Never More

by Dana Marie Bell

  Robin grimaced. “I had thought to, but my bondmate convinced me otherwise. She wants nothing to upset the wedding party, and that includes Oberon.”

  “Too bad, so sad, call him now.” Raven held out his cell phone. “He’s on speed dial.”

  Robin laughed softly and took the phone. “Aye, he would be.” He raised a brow when he saw the rest of Raven’s list. “I’m number one, Oberon is number two, and Red is number three.”

  Raven nodded. “Of course. They’re family.” He didn’t mention that before Robin had saved him, the Dark Queen had been first. It wasn’t like Raven had had a choice in that.

  “Wait…” Raven stepped back, a huge grin on his face. “We need Red.”

  Robin tilted his head, the gesture so familiar to Raven no more needed to be said. “Get him, then. I’ll call Oberon and apprise him of the situation.”

  Raven bowed and dissipated, the urge to get to Liam and get this quickly resolved sending him flying to the room Li had been assigned. He found a spot where he could simply flow into the house, one bedroom away from Li’s, one that had obviously been reserved for the High King. The décor was all gray with light touches of aqua and turquoise.

  Raven would have a word with Sean about tightening the spaces around his windows and doors, or having someone ward them against sylphs.

  He entered Li’s bedroom, surprised to find the man actually asleep. He hadn’t been certain Red even knew what sleep was.

  “If you keep staring at my ass like that I’m going to ask for a promise ring.” Li sat up, blinking blearily. “I might even make you take me to prom.”

  Raven didn’t have it in him to tease Li. “We need you in Shane’s workroom.”

  “We?” But Li stood, pulling on jeans over his boxer briefs. “What’s up?”

  “You’ll see.” Raven waited impatiently as Li got dressed. “Let’s go.”

  “Where’s Amanda?”

  “In bed.”

  Li grumbled as he followed Raven into the front hall. “Lucky girl.”

  “Maybe not. Wait until I show you why I woke you.”

  “That bad?”

  Raven snarled.

  “All right then. Let’s get this show on the road.”

  Liam stared at the sculpture, the horror of it creeping up his spine until he shuddered. “Get the hell out of Dodge.”

  Raven sighed. “I want to, but I can’t.” He held out his cell phone and leaned in close.

  Somewhere in the building, their boss was giving his boss the four-one-one on the evil glass sculpture, so they were alone. For the moment, anyway. No doubt Robin would return any minute to check on his little baby Edward.

  “I need you to track a call.”

  Li sighed. “You woke me up to play AT&T?”

  “Listen to me!”

  Li snapped back. Whatever had Raven’s feathers all ruffled must be more serious than he thought. “Okay.”

  “All of Robin’s children in the Dark Court have a number they call when they want to reach the Black Queen.”

  “And you want me to backtrack that number, see if I can find the location of any calls being made to that number.” Li nodded. “Easy peasy, unless she’s got another gremlin on the payroll who’s watching for just that.”

  “I don’t know if she does or not, but would it matter?”

  Li grinned and allowed some of his Seeming to drop. He enjoyed the surprise on Raven’s face when he did. “Nope, not at all.”

  Raven nodded, still looking slightly freaked out. “Good.” He patted Li’s shoulder. “I now understand the term Big Red.”

  Li grinned and took the cell phone. Before he could do more than touch it, his own private messages flared behind his eyes. “Fuck me sideways, another one.”

  “Another one what?” Raven was barely paying attention, too busy staring at the sculpture.

  How did Li tell Raven that there was now a third murder? Another court lady, one who’d been outspoken in her wish to see Lord Raven MacSweeney pay for his crimes during his time in the Black. He bit the bullet and prayed Raven had an idea of what was going on, or if not, a decent alibi. “Lady Sybil McQueen. Heard of her?”

  Raven scowled. “Yeah. She’s some White Court bitch who’s been giving me grief. Why?”

  Li sighed. “She’s dead.”

  “Shit. Let me guess. Another feather was found.” Raven cursed, the language guttural.

