They would revolt, and their entire world would fall into the chaos of war and killing. A man would understand it. Cian was not a man. A madman, perhaps, but a man like himself, or Drake? No.
That meant that the reason, and method of dealing with another man would not work. He would need to remember that in all dealings that would come. He must be the parent, the adult, and treat Cian as a child.
Because that was what he was. An angry, petulant child who cared nothing for others as long as he got what he wanted. It would do no good to warn of what would come of Cian’s plans. Another adult—he might have a chance of showing the consequences. But Cian didn’t care.
He had to live. He had to survive this. Not only for Iris, and the life they planned, but for Drake. His Realm. All the other Realms that had no part in the tragedy of his family. For his parents, even his mother.
In spite of the physical hurts, in spite of how very tired he felt, a burden had fallen from him. He was not responsible for Cian’s death. Although if he had anything to do with it, he would be in the end. But what had gone on all those years ago, that was not his fault. His brother had not died. His parents had made a decision that was poor judgement, but that was not his fault either.
He had done all that he could for his entire life to make amends for his actions, and in doing so, had become a good ruler, and a good man. He no longer needed to carry the sins of the past with him as part of his armor.
Why had it taken all this time to get to this understanding? Even with his parents’ deception, he could have let this go long ago.
A sliver of light from the side of the room reflected on the ceiling. Then the light disappeared. He felt the presence of someone in the room, but there was no noise.
“May as well show yourself,” he said, letting his voice sound unconcerned.
“Shhh,” a voice—a woman?—responded. “I can help you, but I don’t have a great deal of time.”
“How?” He whispered.
“Be quiet,” the woman said, and she sounded irritated. “Don’t look askew at good fortune.”
“Be assured, madam, I do not.” Unspoken was the question as to whether this was, in fact, good fortune. He hoped so. But beggars could not be choosy, and if she was here to help him, he’d ask no questions. Couldn’t be much worse than what Cian was doing to him daily. He was weakening. He could feel it.
A greenish glow came close to him, and he could see, by turning his head, a small, dark woman’s face. Well, her hair and clothes looked dark in the light of whatever spell she was casting.
“May I ask—?”
“No.” Her answer was swift.
The glow spread from her hands, and moved to his middle. The pool of glowing green light grew as it moved through his core, and he felt as though someone had injected sunlight through him.
“Good, let it all heal you. I can try and come to you as long as you are here, if you can keep your mouth shut,” she said, still sounding irritated.
Was it that hard to be decent? He wondered.
When it felt that he could break free of his restraints and fly with the birds, the light faded from his middle, and from her hands. She blew a breath onto her hands, and a small red flame sprung to life in her hand.
“You’ll do,” she said, peering closely at him.
He was surprised to see how young she looked. She was fae, and…something else. Her features were fairer than he’d originally thought. He couldn’t tell what it was, but she was not entirely fae. But her youth was in slight discordance with the weight of something that showed in her face, young as she was. If she had even reached one hundred, he’d be surprised.
“Who’s Iris?” She asked abruptly.
“My wife,” he said without thinking. Where had she heard Iris’ name? The thought of Iris as his wife thrilled him, even as he cursed himself for answering without restraint.
“You need to stop thinking about her,” she said. “He’ll see it. He’s as dumb as a stump, but he is cunning. Block her from your thoughts.”
The red flame winked out, and a moment later, he saw the door crack open, closing quickly.
What had that been about? Why had she warned him about Iris? He never spoke of her, rarely spoke of anything when Cian was present. He found that his silence angered his brother as much as words. It usually meant that he endured more pain than he might have if he’d given the madman something to taunt him with, but he felt keeping her hidden was more important.
He also thanked whatever had pushed him to wed quietly. Had it been broadcast as Jharak wanted, Iris would be in further danger.
Although he feared she was in more danger than he’d like when he thought of her telling him they were coming. Who was they? And why in the name of all the gods had they let Iris come?
