Netherworld

by Amy Miles

  I wanted to beg him to continue, to tell me more, but I could see this was a hard thing for him to talk about. It felt wrong to press him.

  “Nothing good comes from humans and banshees mixing. Trust me. You’ll only find heartache.”

  The pain in his voice was raw, edged with years of bitterness.

  “My father flew into a rage. The whole castle knew of it and were paid handsomely for their silence.”

  “So that’s why Alroy was in the human world when he was killed. He was with her,” I muttered and wrapped my arms around myself to ward off the chill. “And when he was gone that left you to take his spot.”

  “I had no choice. I was the new heir to the whole of Netherworld.” He took a deep breath and held it before releasing it slowly. Then he lowered the torch and shoved it into a crack in the stone.

  “After Alroy passed, my mother lost herself to grief. It contorted her mind and she became something cold and distant. Grief does vile things to a person. My parents blamed each other.”

  “Why?” I asked, curious as to what had created so much rage between the royals.

  Aed paused as though unsure he wanted to reveal this truth. “My mother had aided Alroy in his quest for love.”

  “She approved a match with a human?” I gasped. Such a thing was strictly forbidden. We were even penalized if we lingered longer than our jobs allowed. It made no sense that the queen would advocate an act with her own son that would be considered treason.

  He nodded in agreement with me. “She used to be a hopeless romantic once upon a time. My father was outraged at her betrayal. So they became the cold, distant couple you saw at the ball.”

  Ideas began to tumble through my mind. These new pieces to the puzzle were starting to add up.

  “Did they ever figure out what happened to him?” I knew I was pressing a boundary probably best left untouched, but I couldn’t walk away from this without learning something.

  “He was protecting Ella. That was all I was told.”

  His gaze hardened as he hunched his shoulders forward. “I was forbidden to see his body. Guards were posted outside my chambers as Alroy was prepared for burial. My mother was beside herself, raging at my father long into the night. She accused him of allowing his death to happen, that his need for power drove him to murder. My father had to have known his own son’s death was coming. It was his job to know, but he was grooming Alroy instead of me. That made no sense to me at the time.”

  “What if the king wasn’t behind Alroy’s death?”

  Aed raised his head to stare at me.

  “You know I’m not a fan of your da’s, but what if he really was innocent?”

  “I’m not following you.”

  I moved closer to him, feeling a sense of anticipation bubbling up inside. “I’m sure you’ve guessed by now that I like to dig up dirt on your da. I’ve followed as many leads as I can. There aren’t many, I’ll grant ya that, but what I have heard makes me think that your brother’s death blindsided him. I don’t think your da is as in control of death as he claims to be.”

  He sucked in a breath. “If my father didn’t do it...you think the Lorcan did?”

  “I do.”

  “But not as an accident?” he asked, sensing where I was going.

  I shook my head as I considered my words. “My cousin Eivin spoke once of a balance between our two worlds.” I turned to face him fully. “What if the Lorcan were the result of this unbalance?”

  He sat up straighter. “My mother once told me there was a time before the Lorcan. When there was peace.”

  “You see,” I said, excited. “I must be right. Something happened to shift this balance. What if the Lorcan went rogue and started hunting? They could have been going for Ella and Alroy tried to fight them off to protect her.”

  Aed frowned. “There were no reports of Lorcan activity that day.”

  “Of course not, ya bleeding idiot. What do ya think a cover-up is?”

  His eyes widened at my blatant insult, but I didn’t slow down.

  “Your da has lost control and he canna let the people know about it. So he does what he does best. He places the blame elsewhere.”

  “That was nearly five years ago. There would be no way of getting proof of any of this.”

  Even as he said it, I could see him thinking it over. Perhaps that was my angle. My way to convince Aed to take that next step.

  “What about your ma? She had to know something. Five years ago is when the Lorcan began uprising because your da stopped killing them. It wasn’t long after that you became a babysitter on that blasted wall. Do ya really think that is a coincidence?”

