Judged

by Liz de Jager

  ‘I love you too, wolf boy.’

  He makes a little satisfied noise and kisses the top of my head and it makes me laugh. I fall asleep like that, leaning against him, and for maybe half an hour there are no nightmares or monsters stalking my dreams.

  The Otherwhere, Alba, the Citadel

  ‘My liege?’

  Aelfric, High King of Alba, one of the most powerful men of the Otherwhere, peered expectantly over the glasses perched on the tip of his nose, fork paused halfway to his mouth. It was the one thing upon which he insisted: an undisturbed lunch served within the privacy of his chambers. No one would dare disturb him – except, of course, his lieutenant and left-hand man.

  ‘You’re interrupting, Oswald.’

  Oswald schooled his features to look deferential and apologetic. The obvious show fooled no one, least of all Aelfric, who sat back in his chair with the air of someone greatly put upon.

  ‘Speak, man. Or are you here to watch me eat?’

  ‘Sire, I have come from meeting with one of our …’ Oswald’s mouth twists around the word. ‘… Informants.’

  Aelfric pursed his lips. ‘Which one was this, again?’

  ‘The fire pixie, sire. You personally vetted her as an informant.’

  ‘Ah, yes.’ Then. ‘No. I don’t remember her. What did she have to say for herself?’

  ‘She’s found the boy, sire.’

  Aelfric paused thoughtfully, head tilted to the side slightly as he considered Oswald’s words. ‘Which boy would this be?’

  ‘Eadric’s son.’

  ‘Well, now. That’s a thing.’

  ‘Indeed.’

  ‘And where did our enterprising pixie find my traitor brother’s illegitimate son?’

  ‘Eadric did marry the prin—’ Oswald stopped mid-sentence at Aelfric’s dark look. He cleared his throat. ‘He’s with the Blackhart girl. They were spotted together several times in the past few weeks.’

  Aelfric pretended not to notice Oswald’s wary gaze or how the man took a step back when he rose from his chair.

  ‘Does the boy know of his lineage?’

  ‘We aren’t certain.’ Oswald turned to face him as Aelfric moved towards the windows. ‘What would you have me do, sire?’

  ‘The Blackhart girl, does she know who he is?’

  ‘That’s not clear either, but it would be wise to assume that she does. And if she does, the boy would know too.’

  ‘Kill them both.’

  If Oswald had any quibbles or questions, Aelfric would never know. The man did as he was told and always had done. It was why Aelfric paid him so well.

  Oswald bowed briefly before slipping from the king’s chambers through a hidden door. Only a handful of people even knew of its existence and the king liked it that way.

  Aelfric seated himself once more, but the food no longer appealed. He felt a cold, hard rush of anger and allowed his magic to run free, overturning the laden table onto the floor. The crash as it fell brought guards and a young page running.

  ‘I’m done. Clean this up.’

  Aelfric waited until his staff had hastily set the room to rights before he entered the adjoining private audience room. He saved it for his more clandestine gatherings – outside the remit of his privy council.

  ‘I need you to escalate the spread of the drug,’ Aelfric told the lone waiting Sidhe. ‘I don’t care how you do it. Flood the Frontier with the stuff. Use everyone we have at our disposal. I no longer care about being careful or working to a slow or steady timescale. Do it now. I want the Frontier under my control by the New Year.’

  ‘It’s going to be a risk, your majesty. The Veil isn’t strong enough to handle the flow of magic as I take more Fae and components for the drug across. We risk it tearing entirely—’ The man’s voice broke when Aelfric grabbed his face, his fingers hooking and digging into the curve of his jaw.

  ‘Don’t for a moment believe I care what you think, Zane. I’ve given you an instruction and you will follow it. Is that clear?’

  Zane, the Sun King’s chamberlain and chief confidant, could only nod, his eyes very large above the steel grip of the High King of Alba’s hand.

  ‘Good. That’s good.’ Aelfric dropped his hand and smoothed the smaller man’s jacket.

  ‘Now, what does your Sun King want from me? What little favour this time?’