He stopped his thoughts. There was nothing he could do from where he was. He needed to take the mystery woman’s words to heart, and wall his thoughts of Iris off into a place where Cian could not find them. If this mystery woman knew, who knew what Cian had discovered?
He closed his eyes. Better to get sleep while he could.
Chapter Seven
Iris
Drake reined his horse, and held up a hand.
“What?” I asked.
“We are close to the cottage. Iris, please stay here. Taranath, would you see what wards are in place? I can’t imagine there are none.”
Taranath edged around me, looking calm as he always did. I envied that. I could feel the butterflies turn mean and swirl in my gut with all sorts of crazy intent. Intent to make me puke, maybe. Please, no. Last thing I needed.
Taranath disappeared beyond the line of trees.
“How can you tell there are wards?” I whispered, nudging Morgana closer to Drake and his horse.
He shrugged. “I can’t, without looking for them specifically. But Taranath can, and it’s what I would do, if I’d been attacked by us.” He turned to look at me, and smiled, and I could see why he was considered so fierce in that moment. He almost scared me. It was a smile that was excited for battle.
We sat still, or I tried to. I wanted to fidget. Everything on me itched, and I felt ready to jump out of my skin. Which I nearly did when Taranath appeared out of the trees.
“There were wards, but I have disabled them.”
Drake peered around behind Taranath. “Will those within be aware?”
“I do not know. So I’d suggest that you take whatever action you plan to take,” Taranath said, smiling at me.
How in the hell did he stay so calm? Drake moved around the two of us. “Stay behind me,” he ordered. “If you could both please arm yourselves with spells to protect us that will help. I’ll lead, and you follow,” and without waiting for a response, he pushed through the trees.
“We can do this, your Majesty,” Taranath said softly. “You’ve already done magic far more difficult.”
“Yeah but not on purpose,” I said. Still, his confidence made me feel better.
“See the spell in your mind,” he turned his horse around and we followed Drake. “Have it in front of you, and be ready to speak it.”
It had taken some time for me to learn things because everything that Taranath taught me was in the fae language. But I did as he instructed, and I could see the spell words in my head that I needed for protection. I focused on protecting all of us, rather than just myself. I really wanted to close my eyes to focus better, but that wouldn’t work here.
Drake rode forward, his horse turning a little.
“Hello the cottage!” He yelled. “Come out, if you please! We wish to speak with you.
No answer. It felt as the air itself waited for some sort of response. I could feel myself holding my breath.
Then the door opened, only a sliver.
“Who are you? What do you want?”
It was a woman.
“We are in search of the man called Secret Name. Is he here?” Drake sounded confident, but not overly threatening.
“What do
you want with him? He’s done nothing to anyone!”
Kind of defensive, wasn’t she?
Drake nudged his horse, and it took a few steps closer to the cottage. A hand came through the door.
“Stop! I will not allow you to come closer. Be warned, I am protected.”
I focused on making sure that Drake stayed under my protection spell. I didn’t know if it would stand up against someone more skilled, but I had to try.
As Dhysara spoke, Taranath broke away from me and rode up next to Drake. “I fear, madam, that you are not protected as you believe. I have removed your wards.”
The hand fell a little, then rose. “And? I do not need the wards to send you on your way.”
In spite of the fact that she loved a psycho, I felt respect from her. I remembered Brennan told me that her father had been the Goblin King before he was. That must be where her strength came from. I’d be scared to death facing these two.
“I am sure you do not, but it would be better if you answered our question, madam.”
The hand fell again, and then withdrew inside the door. The door itself opened more, and a woman stepped out.
She had dark hair that hung loosely around her face. Not like Nerida’s precisely done hair, as she was the only Fae woman I had to compare her to. Well, and Ailla. Another perfectly done Fae woman.
“Are you Dhysara?”
The woman stood up straight, her chin lifted and her shoulders back. “I am. Who asks?”