  “Sorry, man. They found some black feathers in the room with her.”

  Raven slowly panned toward him. “Fuck me sideways.”

  The info was coming fast and furious as Gloriana’s people investigated the crime scene. “They weren’t tucked away this time, either. They were in the debris.”

  Raven closed his eyes with a sigh. “She was found in that abandoned building in Omaha, wasn’t she?”

  Li nodded. “She’d booked into a B&B in the area in order to attend the High King’s wedding.”

  “And now she’s dead in a collapsed building filled with raven feathers, one that other people knew I went to investigate.” Raven ran his hand through his hair. “Wonderful.”

  “Three deaths, two of which had raven feathers found at the site, one of which at least it’s known you’ve been to. Guess what the White is demanding?”

  “My head on a silver platter?”

  “Nothing so neat. They want you to turn yourself over to them for ‘justice’.” Li made little air quotes around that word, well aware what the White would consider justice for Raven, proven or otherwise. “We’ll figure this out, okay?”

  Raven nodded. “As long as it doesn’t touch Amanda, I don’t give a fuck what anyone besides you, Robin, Oberon and Amanda think of me.”

  “Aw, that’s sweet.” Li batted his lashes at Raven. “You don’t need to butter me up, sweetheart. I’ve got your back.”

  Raven patted his shoulder. “I know.” He poked the cell phone. “Now get to work.”

  “Yeah, yeah.” Li strode away, the cell phone clutched in his hand. “So much for a quiet vacation from the office.”

  “Wow.” Amanda sipped her coffee and stared at the limousine pulling into the Dunnes’ long driveway. “Who’s coming, the president?”

  “Nope.” Raven stole her mug and took a sip. “The High King.”

  She bit her lip, suddenly nervous. “Should I go change or something?”

  “Into what?”

  “I dunno. A ball gown?”

  He stared at her, looking utterly confused. “Why the fuck would you put on a ball gown at eight thirty in the morning?”

  “Because a king is coming up the driveway?” Hell, even to herself it sounded lame.

  He shook his head, but something seemed to be distracting him this morning. Something more than the sculpture Shane had shown him. “What’s wrong?”

  “I’ll tell you later,” he muttered as he handed her back the mug. “Stay close, bow when I do, and be polite. The High King is the most powerful person on this planet. If he likes you, you’re golden. If he doesn’t…”

  “If he doesn’t?” Amanda stared at the limousine as it pulled up in front of the house.

  “You won’t feel a thing.”

  “Yay?” She put her mug down on the bannister and straightened her shoulders. “Let’s go.”

  “Robin and Michaela go first.” Raven took hold of her arm and led her to the two people climbing out of the limo.

  Amanda stared, spellbound, at the man in the crisp gray suit. His long silver hair fell to his waist. His gray eyes ran over everyone on the porch, assessing them with a coldness that made her shiver.

  That coldness dissipated when he saw Robin. “My Hob.”

  Robin bowed. “My king.”

  The two men embraced.

  “What the fuck is going on?” Matthew Exton s
tood between Michaela, Melissa and everyone else. “Why did he call Robin his Hob?”

  Martin Exton stood next to his brother, but instead of the combative stance of the older Exton he rolled his eyes. “I told you, bro. They’re fairies.”

  Everyone on the porch froze. The cat was out of the bag now. Amanda almost laughed at the guilty look on Michaela’s face. Apparently she’d been keeping her family in the dark about her fae status. From the look on Matt’s face that was going to come back and bite her in the ass. She had no idea how much Shane had told them, but apparently they hadn’t informed Michaela that they knew of Robin’s status as a fae.

  Matthew grunted, but didn’t say anything to Martin about what must sound like lunacy. “Who are you?”

  Michaela pushed between her brothers, obviously startling Matthew. She ran toward Cassie. “Hi!”

  Cassie, smiling, held out her arms. “Hello, Michaela. It’s good to see you.”

  Oberon watched fondly has his bondmate hugged the Hob’s bondmate. “You look lovely today, my dear.”

