The fae’s arms go still, breaking the spell he has over the throne room. The windows are uncovered then, and the nobles clap. Lena waits until they’re finished before she says, “Thank you, Daron. I will let you know.”
“Let him know what?” I ask Aren, keeping my voice low.
“Daron wants to be named Lena’s Court Illusionist,” he says. “It’s a respected position and will signify he’s one of the best illusionists in the Realm. I promised him he could perform for her if he created a lightning storm in Rhigh.”
“He did that?” I look at the black-clad fae again.
Aren nods. “He’s an old friend of mine.”
The fact that he doesn’t say more than that tells me they were friends back when Aren worked with Thrain. That darkens my mood.
At the other end of the throne room, Lena’s voice rings out. “You may go.”
Daron gives her a respectful bow. Lena watches him retreat. Then she must see Aren and me standing here because she adds, “You may all go.”
The nobles look reluctant to leave, but eventually, they make their way out. Kavok follows them, giving me a pleasant smile until he sees Paige and Lee waiting just outside the door.
“Are they shadow-readers?” he asks.
That’s actually a good question. I look at the two humans, take a guess. “I don’t think so.”
He seems disappointed by that. I don’t know if I am or not. It would be nice to have another shadow-reader just like it would be nice to have more Sighted humans. It would lighten my responsibilities, give all of us more time off. I might even have a better chance at getting and keeping a job. On the other hand, I don’t want to bring anyone else into this war. I especially don’t want Paige to be involved in it. It’s not that she needs protection or can’t handle this new world or anything, but she’s been perfectly fine and happy before all of this. The only reason she’s here is because of me, and I hate being at fault for that.
“Can I find you in the archives later?” I ask Kavok, before he leaves. Maybe he’s come across a story in the Realm’s literature or history about a fae giving humans the Sight.
“Of course,” he says with a smile.
He and the rest of the fae exit the throne room, leaving behind only the guards, Lena, and Kyol, who’s standing to the left of her dais. Aren dismisses the fae who escorted Paige and Lee here, then we all approach the throne.
“Obviously, it turned out not to be a false lead,” Lena says, standing to study the two humans. “A trap?”
Paige rolls her eyes when Lena switches to Fae. She never would have worked for Atroth. There’s no way she’d put up with his rules. I honestly don’t know how I did for so long, now. Habit, maybe. In the beginning, I wanted to be near Kyol, the king was nice to me, and it felt good to be needed. I didn’t understand the Realm and its magic, so I was willing to follow the rules just so I wouldn’t harm it. All those reasons seem weak now; they didn’t at the time.
“Atroth’s Sighted humans were there,” Aren says. “They were dead.”
“Dead?” Lena asks sharply. “Are you sure?”
“Tortured and killed,” Aren says. “I’m sure.”
Beside Lena, Kyol straightens. “It doesn’t make sense for the remnants to kill them.”
Kyol is an expert at hiding his emotions, but his words are so monotone and spoken so softly, I know he’s not unaffected by the news. He worked with all the Sighted humans at one time or another, and he recruited at least one of them. It’s not his fault they’re dead, but he considered protecting them one of his many responsibilities.
“It makes slightly more sense if they can make more,” Aren says. Kyol and Lena focus on him, but he doesn’t elaborate. He’s looking back at the entrance to the hall. Naito’s there, walking toward us with his hands in his pockets and his gaze focused on the strip of carpet beneath his feet.
I glance at Lee. He sees his brother, too, and turns to face him fully. Naito doesn’t look up until he reaches us. He takes everyone in, lingering for a few seconds on Paige, then finally resting his gaze on Lee. We’re all quiet, waiting for one of them to say something. Lee breaks the silence first.
“Naito,” he says, his jaw visibly clenching and unclenching.
Not even a twitch from Naito to show he recognizes Lee. Aren looks at me. I give him a tight-lipped smile in return. Aren and Naito are friends. We both want him to get better, but neither one of us knows how to help.
