by Lexi Blake
Herne entered the room. “I hope you slept well, Your Grace.” He nodded to Arawn, who quickly allowed Roarke to take over the conversation. “Good morning, Roarke. Exciting couple of days, huh?”
Roarke sent his friend a pointed stare. “Yes, if you like complete and utter terror. You might get an adrenaline rush from being hunted down, but I don’t. I was looking forward to a couple of weeks’ rest out at the cabin, not fleeing for our life because Nim decided she needed something exotic.”
A servant came in the room and Roarke finally got around to my previous question. The small goblin brought in an extra platter of something that looked like fried ham. I didn’t ask.
“Has your mistress called her father this morning?” Roarke politely asked the goblin, who turned his red eyes on us.
“My beautiful mistress spoke with one of the king’s advisors not more than an hour ago.” All the love he had for his mistress showed in his eyes. It made a nice contrast when he turned angry eyes to me. “The king is busy with the war preparations. Chima was told her father will call her later today to decide what to do with that one.”
Herne pulled the little goblin over and made sure the servant knew he was serious. “She is a Seelie royal. Have you forgotten your manners? Do you seek to shame your mistress with your behavior?”
The goblin bowed, but the distaste in his eyes didn’t go away. “Of course not, My Lord. I stand ready to aid Her Highness in any way she might need me.”
He gave me one last dirty look and then left the room. I wouldn’t be asking him for any favors.
Roarke shook his head. “I apologize. Chima is good to her servants. She inspires loyalty in all who work for her. They hoped for a marriage between her and the priest. Even her father tried throwing Chima and Devinshea together when he was here. They were…disappointed it didn’t work out.”
I supposed that would have been a perfect match for everyone in Faery. Dev and Chima would have brought the tribes together and there would have been no question that Dev would fulfill his duties to his wife’s people. I wondered why it hadn’t worked out. At one point, Dev would have done anything to get his people’s approval.
“Why do Chima and the goblin call Zoey ‘Her Highness’? I thought the proper term was ‘Her Grace,’” Neil asked in between plates of food. I hoped the kitchens here could keep up with a werewolf.
Herne took that one. “Zoey is the wife of a high priest and the proper title is ‘Your Grace,’ but Devinshea is also in line for the throne. He can use the titles interchangeably. The Seelies would never call her Your Highness, but we aren’t so desperate for everything to have a proper title here.”
There was a loud clatter outside the door and a small, black-haired child sprinted through the room. I smiled because his harried nanny chased him through. He was a bright ball of energy streaking across the floor.
“Sean, you stop that this instant,” she yelled as he broke for our table.
The little boy named Sean screeched his pleasure at the game he was playing. He feinted left and right, and then ran headlong toward me. He ran straight into my chair and I reached down to pick up the child, who appeared to be no more than four years old. He held his head and began to cry.
“It’s all right, sweetie.” I hauled him into my lap, loving the soft weight of him. He was sweet and obviously used to affection as he immediately threw his little arms around me and cried. I soothed back his midnight black hair that was already at the top of his shoulders. I wondered if holding any child would always remind me of the ones I’d lost.
I heard the nanny’s startled oath and looked up. The tall sidhe female put a hand over her mouth in abject horror as she looked at me.
“It’s all right,” Roarke said to the woman. “She won’t harm the child.”
I was confused. I’d tried to build a ferocious reputation but not as someone who would hurt little kids. I patted the boy’s back. Maybe they thought because I was married to a Seelie that I would kill all Unseelie. “Why would I hurt a baby?”
Herne shook his head regretfully. “I’m sure it was something Chima never wanted you to know.”
The boy shifted his face to me, and now it was my turn to be startled. Emerald green eyes and a perfect face stared up at me. This was what Devinshea had looked like as a child. It made my heart seize. It was easy to see why Chima hated me. I had the title of wife, but according to all Seelie laws, she was the real thing.
* * * *
“Zoey, are you sure you want to do this?” Neil asked as I stalked my prey through the elegant hallways of the country house.
