
“If I feed you, will you shut up?” she asked, glancing at him sideways.
“So to get you into bed, all I have to do is talk? Why didn’t you just start with that?” he chuckled as he picked her up without warning, rushing down the hallway.<
br />
“Put me down, giant oaf! You’ll break me if you drop me from here,” she shrieked as she held onto him tightly, her arms going around his throat tightly as she held onto him for dear life.
“You’re afraid of heights?” he laughed.
“No, I’m not afraid of anything,” she lied, her eyes dropping from where his mouth was entirely too close to hers. His breath fanned her flesh, and before she could stop it, her tongue came out to lick her own in anticipation.
“You’re so fucked,” he muttered as his eyes followed her tongue with heat banking in their emerald depths.
Chapter 14
The bedroom was lavish, done in soft green and cream colors. Lilith swallowed hard as she took in the large bed, but a glance at Asrian’s hulking frame confirmed the need. The covers had been pulled back, and pillows were scattered aside already, as if someone had anticipated them needing rest.
“I had food brought up for you,” he said as he scratched the back of his neck, staring at the bed. “After you’re fed, you can either feed me or not. I won’t ask it of you tonight. I’m an asshole, but not that big of one. The choice is yours,” he grumbled as he placed a tray of fruit, meat, and cheese onto a small table that sat in the corner. “I didn’t know what you wanted or liked, so I just grabbed a little of everything.”
“It’s great, really,” she said as she moved closer, taking in the spread of food. She picked up a red thing, staring at it before plopping it between her lips as he watched her with wide eyes.
“I forgot you have not been outside of Faery, but that was a strawberry,” he chuckled as she plucked the leaves from between her now red lips. “You don’t eat that part, you take it off,” he explained before removing the leaves from the next. “Like this,” he continued before holding it to her lips, watching as she opened them to accept his offering. Her lips clamped around his finger as she took it, sucking the juice from his digit. “Gods, woman,” he uttered as he watched her licking the juice from her lips.
A Demon's Plaything: The Elite Guards Page 8