Lena turns away from them, faces Aren. “What do you mean, ‘make more’?”
“She didn’t have the Sight three weeks ago,” he says, motioning to Paige. “Someone gave it to—”
I don’t know where the knife comes from. One second, Naito is standing there all still and sober, the next, he’s closed the distance between him and his brother. Light from one of the hall’s tall windows glints off Naito’s blade as he slashes out.
EIGHTEEN
LEE’S QUICK. NAITO aims for his heart, but he turns his body sideways and bends out of the way.
Naito’s momentum takes him past his brother. He swings his left fist back, manages to hammer Lee in the face as he brings his dagger around a second time. But Aren steps in, blocking Naito’s attack and disarming him in a move too quick to follow.
“Naito, stop!” Aren gets his arms around the human. “Stop!”
Naito struggles, trying to get at Lee. He hasn’t been this animated since Kelia died, and it’s as if he’s unleashing all his bottled-up rage and pain at once until, all of a sudden, he stops.
Cautiously, Aren loosens his hold. “Are you done?”
“How did you get here?” Naito demands, his chest rising and falling as if it can barely contain his fury.
“Nice to see you again, too, brother,” Lee says, running a hand over his jaw and working it back and forth.
Naito’s nostrils flare. I swear he’s about to launch himself at Lee again, but then, his forehead creases. He looks from Lee to Paige, then back to Lee again.
“Son of a bitch,” he says. “He did it.”
Lee’s face hardens. He sticks his hands in his pockets but doesn’t break eye contact with his brother.
“Did what?” Aren asks.
Naito remains focused on Lee as well. “He was trying to find a way to give normal humans the Sight.”
Lena, who’s been watching the interaction between the two humans with a mildly curious expression, suddenly appears to be very interested.
“What?” she demands.
“I should have realized it in Germany,” Naito says. “Or in Montana. I thought my father had a lot of humans with him, but I didn’t think…”
Lena takes a step toward him. “What do you mean?”
“Nakano gave them the Sight?” Aren asks, turning to look at both Paige and Lee.
“Lee gave me the Sight,” Paige says. “I’ve never met his dad.”
Lena grabs Naito’s arm. “Why didn’t you tell us this before?”
He jerks his arm free. “I didn’t know. I thought most of them were firing blindly whenever they saw the underbrush move. That’s what they’ve always done.”
“Lena.” Kyol speaks her name softly but firmly. A muscle in her cheek twitches then, all the emotions she shouldn’t be showing in front of her guards—anger, worry, fear—vanish.
“How does he give people the Sight?” she asks, her voice cool.
Naito slides his hands into his pockets and says, “He was working on a serum.”
“And you didn’t think to tell us about this before now?” Lena is still calm but just barely.
Naito shakes his head, more in disbelief than in response to Lena. “I never thought it would work.”
I glance at Paige. Well, clearly it did work. Paige’s life has been turned completely upside down, all because Lee wanted to find me.
Lena’s mouth narrows into a thin line as she looks at Paige. I know why she’s worried. If the remnants know what we do, they’ll try to get the serum. They might a
lready have it. If they do, they have the ability to make an army of Sighted humans with who knows how many shadow-readers among them. Our illusionists will be useless. We’ll be unable to fissure to safety. In short, we’ll be screwed.
“Do the remnants know about this?” For some reason, Lena’s asking Paige, not Lee. Maybe it’s because Paige is my friend and, therefore, more likely to help us than the son of a vigilante, but Paige meets Lena’s gaze, and says, “I don’t know.”
She’s lying. One of her ex-boyfriends discovered her tell a few years back. He was a wannabe pro poker player, and he noticed she always jutted her chin out after a bluff. It’s jutted out now, just the slightest bit.
“How do we get it?” Lena demands.
“You captured a fae yesterday,” Paige says. “Tylan. I want to talk to him.”
Lena raises an eyebrow. “Do you?”
It’s the wrong tone to take with Paige. She squares her shoulders and doesn’t look away. She has no clue how dangerous Lena is. She has no clue how dangerous all the fae are.
