Standing, he unhooked one of the guns from his belt and handed it to her. “Take this, just in case.”
She stared at it with a sense of unease. “Guns won’t kill them. If I use it, they’ll only come at me more pissed.”
“Yeah, but it’ll slow them down.” He wrapped her hand around the handle, his large palm engulfing her fingers. “I’ll feel better if you have it. Use your knives if you need to. Do whatever it takes to remain safe. And don’t leave unless you hear someone approach.”
“Okay, Keen,” she teased, but his eyes held too much worry to smile back.
“I’ll search for your mother and return in ten minutes. You should be okay until then.” He rubbed his forehead, as if reconsidering.
“I will be,” she quickly reassured him. “But you need to go. They’ll find us if we stand still too long.”
He glanced at his phone. “No cell reception, but our phones work. We can keep time. If we get separated—”
“I’ll send a signal.”
“Elena.” His voice had dropped a notch, a warning that had the opposite effect, sending a sultry shiver down her spine.
She smiled. “A teensy-weensy signal to let you know I need you. What’s the point of my ability if I don’t use it?”
Derek breathed in through his nose and stared at the ceiling. “Because everyone will know where you are.” He peered down again. “They’re already onto us. Don’t use your powers unless you have to. Fae sense your magic, remember? That’s how they found you at Dawson to begin with.”
Good point. “But my powers have grown. How will they know if it’s me, or someone else here? We’re in my ancestral castle. Their powers are similar to mine.”
He seemed to consider her words for a moment. “Maybe, but don’t use your ability unless you absolutely have to. And be careful.”
“Aren’t I always?” she said sweetly.
“No.” He dipped his head and planted a kiss on her brow.
34
Derek scoped out the floor plan of the enormous castle at a dead run, memorizing everything he passed—the most lifesaving use of his photographic memory yet. He’d always had the ability, a gift he’d been born with, not something he’d acquired once he turned eighteen and his Halven powers emerged.
He ran through walls, hopped down flights of stairs, and gathered the layout within the first five minutes. His Fae abilities allowed him to pass through solid surfaces, but he had to focus on doing so, which was why he could stand on solid ground instead dropping through it.
The interior of the New Kingdom castle looked like Emain, with intricate plasterwork and square wooden floors in the formal areas.
Oh, and it was crawling with Fae.
Derek kept to the shadows or leapt through walls when anyone approached. It was bright enough inside the palace that he didn’t want to risk being seen in his Blended state. Besides, that one guard outside had seen him, and it had been dark. Not all Newlanders were oblivious to his power.
There were seven floors total. Small bedrooms he assumed were for servants made up the top level where he’d left Elena. The other floors were either for housing various rankings of royalty, congregating, or for supporting various palace jobs. Most of the populace inside the walls appeared to be on the first two levels, half of them organizing a hunt for him and Elena, based on the formations. The rest of the people were in some sort of top-level meeting in a large assembly hall.
Derek followed the flow to the assembly hall and crossed a well-guarded thick metal double door on the heels of a tall Fae. Hundreds of soldiers, legs braced in a stance of relaxed readiness, filled the room—with one woman at the center. She was tall, like the rest of the Fae women, around six feet, with long blond hair pulled into a low ponytail, and she wore a flat gold band on her head.
The soldiers, all men, regarded the woman with an I will die for you devoted stare.
She could only be a part of the Fae nobility, unless everyone walked around wearing gold crowns. But neither Keen nor Leo had mentioned a queen in charge.
Derek had less than three minutes before he needed to return to Elena. He wouldn’t risk leaving her alone a minute longer with the Fae actively searching the premises. The search party hadn’t reached the upper levels yet, but they would.
If he didn’t figure out where Elena’s mother was being held now, he’d have to return with Elena later, and that would make staying hidden more challenging. Keeping his head on straight while kissing Elena was no easy feat, and he couldn’t maneuver as easily with her in his arms.
He paced to a corner of the room, out of sight of the soldiers but with a clear view of the woman in charge.
“We’ve isolated brethren presenting with symptoms, as well as everyone they’ve been in contact with over the past week,” one of the guards said.
“You used the suits and masks I specified?” the woman asked.
“Yes, everything as you ordered, my queen.” So she was the queen. “Will it contain the virus?”
“I don’t know.” The woman’s mouth pursed as if she were considering. “But it has worked before.”
“Before, my lady?”
Her narrow shoulders straightened. “With humans. I lived among them for a time, if you recall, Samuel. The humans deal with disease every day. They have learned to contain infection. The practices we have employed come from my observations during my time in the Earth realm. Most of you believe humans inferior, but there is much to be learned from them.”
The soldiers visibly stiffened, glancing at one another.
“Relax. All of you,” she said. “I am not suggesting you mingle with humans, merely learn from them.” Her gaze slowly touched on several of the soldiers. “Humans have dealt with disease for millennia. The practices they have employed over the last couple of hundred years to slow the spread of disease have saved lives. We must look past our pride, as we have with many of their modern technologies, and utilize whatever means are necessary to save our people.”