  Aed’s jaw flinched. “I had orders. Them living or dying was not my call to make until they started attacking the Wall. That was different.”

  “The hell it wasn’t!” I leapt down from the rock and turned to glare at him. “Wake up, Aed. You are the Netherworld’s future king. Don’t tell me your word holds no weight around here.”

  “It’s not that simple—”

  “It is if ya make it simple.”

  He nodded, but the resignation in his eyes disturbed me.

  “You loved your brother, that much is clear,” I said. “But you gave up looking for the truth. Deep down, I think ya were afraid of findin’ it.”

  “And what if it was my father who enabled a Lorcan attack?” he snapped. “I can’t touch him. He is the king. That means I can’t get my revenge.”

  “I know.” I held up my hands in a sign of a truce as I moved closer to him. “But you are the future king. Ya need to start acting like it.”

  “You know nothing of the way my world works.” He looked away.

  “Aye. Maybe I don’t know everything, but I know enough.” I turned and held out my hand to the waterfall. “You come here to escape for a reason. Ya jump each time your da commands it. That’s not what a leader does. It’s what a slave does.”

  He turned back to glare at me. “I would choose your next words with care.”

  “You see?” I laughed. “Who taught ya to threaten people like that? Not the wee boy who loved the Riverlands, that’s for sure. You are your father’s son, Aed. But ya don’t have to be.”

  When he met my gaze full on, my breath caught. There was a depth of pain buried in his silver eyes. “How do you do that?”

  “Do what?”

  “Speak with such raw passion with no consideration for your neck.”

  “Because I speak my mind,” I said. “We need a leader, Aed, and I want to believe in you. That you can do better than your da.”

  Aed blinked. “All you have done is insult me, belittle me, and hold an extremely low opinion of me.”

  “Aye.” I grinned. “Imagine what I’d be like if I didn’t want to believe in ya.”

  For a moment, Aed stared at me. Then slowly the tension broke with a deep rumble of laughter. “I can see why my father fears you. You’re a force to be reckoned with.”

  “I’ll take that as a compliment.”

  “I wouldn’t.” He suddenly grew serious. His whole body tensed and he looked away towards the falls. “You should know that he has commanded me to kill you.”

  “Of course he did.”

  He jerked back. “You knew?”

  I leaned against the rock. “When it went quiet about talks of my potential banishment I figured things might shift in a less public direction. That’s why Eivin and my da were so adamant about me lying low. My da hoped the fight at the docks would help me, but I knew better. Your da isn’t the sort to forgive and forget.”

  “How can you be so flippant about that?”

  If this had been a new idea to me, I would have probably freaked out like he expected. However, Eivin and I knew the risks long before we took them. Banishment was for the courts to decide, but to bring me in front of them allowed me the chance to speak in my defense and reveal my conspiracy theories. I was long past the point where the king would allow me a chance to tarnish his reputat
ion.

  “It’s a logical move,” I said, shrugging my shoulders. “Death is the only way to remove the thorn in his side.”

  “And you care not?”

  “Of course I do! I canna stand here and say that I want to die. That would be daft, but I believe in my path, just as I want to believe in you.”

  Aed shook his head. “If I deny my father’s order and keep you alive, it will be my head on the chopping block instead. And then he will just send another man to hunt you down.”

  “Have ya ever stopped to wonder why he wanted you to be the one to kill me?” I sighed. “You da does nothin’ without a purpose. He chose ya for a reason, Aed. Only you can know what that is.”

  He fell silent, rubbing his hands together as he contemplated my words. “He wants me to submit. To prove I won’t stand against him.”

  “Then I guess you’ll have to decide what I’m worth to ya. An ally or a bargaining chip. I canna be both.”

  We stared at the torrent of water for several moments, each lost in thought. I could feel the heat of his body as he shifted, adjusting his position on the rock.

  “You could be more.”