“Let me talk to him, and I’ll consider telling you where the Sight serum is,” Paige says.
“Paige.” Lee takes her arm, whispers something into her ear. I can’t hear it. The fae have better hearing than I do, but by the way Lena leans toward them, I’m not sure she picks it up either.
“We don’t need her to tell us where it is.” Naito’s voice is cold. He meets Lena’s gaze. “Send me back to Earth. I’ll get it.”
In my peripheral vision, I see Aren shake his head. Naito sees it, too. He rounds on the fae. “You should want him dead as much as I do.”
“We’re not protecting your father,” Aren counters. He doesn’t back away even though it looks like Naito’s one second away from ripping out his throat. “People make mistakes when they’re angry and mourning.”
Naito’s eyes are hard. “I won’t make a mistake.”
There’s a harsh laugh from my right. Lee. His jaw is swelling, but it doesn’t seem to be bothering him anymore. He glares at Naito with eyes that are just as dark and angry as his brother’s.
“Dad was right,” he says. “You’ve gone native, and you aren’t coming back. You’re turning your back on your family.”
“My family”—Naito practically spits the word—“turned its back on me first. I know why you’re here, Lee. I was born with the Sight. That made me Dad’s favorite. Now, you can see the fae, and you have Dad’s blessing to kill me. You’ve been dreaming about this day for years, haven’t you?”
Before Lee can answer, Paige’s eyes go wide. She turns on him. “God, tell me that’s not true.”
Lee grimaces. That hits me as odd. There’s major family drama going on here, and Naito’s tone has been scathing this whole time. Lee hasn’t flinched once. But at Paige’s comment? I don’t have much evidence to go by, but I’d bet everything I own that Lee has a thing for Paige. It’s not a surprise. I can’t exactly explain what it is about her, but she’s the type of girl that all guys want. The way she presents herself draws attention. She’s the life of the party, the girl you call if you need a friend to hang out with. In short, she’s fun. I wish I could be half as lighthearted as she is—I was back in high school—but the last decade of my life has been spent reading shadows and seeing fae. Seeing so much death and violence kind of puts things into perspective.
“Paige, you don’t understand,” Lee says. “My father lost his arm—”
“‘I haven’t seen my brother in years.’ ‘I need to know he’s alive.’” Paige’s mocking imitation of Lee is actually pretty good. “I was helping you because I thought you cared about him.”
“That’s enough of this,” Lena cuts in, descending to the middle step of her dais. She looks at Naito. “You know where your father is keeping the serum?”
“I can find out.”
“I’ll have Trev fissure you home,” she says. “But you have to promise not to go after your father on your own. We need the serum first.”
We need more than the serum, actually—all his father’s notes and research, his backed-up documents, hell, maybe even his scientist—but something in the way Lena’s talking about all of this bothers me. It’s like she’s hinging all her hope on winning this war on getting the serum. Or, more specifically, getting more Sighted humans.
“You know you can’t actually use it, don’t you?” I say.
Her head tilts ever so slightly. “We don’t have enough humans to watch all portions of the wall and palace.”
“I know, but who are you going to give it to?” I ask. “Most humans have no clue the fae exist.”
“We’ll introduce ourselves,” she says. I can’t tell if she’s being sarcastic or not.
I shake my head. “You can’t interfere with people’s lives like that. They shouldn’t be made to fight a war for you.”
She exhales sharply. She’s annoyed with me, but I don’t care. I won’t let her do this.
“I won’t force them to help us,” she says. “I’ll ask. And with their help, this war shouldn’t last much longer.”
“So what are you going to do? Give the humans the Sight, then dump them back on Earth when you’re finished with them?”
Aren steps forward. “Maybe we should talk about this later. We’re all tired.”
“I’m not,” Paige says. “I still want to talk to Tylan.”
Lena levels a cool gaze on my friend. “I don’t know who you’re talking about. We’ve captured a lot of remnants in the last week.”