“My queen,” Samuel said, “I speak for the rest of us when I say we understand the unusual circumstances and agree with your logic. The king’s passing was a great loss, and proof that we are all vulnerable to this most horrendous attack on our people. It is to our advantage that our new queen holds special knowledge in these matters.” He scanned the faces of the soldiers. “As you said, we’ve adopted technologies humans have created, improving on them, of course. This is no different.”
“Thank you, Samuel. I share everyone’s desire to destroy those who seek to harm us. The Halven trespassers must be found and interrogated. For now, the best way to fight the enemy is to contain the disease. It is our only chance at survival.”
Not their only chance. But how would he and Elena get the queen to listen to them? She’d see them as one more threat in an already charged environment. They needed to find and rescue Elena’s mother. She was the only Fae who might listen to them.
“You will be our salvation, my queen,” Samuel said. “My sincere apologies for the years of mistreatment you suffered.”
Whoa, what?
The queen gave a wry smile. “Ironic, is it not? My father confined and punished me for marrying a human, and in the end, my compassion for humans may save us.” A murmur of discomfort swept the room, but the queen didn’t seem to notice. Or maybe she didn’t care.
She couldn’t be…
“I imagine the isolation saved me. Had I been allowed to mingle with my family and the others of our court, I would have perished along with them.”
The queen was Elena’s mother? Theodora?
Elena and the woman before him looked so different. The queen had jewel-green eyes with skin as fair as Keen’s…but something about her delicate bone structure and the way she carried herself reminded Derek of Elena.
It was possible.
A second woman Derek hadn’t noticed among the throng of men stepped forward, her back to him. “Theda, we are most pleased you did not perish with the
rest of our leaders and that you stand today as our rightful ruler.”
That voice. Familiar, but not familiar.
The woman bowed to the queen, her silver-white hair pulled in a formal knot at the back of her head. She turned and faced the room, and Derek’s stomach dropped.
Portia. Here. Referring to the queen as Theda in an informal way, as if they were friends.
Leo said Portia had left Emain for Tirnan and hadn’t returned. He thought she’d died from the disease.
Even though there was no communication between the realms, something didn’t sit right.
Portia grabbed the queen’s hand, smiling with warmth, something Derek had never seen on her face before. And maybe that was why her voice was familiar but different. She spoke in a kinder, softer tone.
And Derek would swear it was fake.
“Thank you, Portia,” Theda said. “Your loyalty and friendship goes far in overcoming the past and creating a future for our people. I rely on your strength and integrity.” She addressed the rest of the soldiers. “I rely on all your strength, in magic and spirit.”
Everyone in the room bowed, and Derek slipped out.
Daylight streamed through the allon trees, and the leaves shuffled to new branches. Elena spun in a slow circle at the edge of the forest and spotted the river Deirdre had called the Fates trickling beyond.
She must be dreaming again.
“Deirdre, are you here?” she whispered, for no logical reason. This was her dream. She could shout at the sky and no one would hear.
Deirdre floated from behind a particularly large allon, a serene smile on her face. “I am pleased you’ve made it this far. You must be extremely careful inside the palace walls. Your mother is heavily guarded. Get her alone before you attempt communication.”
“How do I get her alone?”
“You underestimate yourself, child. You have an extremely powerful ability.” She smiled. “Get creative. You have everything you need to succeed in your mission.”
“A few hints wouldn’t hurt!” she called as Deirdre’s figure wavered, then broke apart into tiny dust motes.
Elena hated it when she did that.
“Wake up, beauty. We got troubles.” Derek’s voice jolted Elena awake.
She had closed her eyes for only a second to try and summon Deirdre, but she didn’t actually think she’d succeed and fall asleep. Crap. What if the soldiers had found her?
She sat up and pressed her fingers to her eyes, shaking her head to clear it. “What did you find out?”
Derek sucked in a breath. “Well, there’s no easy way to put this, but…I think your mom is the new queen.”
“What?” Elena sat up straighter, her mind instantly alert. “What are you talking about? Keen said she was imprisoned. That we’d have to search the dungeons.”
Derek dragged his hand through his hair, squatting to make himself level with her. “I’m sorry, Elena. Her entire family died from the virus. She’s the last in the succession. They made her queen, and from the sound of things, it’s a recent turn of events.”
“My mother’s entire family—is dead?” she said in shock.
He nodded and placed his hand on her leg.
That meant all of Elena’s Fae relations were gone. Forever. She’d never know them, and they were the last nobility in New Kingdom—the people she’d hoped would help her gain her powers.
But there was one noble left. Her mother. And if Elena didn’t do something soon, she’d lose her mom as well. “We’ll have to change our plans. At least we don’t have to worry about rescuing my mom too.”
“Right, we don’t have to break her out of prison, but she’s also got a million loyal followers protecting her. Followers with Fae standards that include extreme prejudice toward humans. It’s a twisted conundrum if you consider she married one.” Derek sat beside Elena on the bed. “She’s saving New Kingdom by isolating the sick, a practice she learned from her life on Earth. I get the feeling they don’t completely trust her because of her past, but they’re going along with her commands for now to save their people. Your mom’s walking on thin ice. One wrong move and they may revolt.”
“My mom… It sounds strange to hear you say that, like she’s a living, breathing thing.”