  Aelfric listened to Zane prattling on, pleading the Sun King’s case. But his mind was occupied by the extensive preparations for the upcoming Midwinter Ball. It would be a fine time, he thought, to reveal the Fae’s existence to the humans and extend his hand in friendship to the governments of the world. Christmas was such an emotional time for humans, who believed so wholeheartedly in magic and miracles. It was time to remind them that magic and monsters were just as real as fairy tales made them seem.

  Chapter Three

  I spend Saturday morning catching up on paperwork and the coursework my tutor Lan has sent along. She’s spoken to Uncle Andrew, and it has been agreed that all in-person classes are to be suspended for the rest of the year. But both Kyle and I have to continue doing our lessons remotely and independently, sending them on to Lan for marking. I am so far behind on any coursework that even if I spend every day for a month doing it, I’ll still not catch up.

  I work for as long as I can, but by the time lunch comes round I just can’t ignore the growing headache at the base of my skull. I only saw Aiden and Dante briefly at breakfast earlier. Their night out at the club has given them no new clues as to who is handing out Glow to kids, and Aiden excused himself to go for a long run around Hyde Park after breakfast.

  I am due to meet them for an hour’s worth of training in the gym downstairs, but the thought of being active makes my stomach roll.

  I head upstairs instead and stand in the shower for ages, letting cooling water soothe my aching head. The headaches usually go hand in hand with nosebleeds. More worries to add to my growing list of Things Wrong with Kit.

  I think I doze off in the shower because when I wake up the water’s not that warm any more. I hastily dry myself off and shiver in the cool air. With the towel wrapped around me, I walk back into my room and find Aiden stretched out on my bed, flicking through my sketchpad. I hesitate and he lowers it to stare at me.

  ‘You don’t look so good.’

  ‘Get off my bed, Aiden. I’m just tired and my head hurts. Nothing serious.’

  I walk past him and grab my backpack, pulling out my toiletry bag to try to find the painkillers I’m always reluctant to use.

  The migraine is threatening to flare into a full-blown roaring nightmare and my hands can’t stop shaking.

  ‘I’m worried about you,’ he says, watching me, ‘and I don’t like it. I’m not built for worrying.’

  ‘I’m fine.’ I look down at him and smile. ‘Seriously. I’m just tired. I haven’t been sleeping well.’

  ‘I can tell you’re lying, Kit.’

  ‘No, you can’t.’

  He stands to tower over me. I hate it when he does that.

  ‘Lying.’ He drops hands to my shoulders. ‘Come on, tell me what’s going on.’

  I step out of his reach and pop two of the tablets onto my palm and reach for the water bottle next to my bed. ‘No, really. I’m just tired. My head hurts a little.’ I swallow the pills and sit on the bed. ‘I’m going to have a nap. Call me for dinner?’

  I worry that he’s going to insist on talking but he moves towards the door. He turns back, one hand on the handle.

  ‘I thought we were friends.’ He says the words so softly that for a second I’m not sure I heard him right.

  ‘That’s a dumb thing to say. Of course we’re friends.’

  ‘Then why do you push me away? Why don’t you tell me what’s going on with you?’ He walks back to stand in front of me and I notice the strain around his mouth. It makes me feel guilty.

  ‘What’s there to tell, Aide? I’m worried about Thorn and the way we left him in the Otherw
here. And I left those kids behind too, when it was my job to get them to safety.’ I can see the image of the room with the goddess and those kids all too vividly in my mind. ‘Every time I fall asleep I dream about them, and the fact we ran away, leaving Thorn to fight for us. I dream about what those kids are going through. The fact that they’re being used as batteries to feed an ancient goddess. It’s sick and twisted and weird and we did nothing to help.’

  ‘There was nothing we could do, and you know that.’

  ‘But those kids, Aide. I promised I’d bring them back.’

  ‘Sometimes things are taken out of our hands and we just have to find a way to live with it, you know.’

  ‘No. We always have choices to make and I ran. I ran to save my life.’

  ‘You ran because running meant you would live to fight another day. And your uncle and my dad now know about the goddess and they’re searching for a way to help her – and those kids.’ He touches my cheek lightly. ‘You’re not alone, okay? Get some sleep. I’ll call you for dinner. We’re doing movies and chilling out tonight. I promise. Nothing strenuous.’

  I nod and watch him leave, pulling the door shut behind him. I change into sleep-shorts and a vest and crawl into bed, letting the pills work their magic.