We’ve killed a lot of them, too, but I’m glad Lena doesn’t go there.
I cut in. “They can stay for now in a room near mine—”
“Two rooms,” Paige interjects.
“Two rooms near mine,” I amend.
Lena’s eyes narrow. “She can go when she answers my questions.”
Questions, not question. Lena will turn this into a full-fledged interrogation if I don’t get Paige out of here now. It’s my fault Paige is mixed up in all of this; I have to keep her safe. And more, I want to talk to her. Alone. I need to convince her that the rebels aren’t the bad guys. I look at Aren, hold his gaze long enough for him to know what I want.
“Let them go,” he says to Lena. “McKenzie will talk to them.”
I move too quickly to grab Paige’s arm. My ribs protest, but I grit my teeth and pull her toward the exit before Lena gets it into her mind to object again. I half expect her to order us to stop or to put up a wall of air to prevent us from going any farther.
When we’re almost to the end of the hall, Paige leans toward me, and says quietly, “I don’t like her.”
I give her a tight smile. “I didn’t either.”
“So why are you helping them?” she asks. “They kidnapped you, didn’t they? Because you’re the best shadow-tracker or something.”
“That’s what the remnants of the Court told you.”
“Yeah. And they promised me they’d free you. It was one of those if-I-help-them, they-help-me things. I wasn’t even sure you were alive, but…” She shrugs. “You are. They didn’t lie about that.”
“They just lied about me being a prisoner, still.”
“I’m not sure if they knew what your status was.”
Oh, they definitely knew. They’ve tried to capture and kill me enough times in the past couple of weeks that there’s no denying it.
We turn down a hall, and I catch a glimpse of Lee behind us. He’s quiet, walking with his hands in the pockets of his jeans. From his conversation with Naito, I take it he’s anti-fae like his father, and I wonder if it’s hard being here around the people he hates. I wonder if it’s just Naito he’s come to kill.
Lena must be concerned about that, too, because farther behind us is Trev. He doesn’t exactly look happy to be stuck with this babysitting duty. I actually don’t blame him. It seems like he’s always getting put on the crappy assignments.
“The Court fae lied to me when I worked for them,” I say. “They let me
believe they were capturing the fae I tracked for them. They didn’t. The king was brutal in how he tried to win the war. He manipulated things to keep himself in power. Lena isn’t like that. She’s been very open about what she’s done and what she plans to do.”
“What about Aren?” she asks. “He’s the Butcher of Brykeld, right? You acted like you hated him at Amy’s wedding.”
I try to suppress a grimace but fail. I know how my relationship with Aren will sound, and, sure enough, Paige stops.
“Oh, God,” she says, eyes wide. “McKenzie, tell me you didn’t fall in love with your kidnapper. Is that why you switched sides?”
“No!” The word comes out harsher than I intended, but she’s been aware of the fae no more than two weeks, and she’s acting like she knows everything. “I told you why I switched.”
“I thought you were smarter than that,” she continues, as if I didn’t say anything.
“I am,” I snap back. Then I draw in a breath, trying to stay calm. If she’s half as tired as I am, she’s probably on a short fuse, too. I don’t want to fight with her. I want her to see that the rebels are okay and that I am okay. Then I want her to stay out of this war.
“I’m trying to be,” I say, softening my tone. “I’m taking things as slow as I can, but Aren…” This is awkward, talking about my love life. I’ve never done this before. “I don’t really want to take things slow.”
“You’re not sleeping with him?”
I shake my head.
“Because,” Paige continues, “if you are sleeping with him, I want details.”
I almost laugh. Paige doesn’t exactly agree with my relationship with Aren, but she’s not holding it against me. Her ability to accept me for who I am, no matter how crazy I seem…that’s why she’s been my friend for so long.
“This lightning”—she holds up her hand, waits for a chaos luster to strike across it—“I bet it makes just kissing a fae explosive. By the way, I totally get why you never let me shake Kyol or Aren’s hands.”
The Shattered Dark sr-2 Page 19