  “Thanks.” Michaela pulled free of Cassie’s embrace and brushed some hair behind her ear. “We need to talk to my family.”

  Oberon nodded, eyeing the brothers with some amusement. “I had thought we might need to.” He nodded regally to the brothers. “All will be revealed shortly, I promise you.” Oberon eyed Amanda and Raven, taking a step toward them. “Lord Goodfellow. A pleasure.”

  Amanda bowed when Raven did, just as he’d asked.

  When she stood back up, the High King was smiling at her. “Lady Goodfellow. It’s also a pleasure to meet the truebond of the Raven Lord.”

  Lady Goodfellow? Since when? She shot a glare at Raven before giving the High King her best professional smile. “It’s a pleasure to meet you as well, Your Majesty.”

  The High King stepped back. “May I introduce to you my queen, Cassandra?”

  Cassandra wasn’t quite what Amanda had expected. The High King was so beautiful, so cool, she’d expected someone similar to grace his arm. Instead, the high queen was anything but. She had a high forehead, a slightly crooked nose, and a strong chin. Her brown hair was held up in a simple ponytail, and instead of the suit Oberon wore she was dressed in a Burberry trench coat over a pair of black tights and black booties. Her most stunning feature was her eyes, a rich turquoise that sparkled in the morning sun.

  The queen held out her hand. “Nice to meet you.”

  “Nice to meet you too.” Amanda shook the queen’s hand, then stepped back next to Raven. She took his arm with a smile, but inside she was thinking hard. Lady Goodfellow, huh? From the wary gaze he shot at her, he was wondering what she was thinking.

  Honestly, it wasn’t the oddest thing she’d heard that week. She’d talk to him about it later, but for now it looked like Michaela’s siblings were about to go kamikaze on someone’s ass if they didn’t get answers now. She couldn’t blame them, either. After all, she’d been ticked when she learned about the secret Ruby was hiding, and for much the same reasons.

  “Shall we go inside, my liege?” Robin waved his hand, indicating the front door, where Sean and Aileen Dunne waited to greet their king and queen. “We have much to discuss.”

  “I’m certain we do, my Hob.” The king took the queen’s hand and led her to the front door. “Sean, Aileen. It’s a pleasure to see you again.”

  “And you, Your Majesty.” Sean bowed, while Aileen curtsied. Sean held open the door. “After you.”

  Robin nodded and the High King entered. If Robin was his security, his Blade as Raven put it, he was probably telling the High King that it was safe to go inside.

  Everyone, including the Exton siblings, followed the royals. Surprisingly, they headed right for the dining room, as if aware the family revolved around either the kitchen or the dining room table. They took seats without invitation, but when Amanda checked, Sean and Aileen appeared pleased. “Now.” Oberon sat at the head of the table, Cassandra at his right hand, Robin at his left. “Tell me what’s been going on.”

  The noise was deafening. Amanda wanted to cover her ears, and could only imagine how it all sounded to Oberon. She couldn’t make any sense of it. It was a vortex of sound, sweeping her up and swirling her eardrums until they popped.

  Oberon held up his hand and pointed at each one of them in turn, starting with Liam. “You’re working a murder case where someone is trying to frame Raven, as well as helping Raven with tracking down his half brother Sayyid.” Next was Robin. “You’re attempting to protect your son and your mate, and your son’s mate, while putting together a wedding. You—” his finger was now pointed at Raven, “—are working on finding Sayyid with Red.” He sat back and stared at the Extons. “You want to know what’s going on around here.”

  Matthew nodded sharply, Martin sighed in frustration and Melissa watched everything with gleeful enthusiasm.

  Oberon smiled. Suddenly those gray eyes were pure, shining silver. His hair lengthened, growing to the floor, and his skin shimmered like it was coated in silver dust. He waved his hand, and the other fae in the room changed as well. Leo went from the dark-haired man who’d mated her best friend to a glittering golden god. Robin’s nails extended, turning into claws, his eyes becoming green and glowing. Aileen was all reddish-gold, and Sean’s skin grew darker and swirls appeared on his skin. And Cassandra’s hair went from brown to aqua, faint scales appearing on her powder-pale face. “We’re the fae, a race as old as time itself. We exist within the world of humans, living side by side with them, bonding and mating with them. This is what happened to your sister. She is bound to Robin Goodfellow, the Hob, prince of the Gray Court.”