“Just tell me which way to go, Neil,” I growled at my wolf. He’d been trying to steer me off course since the moment I’d decided to have it out with Chima.
“Promise me no girl fighting. It’s not pretty and it’s undignified. All that hair pulling makes the stylist in me want to cry.”
“Fine, I promise no hair pulling.” I stopped and took a deep breath. I looked back at Neil with a frown. “I have no real intention of fighting with the woman, but don’t you think we need to talk about this?”
“About the fact that Dev has a kid?” Neil posited. “Maybe not, Z. She obviously didn’t want to push the marriage. All she had to do was show up at the Seelie palace with Little Dev and Miria would have approved their union. She didn’t. How does the timing work because Dev’s been on the Earth plane for seven years?”
I did the math in my head. “It’s only been eighteen months here. Dev was seventeen when he spent the year here. Declan just turned twenty-two and the boy is roughly four. It works out. Dev got Chima pregnant while he and Declan were here for Declan’s training.”
“But Dev didn’t leave the sithein for a couple of years after that,” Neil pointed out. “Yet she didn’t contact him. Leave it be, Z.”
I willed myself not to cry. “I can’t. Dev wants a kid so bad. He should know he already has one. It isn’t fair to him and it isn’t fair to the child to not know a loving father.”
I could only hope it wouldn’t change his feelings for me. I had to hope that he wouldn’t feel like he needed to stay here, but I worried his sense of honor would lead him to that decision. If I thought about what this meant for all of us, me and Danny and Dev, then I would probably follow Neil’s advice and keep my mouth shut. But I’d just lost a child. Summer was lost to Danny and me as well. I couldn’t allow Dev to not know Sean. I couldn’t allow our family to lose another child.
Neil shook his head and pointed down a hallway. “Chima is that way, and I think Nim is with her. I’ll stay out in the hall unless you need me. Remember your promise about the hair pulling.”
I nodded and forced myself to walk down that hallway and confront the woman who had borne my husband’s child. I cursed myself the whole way. Who was I to upset this balance Chima had found? No one was trying to force Dev to acknowledge his responsibilities and yet I was ready to push the issue. I couldn’t get the look in that little boy’s eyes out of my head and I pressed on.
Nim and Chima were talking as I approached the balcony they were sharing tea on.
“I like her,” Nim said. “I don’t understand your problem with her. She’s sweet and funny.”
Chima snorted and tucked a stray piece of chestnut brown hair behind one ear. “You don’t understand? How can you not? Think about it for a second, Nim. How would you feel in my position? He said his people would never accept me, but they’ll accept some human? And why is she running around with a vampire?”
“Whoa, Chi,” Nim returned in an affectionate tone as I walked onto the balcony. “She isn’t…”
“I’m running around with the vampire because he’s my husband, too,” I said forthrightly. I met Chima’s blue eyes head on. “Now that I answered your question, perhaps you can answer one of mine. Why haven’t you told my husband he has a son?”
“Zoey,” Nim began.
“Hush, Nim,” Chima said, her lips a flat line. “This is between me and Her High
ness.”
I flushed with anger. “Don’t call me that. You can’t mean it as anything but an insult since by all Fae laws you’re his wife and I’m a second, with only the rights you’re willing to give me until I produce a child.”
“I give them all to you, Your Highness,” she said with a bitter laugh. “Please feel free to consider that bastard all yours. I wouldn’t take him back if he dropped out of the sky and begged me on bended knee.”
“He has the right to know his son.” I stated my position as plainly as I knew how.
“Why does he have the right?” Chima attempted to stare me down. “Did he stay with me to see if I was pregnant? Do you want to know what your loving husband did to me? He told me he loved me one night and walked out and left me the next morning. He never asked about me when he returned to this sithein. He never visited me or glanced my way at a state dinner. When he was done with me, he left a lovely parting gift and a note telling me he was sorry it couldn’t work out. Why should I share my son with him?”