“I am Drake, in the service of the Goblin King. I seek Secret Name, on business from my king.”
A corner of her lip curled, and I could see the other two haughty Fae women I’d met in her expression. “You mean the usurper? What does he have to do with me? Hasn’t he done enough already? Taken my heritage? Bespelled my father to abandon his family?”
“There is no way you could have held the Goblin Realm, Lady Dhysara,” Taranath stepped in front of Drake.
“Are you his creature as well? As if you’d say anything different,” she dismissed him.
I’d thought she was simple in that she didn’t have all the airs and snotty attitudes of Nerida and Ailla, but clearly I was wrong. She was dressed in a simple dark tunic that showed her to be a soft-looking curvy woman, in spite of her height and her presence. But she held herself like a queen.
For a moment, I felt small but remembered. I am the Goblin Queen, no matter what this woman thinks of herself, or me. I am the Queen, legally married to the King. I straightened in the saddle. If I felt less than, it was all on me, and I wasn’t going to let her do that to me. I also focused on the spell, making sure neither of those with me would be hurt by her.
Her eye fell on me. “What are you doing as part of this envoy, lady? You are not…” she squinted at me. “You are not full fae, although you are definitely some part fae. What are you? Oh…” she crossed her arms. “A human? What is a human doing here?”
That was it. “I am—”
“A representative of the Goblin King,” Drake interjected. “He felt that you would feel less threatened if we had a woman with us. And this woman, the Lady Iris, is a valued member of his court. It would behoove you, Lady Dhysara, to return the courtesy that is being visited upon you.”
I had to force myself not to turn and gape at Drake. This tall tale that he and Taranath were spinning had no real basis in what had been planned, but they were doing well at making this shit up on the fly.
She looked at me, eyebrows raised. “Is that so? What does a human have to offer the usurper?”
“He is the rightful Goblin King, whatever your disagreement with him may be,” I said, surprising myself with how formal I sounded. “We are here to request your help in locating Secret Name.”
“You were here before,” her voice accused Drake. “You tried to harm him!” She backed towards the door, and the shift she wore stretched tight across her front. My eye caught on her middle as she moved.
Drake made a movement, but I held up a hand, and moved my horse in closer. I could feel my spell falter, and then the spell of another wrapped around me. Thank god. Taranath had noticed, and taken up my slack. That made me feel okay about turning my attention to Dhysara. I didn’t know why, but I knew this was the way to work with her. “He believed that Secret Name was a threat. Now we are unsure, and really need to speak with him. It can clear things up easily,” I smiled. I had a sneaking suspicion why she was worried. I watched her carefully, waiting to see if I was right.
She shifted in the door, turning so that I saw her profile. Yep, I was right. Not that I had much experience, but she had the look.
I slid off the horse, hoping like hell that I wouldn’t fall flat on my face. My lower half still wasn’t used to being on a horse for hours. “Listen, Dhysara, right? I’m Iris. We’re not here to harm you. We do, however, need to find Secret Name. I’m sure,” I took a few steps, ignoring Drake’s hiss of indrawn breath, “You would like to have him closer as well.” I smiled, and hoped I didn’t look threatening. I also wondered why Drake couldn’t tell that Taranath was all over this in terms of a protection spell.
She eyed me with great suspicion, and her arms crept to her midsection, almost cradling it. I was right. How to approach this, then? I glanced quickly at Drake and Taranath; Drake hadn’t noticed, but I could see Taranath studying her. He didn’t miss much.
“He has felt he could not stay, couldn’t put me in danger,” she said slowly, reluctantly.
Her desire to know something about him warred with her need to keep his whereabouts a secret. She wasn’t showing much, but the knowledge alone must have been eating at her. He wasn’t here.
What had Brennan told me? Fae didn’t have a lot of kids. More often than not, couples would go years without having children; so this was a big deal. I wondered if Cian knew, and thought that whatever was up with Dhysara, I couldn’t help but feel bad for her.
