by K. N. Banet
“Okay…” I could see the difference. I went to my desk and sat down, sighing heavily. “And Brion’s behavior down there?”
“You are in the same unfortunate position as my husband. You are the child of a power. You will be used accordingly, no matter how much others try to protect you from it.” She turned to me with a sad expression. “The only thing Cassius has that you don’t is a lover more powerful than those who would abuse him. Brion learned a lesson today he won’t ever forget. Make no mistake about that. Sadly, Heath can’t teach the same lesson.” She gave a sad smile to my lover before turning back to me. “There’s not many as powerful as me.”
“Just how powerful are you?” Heath asked carefully. “I didn’t miss the exchange. If you were both werewolves, you would have taken his position as Alpha with that display.”
“I’m not sidhe,” she answered. “Not in the traditional sense. I was created rather than born. Unlike all the sidhe, I don’t come from Oberon or Titania or both, like the family below us. In fact, I’m more like them than I am Cassius, Brion, and others like them. Brion knows that and convinced me once to play nicely, but he’ll never convince me to bow.” She lifted her hands in an overexaggerated shrug. “I am more powerful than all of their children, but not more powerful than them. They’re too old for me to consider being as powerful as them.”
“Them being Oberon and Titania?” I said, swallowing. She only nodded. “So, we help Brion because he’s better than Oisin.” Which I probably could have guessed. I had only heard the name Oisin once before this long weekend when Callahan insulted Alvina by talking about how poorly Oisin was as a Tribunal member. Knowing now that Oisin hated werewolves, I could see why Callahan decided to try for that dig. The animosity went both ways.
“That’s it,” she agreed. “You’re not required to like him. I don’t. I might have until he decided to go on this escapade and hurt his son and the fae in the process.” She shook her head in frustration. “I understand, I do. I tried to keep Cassius and me out of this, but when it comes to more innocent family members, Cassius loved Rian from the moment he saw him. There’s duty there Cassius doesn’t have in him to ignore. One of the reasons I love that man is his loyalty to those ideals, no matter how much they burn him. If Brion loses, do you think that boy’s life will be easy? He will be an outcast among the royal family, there’s way too much human in him, but his father and his eldest brother can protect him. Cassius can teach him.” She started playing with a string hanging out of the upholstery of the seat she was sitting on. “Oisin will leave Rian homeless, without a title, without a name, without a family. Possibly dead if he’s paranoid enough. The only reason Oisin hasn’t killed Cassius is he hasn’t succeeded.”
“What? Are you saying the current fae king has tried to kill a Tribunal Investigator?” Heath walked around my desk and stood beside my chair.
“Of course. Not obviously, but more than a few assassins have come our way, some coming to protect the true king’s throne, some to pay some petty revenge against me. The attempts have always been opportunistic during events we’re forced to attend and the like, but they come.” She stopped picking at the thread and looked up. “Cassius is required to fight for his father whether or not they like each other. His father on the throne is safer for him. Safer for me, too. I’m noble by Brion’s decree, nothing more. While Brion and Cassius live, I walk freely without having to fight every day for it.”
“What happens if Brion loses?” I asked softly.
“Oisin will attempt to put me in chains and use my magic. He’ll raid my homes for the weapons I’ve made and turn them against all the fae to solidify his power…” She looked beyond me, her gaze seeming to reach endlessly. “Considering how the throne has changed him over just these last few decades, there’s a chance his power-hungry nature will turn him against the Tribunal. He’s the second son. He’ll never have enough to get out of the shadow of those who came before him.”
“Alvina seems to do just fine,” I pointed out.
“You think so?” Sorcha suddenly smiled and crossed her legs, getting cozy. “She’s so desperate for Brion to come back, she didn’t properly secure that information, leading to Oisin finding out before she was ready to tell him. She’s drowning, Jacqueline—”
“Call me Jacky,” I said, tired of hearing my full name. Sorcha only nodded at the interruption before continuing her train of thought.
“Alvina is drowning under the problems Oisin has given her. He’s too chaotic for her to keep up with. For every good thing she does, he’s there to unravel another perfectly fine section of fae culture. She names the first goblin noble, and he decrees the pixies aren’t capable of defending their own land, then hands it over to hand-picked sidhe who will manage the land in a way he likes. She needs Brion. He’ll provide the stability she needs to further our people. Without him, she’s fighting a losing battle. I will give her one thing. Her rule is the only reason Oisin hasn’t driven us to civil war yet.”
“Yet,” I repeated softly.
“See why we need this now?” she asked, tilting her head. “Now, I’m certain Brion could have done it without you or Heath or me and Cassius, but he is trying to tie this up neatly, and we’re all pawns in his game. There’s not much we can do about that. Keep Fiona alive if there’s any trouble, and you’ll have no trouble. That’s all you need to worry about.” Sorcha looked between us. “If that’s all you needed to hear, I’m going to head back down. Cassius will be ready to strangle his father by now.”
“Thank you for talking to us,” Heath said quickly, reaching out to shake her hand. I stood as she did. She took the offer from Heath, then met me for a handshake as well.