  I glanced back at him. “Come again?”

  Aed slid down from the rock. “I didn’t bring you down here to kill you. I brought you here to show you who I am.”

  “Why?” I shifted from one foot to the other, suddenly very uncomfortable with how he was looking at me.

  “You and I are alike in many ways, Taryn.” He moved closer to me. “We could be good together.”

  I blinked rapidly, struggling to comprehend what he was saying. He reached out and brushed the hair back from my face. The gentle act was so startling I didn’t pull away when he wrapped his hand around the back of my neck.

  “What are ya doin—”

  The words were cut off when he crushed his lips against mine. My eyes flew open wide and I went rigid.

  “Taryn?” He pulled back.

  When I kneed him in the groin, Aed groaned and hobbled back. “What the bloody hell was that for?”

  “For kissing me without askin’ permission.”

  “Would it have made any difference?” He cupped himself and slowly lowered to the ground.

  “Maybe.” Before I could think on the matter further, I turned and ran.

  He called out to me several times, but I didn’t look back. I had to get out of there. To sort out my thoughts. I needed space to think.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

  DEVLIN

  A S I WALKED BACK from the cemetery, I knew I was going to have to come up with a lie to tell my folks about Seamus. Something they would believe and also something they wouldn’t go mental over.

  “Did you find him?” Ma asked the second I made it home.

  “I did,” I said, opening the icebox and grabbing the milk. “He called me. Finally. He’s staying with a friend near Dundrum Bay.” I focused on pouring milk into a glass so I wouldn’t have to look Ma in the eye. I wasn’t very good at lying and she always seemed to know whenever I did.

  “Dundrum Bay?” she whispered. “Why is he way out there?”

  Sitting down at the table, I shrugged my shoulders. “I got the sense he wanted to be as far away from his da as he could, to be honest. This was a pretty epic fight from what I can gather. His mobile had died, so that’s why he wasn’t returning my calls. Said he’s going to stay there for a few days to blow off some steam, but he knows he has a bed waiting for him when he returns.”

  “Oh, thank heavens,” Ma said, crossing herself. “I couldn’t have born it if something had happened to him, too.”

  I nodded in agreement, hoping nothing would change in the status of his health. My mind was still reeling from the information Taryn told me about Seamus. I had no idea where he was or if he was even alive, but I saw little I could do about the matter. All I could do was hope to hear news from Taryn soon.

  “Maybe now things can get back to normal?” Da asked, walking into the room. He’d obviously overheard our conversation.

  “Speaking of normal,” Ma said, glancing at Da then back at me. “The Belfast Gallery called…wanting to know when they’ll be expecting their shipment.”

  Their commission had been among the many I had destroyed during my rage.

  “What did you tell them?”

  “Well, I did tell them you’d had a death in the family, so that should buy you a wee bit more time.”

  I nodded. “Right. Guess I’ll be starting that order in the morning then.”

  Ma smiled bigger than I had seen her smile in months.

  “Will you come out to dinner with us tomorrow night?” Ma asked. The O’Sheas are celebrating their twentieth. I know they’d love to see you.”

  “Can’t. I’ve got a lot of sculpting to do,” I said, grateful for the excuse to avoid seeing the nosey O’Shea family.

  Although I was in no state of mind to sculpt, losing that order would be a huge financial blow, and I couldn’t do that to my parents. There were bills that needed paying and like it or not, my art helped cover those. I was honour-bound to make good on my word.

  Kicking the studio door open with my foot the next morning, after a fitful night’s rest, I sighed.

  “Won’t this be fun then?” I asked the worktable.

  I grabbed a brick of clay I’d stored in the shed and set it down onto my station with a loud thud.