  Chapter Four

  I clatter downstairs just before seven after an unexpectedly restful sleep. I’m about to head into the kitchen when I catch movement from the corner of my eye; I check the large lounge area.

  The Fae stands in the middle of the room, tall, broad-shouldered and dressed in elaborate courtier’s clothes. His overcoat is red and gold, but the sash around his waist is black, matching his slim trousers.

  ‘Lady Blackhart,’ Strachan says, gloved hand resting formally on the hilt of his sword as he executes a light bow. He looks so different to the combat-ready Fae who helped me stake out a North London warehouse just a few weeks ago when we took on Morika and her cronies. Strach’s gaze sweeps over my sweatpants and out of shape jumper before coming to rest on my face. ‘You look … interesting.’ His lips twist and I realize that of course he can’t lie and tell me I look good when I don’t. It’s one of the few things with which faeries tend to have a problem, although they seem to have no issues with twisting the truth.

  ‘Strachan,’ I say, my voice wavering as I feel genuine concern. As the youngest son to the heir to Alba’s throne, a formal visit from Strachan was a pretty big deal. ‘Aiden didn’t tell me you were here.’

  He gestures nonchalantly, dismissing my concern. ‘I’ve only just arrived. Aiden will be back at any minute. He had to attend to something. I think he’s escorting a rúnsearc from the house.’

  I struggle for a moment to translate the unfamiliar word and the way he pronounced it: uh-ROON-shark. And when I do, I can’t help but smile and blush. The word is Irish and translates as something close to secret beloved.

  He must mean Dante, I realize, and feel a chill tinge my amusement. Aiden must be hiding him from Strachan. Aiden knows that by being obvious about trying to hide a lover, he’ll attract less attention from Strachan, as Strachan knows of his amorous reputation.

  Even so, with Dante’s father a traitor to Aelfric’s kingdom of Alba, having him around is asking for trouble. We have no idea how the scions of Alba would react to finding Dante in our protection. It just isn’t a chance we can take.

  ‘What are you doing here?’ I keep my voice as level as possible and smile prettily. I don’t for one second think Strach believes my game.

  There’s a definite tremble to my hands when I take the envelope Strachan hands me in reply. Envelopes like this never mean anything good. Not ever. And Strachan looks very serious.

  The envelope bears the crest of Dina, High Queen of Alba and Thorn’s mother, and it contains a lavishly produced invitation – to a Midwinter Ball at the Prince Regent’s Palace. And it’s only three weeks away.

  ‘It’s an invitation to a ball,’ I blurt out, relief flooding over me. ‘Strach, I thought this was something serious!’

  ‘It is. It’s very serious.’ He frowns at me and I compose my face to match his stern expression but it doesn’t last.

  ‘I thought someone had died or something.’ I stare down at the invitation clutched in my hand. Then I shake my head and hold it out to him. ‘Come on, me going to a ball? Thanks, seriously, but no thank you.’

  He crosses his arms and regards me with an expression that would make lesser mortals cry, but I’ve been around the sons of Alba enough times and they don’t intimidate me.

  ‘No one turns down an invitation issued by the House of Alba.’

  ‘I’m really not someone you’d want there.’

  I am being rude, I know, but being in Alba around Thorn’s family would break me. I still carry a residue of the anger I felt towards them for what I feel to be a betrayal of Thorn. I have to guard against bad behaviour around them, but it’s especially Aelfric, with his self-satisfied expression, who tries my manners and sanity.

  ‘I think you’re making a mistake, Kit.’ Strach drops his formal demeanour and looks pleadingly at me.

  ‘Strach. It’s not my thing.’

  Strachan, when he speaks after a brief silence, looks supremely uncomfortable.

  ‘Not everyone in Alba has ulterior motives, Blackhart. Sometimes an invitation is merely an invitation. The ball is a way for us to show you that not everything is about life or death, fight or flight.’ He smiles lightly and taps the card against my arm. ‘Besides, there is a good chance Thorn will attend. Come, walk me to the door. I have business in the City before I return to Alba.’

  I fall in beside him and lead him to the front door of the Garrett mansion. ‘Thank you for visiting,’ I tell him and my smile is as honest as I can make it.