  Martin nudged an open-mouthed Matt. “See. I told you fairies were real. Shane explained all of this the other night, but you didn’t believe him.”

  “Shut it, Marty.” Matthew nudged his brother back. “I won’t let you people steal my sister. You’re not taking her Underhill or wherever the fuck you live.”

  Robin laughed heartily. “Underhill? That is a fairytale generated by humans.”

  “You nabbed a fairy prince?” Melissa held up her hand. “High five!”

  Michaela slapped her sister’s palm. “Boo-yah.”

  Everyone but Matthew laughed. “Then where are you taking her?”

  The king and the Hob looked at one another. “Colorado.”

  Matthew blinked. “Oh.”

  Michaela patted her big brother’s shoulder. “I’ll explain everything, I swear, but the king just got here. Let him eat something, okay?”

  Matt still looked ticked. “Just us.”

  “You, me, Marty and Mel. I swear.”

  Matt nodded. “And if I think you’re in danger you’re out of here.”

  Robin’s eyes flashed green. One second he was seated at the table, the next he and Michaela were gone.

  Amanda gasped. She didn’t know the fae could do that. When Robin sauntered back in the front door with Michaela tucked under his arm and a cocky grin on his face she thought Matt might punch him.

  But Robin defused the situation easily. “Your sister is safe so long as I am near.”

  Matt bristled, then sagged. “Fine.” He straightened up and glared at Robin. “But I’m still talking to her alone. She’s my little sister. I need to know she’s safe, and not just with you.”

  Robin bowed. “Of course.”

  Somehow, Amanda just knew Robin would ensure he was present during their chat, whether Matt knew it or not.

  Chapter Sixteen

  “Well. That was amusing.” Raven flopped down on the bed face-first. Watching Matt, Melissa and Martin absorb the fact that the fae existed had been amusing to say the least. Matt wanted to know why Michaela was like them now. Martin wanted to be turned into a fairy. And Melissa just wanted to talk to all of them and ask questions about what kind of fae they were, what thei
r powers were, etc., ad nauseam. If Aileen hadn’t put an end to the questioning Raven would have pulled his feathers out in frustration. Nothing anyone said seemed to completely satisfy Melissa’s curiosity. Only Li seemed to have the patience to talk to her, but he’d only just started being interrogated when Aileen called a halt to the day.

  “Speak for yourself.” Amanda flopped next to him hard enough to make him bounce. “While you were getting probed, I was on the phone trying to get everything together for the wedding.” She sighed wearily. “If I go bald from stress, blame your dad.”

  He chuckled. “I’ll still want you if you’re bald.”

  “Good to know.” She rolled over, poking at him until they faced one another. “Now. How the hell did Michaela go from being human, like her brothers and sister, to being fae?”

  Ah, that glorious curiosity of hers. He’d wondered when she’d ask about that. “Well, Robin was at that fae convention, as I told you. He and I both met Michaela there.” He knew his expression was wistful. “She was the first person to speak to me and not be afraid.”

  “Oh?”

  Was that a tinge of jealousy he detected? “Yes.” He pulled her close so that they were nose to nose. “But one of the delegates, an each uisge, decided the best way to kill Robin was to blow up the room he was staying in.”

  “I think I remember reading about that. It was labeled a failed terrorist attack, wasn’t it?”

  He nodded. “A Sidhe took care of that, I think. With the human interest in terrorism still high, it wasn’t difficult to add it to the list. Of course, it will never be solved.”

  “Of course.” She shuddered. “What does this have to do with Michaela?”

  “She was in the room when it blew. She died, Amanda.”

  “So? Someone obviously revived her.”

  He shook his head. “There was a thick chunk of glass embedded in her throat. There was no saving her. She died instantly.”