“Why would he feel you are in danger?” Drake asked.
His presence felt big, and I could tell that Dhysara felt it also. She shrank into the door frame a little. Not a lot, because she had a ton of pride, and that kept her back straight and her chin up, but he was intimidating.
I held my hand toward him, keeping it low. I hoped he’d get the hint and shut the hell up and ease his intimidation. Just a little.
Not waiting to see if he caught it, I took a couple of steps closer to her, holding my hands out wide to show her that I had nothing on me and nothing to hide.
“We need to find him, Dhysara. He has been implicated in acts against the Goblin King, and he needs to answer for this. If he’s not involved, no big deal, and we’re all done. But we have to find him first.” Please don’t let her ask why Brennan is not here.
“Why has the Goblin King,” She sneered, “Not come himself? He had no problem doing so once before.”
“Because that didn’t work out so well, did it?” I shot back. “He is willing to try a different approach. The Goblin King doesn’t wish for dissent in his kingdom.” I wasn’t sure where I was pulling all this formality from, but it seemed appropriate. I also knew I couldn’t tell her that Brennan and I were married. I had no reason as to why I felt this way, but I just knew.
She narrowed her eyes at me. “Why does he send a mage, a warrior, and a human?”
I shrugged. Interesting that she didn’t mention me being part fae again. Did being part human negate that for some fae? I’d have to deal with that later, if so. “Because we volunteered, and he trusts us.” Thank god that Drake and Taranath were letting me handle this. “If you can tell us where he might be, we can solve this quickly. I don’t mean you any harm, particularly not now,” I smiled and glanced at her belly.
She looked afraid. Then the fear slid right into anger. “Are you threatening me?”
“Not at all. I just imagine that you are really wanting him close right now, and the sooner this is handled, the better.”
“You are in the service of the usurper. How can I trust you?”
“You can’t,” I said, feeling Taranath shifting behind me. I could actually feel the spell shifting. He’d need to teach me that. “But look at me—I’m here, defenseless, in front of you, and I understand you are skilled with magic, and I am only talking. That’s all I want to do. Just talk, and then once that is done, we will leave.”
She looked at me, then Taranath, then Drake. She didn’t want to fight. “I do not know exactly where he is, but he is very close with the Dragon King. There are some who do not forget loyalty and what is right.” She glared at Drake. “The king and Lady Ailla are most kind to us both.”
I watched her face when she said the crazy bitch’s name. She didn’t know.
“Were you aware—” Drake began.
“Of any other place he might go if he felt threatened?” I interjected, turning briefly to glare at Drake. “Shut up,” I hissed.
Dhysara hadn’t missed that, and I saw a smirk on her face. “You take orders from the human? What have you done to be so highly regarded?” She asked me.
“She saved the king,” Drake said. “Her counsel is well regarded.”
“Oh, so the great Goblin King is poorly thought of by others? Such a surprise.”
I shrugged again, determined not to let her get under my skin. She was a good match for the psycho. “I want to make sure he is safe from harm. He has been of great help to me as well.”
Dhysara laughed. “He must be, if you are not dead yet.”
Okay, living in the middle of nowhere had obviously let her manners fall straight into the gutter.
“You should return to the Human Realm and leave the affairs of the Fae Realm to your betters,” she said, with no snark or anything else in her voice.
Wow. What a snotty bitch. My ability to feel sorry for her was not going to last long if she kept this up.
Calm, a voice said in my head. It kind of sounded like Taranath. This is merely a test. Do not let her push you.
Definitely Taranath. I was going to have to get him to teach me this, too. Great. Like my to-do magic list wasn’t long enough. But this talking in the head thing was better than the mirror. ‘Extremely handy’ didn’t even begin to describe it.
Realms of the Goblin King (The Realm Trilogy Book 3) Page 5