“Oh, if only I was a petty fae willing to take you up on that,” she said with a playful smile. “While I have the chance…” She reached into her pocket and pulled out a slim wallet, withdrew a card, and put it on my desk. “I like you two. If you’re ever in Phoenix, give this number a call. It’s the number to our home there. Leith will probably pick up. He’ll remember both of you and the promise you made for us. He’ll make sure we know. We can meet for dinner.” She walked out, leaving Heath and me to our thoughts.
“I could have told you some of that about Brion and Oisin,” Heath said quietly. “But hearing it from her…I didn’t know the difference between the two kings was so severe.”
“I could have asked my sister, too, but I wanted her opinion,” I reminded him. “She just watched Brion assault her husband, his own damn son, but is still helping him. She’s also the friendliest of the bunch. Cassius is nice, but he’s clearly withdrawn and preoccupied. Brion, we can’t trust at all. Rian doesn’t know anything, and Fiona, well, she’s a mess, quiet. I think she’s out of her depth, and her…attitude drives me insane. It’s as though she thinks he can walk on water.”
“You caught that, did you?” Heath groaned. “She is a mess, and the life she’s had for decades is now crumbling to pieces. I’ve been keeping my nose to her all day. She’s frustrated, angry, confused. Brion didn’t give her much of a lesson in the supernatural. He kept her neatly separate, need-to-know stuff, but not the full picture. She’s afraid, too, but I’m not sure if it’s for her life.”
“Why do you say that? Assassins came for her.” I didn’t see his logic.
“She was near tears when Sorcha did whatever Brion and Cassius needed about that magic. Don’t ask me to understand what they did, but it hurt her more than anything else that happened so far,” Heath explained. “You were preoccupied watching what was going on. I was keeping my nose on how everyone was feeling about it. Fiona was heartbroken.”
I rubbed my neck, wondering why it suddenly felt stiff and sore.
“I’m glad you’re my partner on this,” I said softly. “You’re catching everything I’m missing.”
“If I was doing this alone, I would have missed it. There’s only so much a person can focus on at one moment. I’m glad we’re doing this together, too.”
“When have I ever let you go on an adventure alone?” he asked, grabbing my hand and pulling me close to him. “If Brion had gone to you alone, I would have found a way to help you. I wouldn’t let you deal with this alone.” He reached out with his free hand and brushed it over my cheek. “I love you too much to let you do this alone, whether you wanted to or not.”
“You were mad originally,” I reminded him, leaning to put my head on his shoulder.
“I just wish you had said something sooner about who Brin was,” he murmured in my ear before kissing my temple. “It wouldn’t have stopped me from helping you.”
We stayed that way for a long time, me resting against him, getting the comfort I needed from the silence, but eventually, there was a knock at my door.
“Come in,” I called as I pulled myself away from Heath.
Cassius opened the door, a phone in his hand.
“Alvina is requesting access to your territory,” he said, his words professional and clipped. “I, Lord Cassius, Tribunal Investigator, can vouch for her loyalty. She will deal straight with you and yours while she is here.”
I nodded, and Cassius lifted the phone.
“You may come,” he said before hanging up, then shoving the phone into his pocket. “She’ll be here in fifteen minutes, maybe less. She wants to get eyes on my father before she endorses his challenge of Oisin. If needed, she’ll put him in hiding for a little while longer, but there shouldn’t be a need.”
“When will she contact the Tribunal?” I asked, waiting for that hammer to come down on my head.
“The moment she thinks Brion is ready. If she’s willing to endorse him tonight, she’ll probably call everyone immediately, and we’ll be looking at a duel tomorrow. Once that’s over, you’ll be free to return to your lives. Thank you for tolerating this disruption. If there’s anything, either of you needs, please ask. My wife and I are more than happy to oblige.”
“Are you offering us a favor?” Heath asked, sounding troubled and surprised.
“Yes, though not in an official sense. We’ll tell you if you ask for something beyond our power, and if I see there’s something you need and don’t know how to ask for, I’ll do something to consider us even. I deem there to be a debt my family has incurred here, and I will do my best to see it corrected.”
“Thank you,” I whispered.
He bowed his head and closed the door. I listened to his footsteps as he went back downstairs.
“Time to meet a fae queen,” Heath said with a sigh.
“I’ve already met her. She can have a sharp tongue. Be careful,” I said, heading for the door. Before I opened it, I turned back to him, wincing as I realized I had kept another accidental secret from him. “She knows about us. She saw it in my memories when she went fishing. At the time, she said it was of no concern to her, and there was really nothing I could do about it. I should have mentioned it earlier. I’m sorry.”
Heath rubbed his eyes but said nothing for a long moment. I waited to see if this was finally the thing that would drive him mad. He was probably used to hearing everything from his pack, and here I was, forgetting to tell him really important things. Alvina had been so wrapped up in the Brion thing, it had slipped my mind. I had also been dealing with Price and the humans. It had been a busy time. These were all things he knew I had been dealing with, but still, the guilt ate at me.