  Pulling the carving tools I’d need for the first of three Virgin Marys, I sank down onto my stool. They would need to be sculpted and prepped for firing first since they had to ship out the soonest. It wouldn’t be my best work, but they should still pass for the price they paid. I didn’t charge nearly enough for my work, so the dealers told me, but I didn’t want to get rich from this. I only wanted to make enough to keep sculpting. Seemed to me that people who swam neck deep in money lived in the shallow end of humanity, and I wanted no part of that.

  It may only be February but the heat going from the kiln made the small studio hotter than Hades. Already my shirt was sopping up sweat. Annoyed, I yanked the shirt over my head with one hand and wiped the moisture off my face. I chucked it across the room, not caring in the least where it ended up so long as it stayed out of my clay.

  My fingers began the familiar work of creating the basic shape of the Virgin Mary. She always started out looking more like a torpedo than the mother of Christ, which I couldn’t help but chuckle at. I sliced a thin layer off the clay and formed the base that would hold her upright. The flow of her gown around her feet created the stability for the entire piece.

  Pausing, I ran a thumb along the base where her gown would be. My mind flashed to Taryn’s gown. Her ripped gown. A wave of jealousy tore through me. I forced my hands to unclench themselves.

  “Calm down, mate,” I whispered. I rolled my shoulders to ease the tension and picked up my carving wire to shave off the larger chunks around her neck.

  That was when I felt a shift in the air. A definite presence. There was someone in the studio with me. Taryn’s warning came back to me. If you see a Lorcan, run.

  I tightened my grasp on the carving tool, knowing it would be of no use, but I spun around with it anyway.

  “It’s me, ya daft fool,” Taryn said, taking a small step back at my sudden lunge. Her expression quickly changed to bemusement as she cocked her head to the side, glancing over at my worktable.

  “Taryn! Bloody hell. You scared me.” I put the knife down and caught my breath. She was smirking at me in a knowing sort of way. “How long have you been here?”

  “Long enough to admire the view.” Her eyes flicked down to my chest so fast that I wasn’t sure I actually saw her do it, but it was enough to remind me I was still without a shirt.

  My cheeks flushed with embarrassment. “Sorry. I didn’t know you’d be coming. I would have—”

  She crossed her arms over her chest. “You would have what?”

  “I would have kept my shirt on for one thing.”

  Sh
e continued to smirk at me. “I have seen lads without their shirts on, ya know?”

  I wasn’t sure why that comment upset me so. It was irrational for me be jealous of her seeing other blokes half-naked, and yet, I was. Shaking the thought away, I found my shirt and tugged it over my head.

  “Any news on Seamus?” I asked. That should have been the first thing I asked when I saw her, but, I swear, that woman made me forget all logic.

  Her smile faded as I broke the lightness of our meeting. “He’s improving. Tris is takin’ good care of him.”

  “Tris was your friend who was there the night of the attack, yes?”

  She nodded, then shook her head. “I think she enjoys washin’ Seamus’ wounds a wee bit more than she should.”

  “Oh?” I said, raising an eyebrow. “I didn’t get a good look at her. Is she pretty?”

  Taryn chuckled. “She likes to think she is.”

  “Well then, I’m sure Seamus doesn’t mind the attention.”

  Taryn walked farther into the studio, looking around as she did. “Too bad nothin’ will come of it. Him being a human and all makes that love connection impossible.”

  “And why is that?” I asked, as though this were the most normal conversation in the world.

  She shrugged. “It’s forbidden and she’s all about the rules.”

  “How so?”

  She sighed. “You don’t disobey the royal decrees if ya want to stay out of the dungeons.”

  Something was weighing heavy on her mind, but I could tell she wasn’t ready to talk about it, so I tried changing the subject instead.

  “Have you ever worked with clay before?” I asked her, walking back to my stool. I pulled a second one out and offered it to her.

  “No. We don’t have time for this sort of thing back home. My city is where people bring their products to market. They are already crafted.”

  “Well, today’s your lucky day,” I said, picking up my wire cutter. I handed her a Mary sized hunk.

  She picked it up tentatively, one eyebrow raised.