“Because he should know his father,” I insisted. “Whatever he did to you, I’m sorry you were treated that way, but it doesn’t mean he wouldn’t be a good father. He deserves a chance. He wants a child so badly. When I lost ours he went a little crazy. Knowing he has a son on this side of the sithein could stop this war. Have you thought of that?”
“Look, as I told you before, I’ve been in the country with my son for a couple of months now,” Chima said, calming down a bit. “I’m truly sorry to hear you lost a child. I don’t know what I would do without my son. Perhaps before we tear at each other over a piece of shit man, you should bring me up to speed. All I was told when you arrived last night was that there was trouble with the new Seelie royal. I’ve learned a little from Nim this morning, but I try to stay out of politics.”
It was a reasonable request and I honored it. I told the future Queen of the Unseelie exactly what had happened during my stay in Faery.
“Declan believes that Herne was an Unseelie spy,” I explained.
“Of course he does,” Chima said, rolling her eyes. “Did you try to sway him?”
“Declan doesn’t listen to me.”
“And you said he was upset about the baby?” Her eyes stared straight into mine.
“Declan was upset,” I agreed. “Not as upset as Dev, of course. Dev was…I’ve never seen him so upset and we’ve been through some serious crap in the couple of years we’ve been together.”
Chima looked over at Nim, who pointedly stared at her friend.
“Devinshea was heartbroken when his brand new goddess lost their baby.” Nim spoke the words slowly, as though speaking to a child. “Devinshea recently married.”
“Devinshea…yes. Of course.” Chima took a moment to process and then addressed me. “Your Grace,” Chima said with an almost intense sincerity. She leaned across the table. “Please accept my condolences. I’ve behaved poorly as a hostess and as a fellow female. I apologize for any bitterness I’ve shown toward you.”
Nim sat forward. “You see, Zoey…”
Chima stopped whatever she was about to say with a harsh look. “I have no excuse but one. I cared deeply for Devinshea. I was obviously not the woman for him. Whatever we had is completely in the past and I ask that you keep Sean a secret between us. I have no intention of making a claim on the priest. It would only put a strain on your marriage and make all of us unhappy if you mention it to him.”
Nim seemed upset, and I was glad that at least one person understood my position. I was about to argue when Neil rushed into the room.
“Do you feel that, Z?” he asked.
A wind whipped across the balcony, making me balance against the table to remain standing.
“It’s an eddy wind,” Chima shouted over the roar. “And it sounds crowded.”
I was sure I looked confused. Another strong wind whipped by, making my hair blow back.
Neil stared up, shaking his head. “It smells like goblins and some sidhe, maybe. It’s confusing. There’s so much in that wind.”
Chima nodded. “I’m sure it’s a messenger from my father.”
But it wasn’t. We watched as the eddy wind gave up its riders and the red caps appeared on the lawn, their heads dripping with blood. They stood in perfect formation, and there were more of them than before.
“Why has my father sent red caps?” Chima stared at the army in her yard.
“He didn’t,” Nim said in a tight voice.
One final figure fell from the sky and landed gracefully on the lawn, his sword already drawn. He was tall and bulky, his scarlet eyes betraying his goblin blood. When he opened his mouth I recognized the voice of the man who had taken me from Gilliana.
“Felicitations, Your Highness,” Con said in his gravelly voice. “Your father has sent me on a grim errand. You are to surrender Her Grace to me. She will be executed forthwith.”
Chapter Twenty-Nine
“That makes no sense,” Chima called down to her father’s advisor. “Why would my father wish to incense the Seelies by executing the priest’s goddess? I thought my father wished to avoid war.”
Nim took her place beside Chima, but she pushed me into the shadows. I was pretty sure that Con knew exactly where I was, but at least he didn’t have a good shot at me. Though the red caps enjoyed close fighting, they would use arrows when it was expedient. Even as Nim had shoved me back, I saw the goblins notch arrows in their longbows and someone start a fire to set them aflame.