“It’ll be fine,” he declared, dropping his hand. “We’re going public once this is over, anyway. I’ll just keep looking forward to that.”
“I really am s—”
“I love you. I’m going to start debriefing you every time we see each other.” He chuckled, walking around me. Before he left the office, he kissed me swiftly. “Maybe I’ll have you send me written reports. That sounds like a good idea. That’s what I made my werewolves do.”
“Oh, no,” I said, laughing as I caught onto his teasing. “You are not going to play Alpha with me, Heath Everson.”
“What are you going to do to stop me, Jacky Leon?” He grinned.
I knew we’d be all right, no matter what the next step of this insane journey brought us.
29
Chapter Twenty-Nine
I was grateful Heath stayed by my side, holding my hand as we entered the main bar. We looked at the group we had left downstairs, and I decided I needed a safer place. I pointed to the bar stools, and Heath got my meaning quickly. He sat down, and I went behind the bar, beginning to make drinks. I poured us both a glass of our favorite whiskey and proceeded to will myself into relaxing a hair. I took a moment to watch the fae and consider what was happening in my bar.
Kick Shot wasn’t built for the events it had seen over its lifetime. It hadn’t been built for an attack from werewolves, and it didn’t survive Lani’s arson. Since then, it had become the chosen battleground for my meetings with the BSA. Luckily for me, that part of my life hadn’t raised its ugly head yet. It would eventually, but if this cleared up before my next meeting with them, I could possibly get away with never dealing with it.
No, Kick Shot had been built for what it is—a bar. From a tiny dive bar to bar and grill under Oliver, it was meant to serve people, give them a place to unwind and have a bit of fun or commiserate with each other over their long days and weeks.
Now, it was hosting fae nobility.
At least this isn’t likely to destroy my bar.
“Carey goes back to school tomorrow, doesn’t she?” I asked Heath suddenly.
“She does,” he confirmed. “Landon will handle it.”
“Has the BSA tried to get a hold of you about all of that yet?”
“I sent in all the paperwork last week. It’s in review. As is the incident at the school, which is being looked at closely in the light of your testimony to Agent Kirk and Carey’s conversation with the agent who showed up Friday.”
“I hope it comes out in your favor,” I said softly, leaning on the counter. “I hope this doesn’t get in the way.”
“Landon knows how to wrangle the BSA if it’s needed. This won’t be the first surprise business trip I’ve taken,” he explained with a sharp smile. “Actually, it’s good for us. It gives Landon a chance to remind everyone in our lives, they would rather deal with me than with him.”
“He’s so ruthless,” I mumbled, shaking my head at how the son was far more vicious than the father.
“He’s what he needed to be for a long time,” Heath said softly, looking down at his glass. “He’s loosened up over the recent years, coming out here, getting out of the pack. It’s been good for him. It doesn’t mean he’s not my second, but he finally has a chance to kick his feet up. He’s never been able to before.”
Knowing what I knew about Landon, I could understand that. A biracial man after the Civil War, a gay man before the turn of the century, and in an environment that wouldn’t give him a chance to hide. Landon grew up in dangerous times. Not that modern times were less dangerous, but it was better.
“I’m glad my territory has given your family at least one good thing,” I said with a small smile. “You know, as long as we can survive everything else.”
Heath laughed. Pulling out his phone, he started texting. He showed me Carey’s responses and gave me a chance to send along a message, then ended it by telling her to get to bed because she had school again tomorrow. It was already after dark, and we both knew she probably should have been heading to sleep an hour before.
“She’s fourteen and in high school,” I reminded him as he put the phone away. “She’s going to push those boundaries. Bedtime at ten? You’ll be catching her staying up all night, working on projects from here on out.”
“Yeah, I’m thinking of changing up the system because it’s not working anymore. Landon doesn’t even enforce it anymore. I’ll give her a curfew to be inside and let her manage her own sleeping schedule. If she gets detention for sleeping in class, I’ll rev
isit it.”
“I’ve never been a parent, so I couldn’t tell you what to do. I can only talk as someone who experienced modern high school.” I looked around Heath to see Cassius coming to us.
“She’ll be here any minute,” he warned us.
“Perfect timing,” I mumbled as I walked out from behind the bar. Heath hopped off the barstool and stood at my side. “How is she coming in?”
“The same way Brion did,” the prince answered.
I looked over at Brion with his wife and the sons he shared with her. Sorcha kept herself separate from them, sitting at one of my smaller tables near the back wall. Cassius saw what I was looking at but said nothing. He walked back to her, his posture reminding me of something I would see in a period piece movie.
Less than a minute later, I saw the main entrance of Kick Shot open, and beyond it was a beautiful room with a fire going. Alvina came into view and stepped through. Like with Brion, it was then I felt her presence in my territory.
What a shitty workaround of my territory magic. A fae assassin who can do the door portal thing would find it so easy to come into my house before I had the chance to fight back. I need to ask Zuri if there’s a way to stop it.
Alvina was followed by two others, keeping themselves just behind her, one to the right and one to the left.