  He takes my offered right hand – and stares at the gold band on my finger for a moment. ‘I did not think my grandmother would part with it.’ His gaze was unexpectedly intense, belying the light tone.

  ‘The ring? I think Dina just felt so guilty about how badly I was hurt, after fighting Istvan and his sister, that she gave me Thorn’s ring to make up for it.’

  ‘This is not Thorn’s ring, Blackhart. This is my grandmother’s ring that was gifted to her by her mother. It is a family heirloom – as is the ring she gave Thorn. They are a pair.’

  ‘Oh.’ I stare at it, then at him, completely nonplussed. I pull my hand from his and open the front door.

  It’s dark outside, but I see a movement in the shadows by the front door and a Fae warrior I don’t recognize moves forward. He’s taller than Strach and built like a tank. One of Dina’s Stormborn, then – her personal guard. The newcomer gives me a polite nod before speaking.

  ‘My prince? Are you ready?’

  ‘Thank you Elisior, let’s go. Kit, it was good to see you. Think about what I said before you respond to the invitation.’

  I nod and watch them walk along the pavement before darkness completely swallows them.

  Chapter Five

  Five minutes after Strachan has left, Dante lightly bounces down the stairs and Aiden reappears behind him looking tense.

  ‘Which one was he?’ Dante asks.

  ‘That was Strachan. Aelfric’s oldest son’s youngest son.’ I consider my explanation when I see his confused expression. ‘I really should show you their family tree one day. Even I can’t keep them all straight. But he’s a good guy. Aiden and I ran a job with him about two months ago.’

  ‘The guy’s arrogant but he’s a good fighter,’ Aiden adds. ‘What did he want?’

  ‘He dropped off this.’ I hand Aiden the invitation. ‘The annual Midwinter Ball is happening and I’ve been invited.’

  Aiden looks impressed and passes it to Dante, who scowls at it unhappily before dropping it on the kitchen counter.

  ‘You going?’

  ‘Not if I can help it. I’ve had enough of the House of Alba to last me a very long time.’ I swipe my fingers over the paper. ‘But he mentioned that Thorn m
ight be there.’

  ‘Did he say anything else about Thorn?’

  I mutely shake my head and Aiden nods. ‘Well, that’s okay. So we know Thorn’s okay, that he made it back out of the clearing. That he’s in touch with his family. Strachan wouldn’t lie about something like that.’

  ‘I don’t think he would, no.’ I draw a deep breath and let my anxiety smooth out a little. If Thorn is to attend the ball, it means he’s fine. The fact that I left him behind in the Otherwhere and ran for my life, while he fought off wild Fae and ogres hangs heavily on my shoulders. None of my attempts to reach him through the little sliver of mirror he gave me has worked.

  Aiden rummages through the kitchen drawers and comes up with a handful of take-away menus. ‘What food do you want? I’m happy with whatever.’

  I’m wondering why I’m not hungry, which is unusual for me, when Aiden’s mobile rings.

  ‘Leo! Yeah, we’re just about to order dinner. Wanna come over?’

  While we’re debating the choices Aiden suddenly heads past us to the lounge. ‘Guys, check this out.’

  He turns on the TV and flicks to the news. He has the phone cradled against his ear and he’s still talking to Leo while beckoning us over impatiently.

  Dante moves the coffee-table books to the side and we both grab seats on the solid wooden table in front of the TV.

  ‘I’m reporting from the burned-out remains of Icon, a recently opened nightclub in London’s West End.’

  Aiden pauses the newscaster mid-sentence.

  ‘We’ve got the channel,’ he tells Leo. ‘Speak in a bit.’ He hangs up and comes to sit next to me. ‘This is where we were last night.’

  ‘And you let it burn down? Without telling me?’ I nudge him but he looks unhappy.

  ‘No, we left this morning and it was fine. Leo’s just heard about it too. Apparently there was a fire and the whole place burned down. It happened after the club shut.’

  ‘This isn’t good,’ Dante mutters. ‘Did Leo say anything else?’

  ‘Just that his dad’s talking to one of the investors. Apparently the guy is seriously pissed off. He spent a lot of money on getting Icon up to scratch and now this has happened.’