“Your father believes the time has come to take out the Seelie plague,” Con explained, his raspy voice all rational logic. “They’ve threatened us too many times over the past few years. If Declan Quinn is allowed to take the throne in the future, he will do whatever it takes to kill us all. We must act now to ensure our continued survival.”
“Con is a traitor, Chima,” Nim said loudly.
“Now, Nim,” Con began. “There’s no reason to throw about such inflammatory words. I’ve served the king with everything I have. I’ve tried to protect him from those who seek to overthrow him, like your mate, the ascended god, Arawn. You can’t trust them, Your Highness. I know this girl is pretending to be your friend, but she’s plotting against you.”
“Chima knows who her friends are,” Nim insisted.
Con wouldn’t let up. “You must ask yourself why a ‘friend’ would put you at such risk. Why is Nim running about the countryside with not one but two fugitives? The Seelie royal is here to create trouble and your father has already declared Herne the Hunter an outlaw. Yet your good friend places your whole household at risk by bringing them here to you.”
“Asshole,” Nim shouted down at the king’s advisor. “You’re the one who sold Her Grace to me.”
“She is filled with lies,” Con protested, looking as innocent as someone with blood-red eyes could.
“Give me one good reason why my father wants the priest’s wife executed,” Chima said, ignoring Con’s accusation about her friend. I admired her ability to stay calm and get to the heart of the matter.
Con stepped forward and the entire army moved with him. “Your father will have his revenge on the priest for what he did to you. He left you to bear a child alone. He has no honor, and he will have no wife since he dishonored you.”
I saw Chima’s head shake. She crossed her arms over her chest. “Oh, Con, you prove yourself a traitor with every word your lips form. My father knows the truth of Sean’s birth. He would never seek to hurt Devinshea Quinn in this way.”
This seemed to confuse Con to no end. I watched as his mind sought out another avenue to go down, his jaw tightening as he thought. He gazed up and chose to give up the game. “I don’t understand and have no time to delve into your enigmatic words. Even now the armies are gathering on the battlefield. Angus has requested a meeting with the Seelie’s bitch queen to try to avoid a blood bath. I don’t want to avoid a blood bath. I need to make sure Her Grace’s head decorates one of our pikes. Then there will b
e no way Miria will listen to anything he says. If you refuse to listen to reason, then I’ll have to take a more direct route. Let us see what the truth of your son is now, Your Highness.”
He motioned to someone I couldn’t see, but I had a suspicion what was happening when Chima cried out.
Neil grabbed my hand and tried to pull me away. “Time to go, Z.”
I fought him and slipped from his grasp. I walked forward and saw the horrible sight of that sweet little boy being hauled out in front of the army of red caps. His legs kicked as he fought with everything he had. They cheered as he was held up for his mother’s inspection.
“He has already witnessed the brutal death of his nanny,” Con said with a satisfied smile. “I think it scared him to have to watch her heart being ripped out. I told him that if his mommy loved him very much, maybe I wouldn’t do it to him, too. How about it, Chima? Does mommy love him very much?”
“You bastard!” Chima screamed. “You let my son go!”
“As soon as Her Grace is in my custody,” Con promised soothingly. “I’ll exchange the boy you love for the human who means nothing to you. But Chima, don’t think for too long. My offer will expire soon. The red caps are crying for blood. The blood of one so innocent is very sweet. I would hurry before they decide they would rather have his blood than hers.”
Chima turned and her face had aged in those few seconds. All the safety and comfort of her world had been stripped away, and she had no choices left. Neil swore and he stepped between us.
“Not gonna happen, lady,” he growled. I looked down and saw his claws were out.
“Chima, you don’t have to do this,” Nim said but she sounded uncertain. “Arawn…”
“…would already be here if he could,” Chima completed the thought. She reached into a pocket on her trousers and there was a small knife in her hands. “They undoubtedly already have Arawn and the Hunter in custody or on the run. You know how they protect their hosts above all else. It’s their primary instinct. We can’t count on them.”
“The vampire,” Nim offered.