Her father had destroyed all pictures and videos of her mother. Given what she now knew, she wondered if he’d done it to protect Elena.
Derek smiled. “She’s alive, though…” He sighed and leaned forward, resting his arms on his knees. “They think we’re vermin, Elena. This won’t be easy. Makes me wish we were back in Emain. Emain Fae are prejudiced bastards, but at least they want to keep you safe. Never thought I’d wish we had Keen with us, but he’d be a good ally right about now.”
“No.” She shook her head and stood, pulling him up with her. “Keen has to save Reese if I screw things up here.”
Derek tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. “You won’t screw up. However, when we approach your mother, we have to be careful. She’ll be divided, forced with the choice between loyalty to her people, or helping us. Daughter or not, you’re a Halven. Your mother’s followers won’t trust you, they won’t trust me, and if she sides with us, they won’t trust her either.”
“You’re right.” She paced the room, trying to think quickly. “When Keen told me where to find her, I figured she’d be in bad shape. That we’d be saving her from a terrible life and I’d get my mother back.” She stopped and stared at him, her arms hugging her chest. “Now, I don’t know what will happen.” Elena felt her nose grow warm as she forced back tears. “She doesn’t know me. So much time has passed. What if she won’t help us?”
Despite her efforts to hold it in, an escapee tear spilled down her cheek. Derek stepped forward and wiped it away with the pad of his thumb, his fingers trailing gently over her chin. “She loves you. Mothers don’t stop loving children because they’re separated. She’ll help us.”
He leaned in and kissed her, a delicate sweep of his lips, but it caused heat to spiral through her chest. It was the first genuinely given kiss since the Beatrice incident that hadn’t been initiated in order to Blend.
Derek’s eyes were warm. Loving. He was here, risking his life for her. Always with that burning heat when he looked at her.
She’d never mistake his loyalty again.
He glanced away and tapped his finger on his leg, which she realized he did when he was thinking. “We need to confront your mother when she’s alone, but I’m going to take a random guess and say she’s never alone.”
Elena swallowed. “No, she won’t be. While I slept, Deirdre came to me. She said my mom’s heavily guarded. Deirdre told me to use my magic.” Elena smiled at the memory. “Get creative.”
Derek groaned and shook his head. “That’s not a solid plan. That’s like telling a toddler to man the barbecue, or giving an arsonist a torch. Anything can go wrong.”
Elena crossed her arms. “Hey, I’ve learned a lot since that day in your lab. Besides, I have an idea. It’s not a good idea, mind you, but I think it will work as long as it doesn’t piss Theodora off too much. Let’s pray you’re right about her loving me. Because we’ll need all the motherly sentiment we can get.”
35
You’re sure you want to do this?” Derek asked for the tenth time.
Elena sighed. “I told you, I’m open to suggestions, but you haven’t given me any.”
Why was he being so skittish? This was a pretty good plan, all things considered.
“I’m too busy trying to keep my body upright, what with my knees knocking from the four hundred seven-foot-plus Fae guards in residence and the additional two hundred along the perimeter. We’re entirely outnumbered.”
“But they haven’t found us yet, so we’re good.” She smiled, proud of her sound logic.
“For now. I wouldn’t rely on it lasting.” Derek stretched his neck, making it crack. “There’s something I forgot to mention. I saw Portia. She was the only other woman atten
ding the meeting, and she seemed very chummy with your mom.”
“Portia? She’s alive?”
“Exactly. I’ve never trusted her, and seeing her all sweet and supportive of your mother makes me wonder if she’s up to something.”
An uneasy feeling settled in Elena’s bones. Portia had defended Beatrice over the locked library incident, and Beatrice had disappeared under incriminating circumstances…
“What if Portia’s working for the other side?”
“It’s possible. All the more reason to get to your mom. Come on.” He nudged her toward the door. “Let’s not worry about that right now. We need to reach Theda.”
Elena stopped in front of the door and reached up, wrapping her arms around Derek’s shoulders, the warmth of his body easing her distress.
Nothing had gone right since they’d arrived in Tirnan, but they’d made it this far. As long as they were together, everything would be okay. “You’re going to get sick of kissing me,” she teased, trying to lighten the mood.
Heat filled his eyes and he clenched her waist. “No. I won’t.” He dipped his head, his mouth scorching her in a deep, languid kiss that sent heat down her chest.
Point taken.
Elena’s body tingled and her heart slowed as Derek transformed them.
He skimmed his hands over her hips, beneath her thighs, and picked her up. She clutched the sides of his face, lost in the kiss.
“Elena,” he murmured against her lips. “You ready?”
God, right. She opened her eyes and tightened her legs around his torso. Derek walked through the door into the abandoned hallway. From there, he carried her to the third floor of the castle, the level where he’d said the royals slept.
They crept down the hallway, making slow progress as they darted out of the path of sporadic passing Fae. The rooms were farther apart on this level, but one by one, they poked their heads through walls and doors, checking out the space.
Two of the three elaborate apartments were covered in sheets, but the third one, closest to the courtyard, had polished, elegant furniture and at least two guards inside.
Fates Divided Page 23
