Before I could react any further, something pushed against me. For a second I thought it was the brown-haired man, but he hadn’t moved.
Then my feet actually slid back on the sidewalk about half an inch. And I couldn’t go forward at all.
It took me a few seconds to figure it out. There was some kind of magic law that said no Fae could enter the property of another Fae if they weren’t wanted. We’d had this problem with Reun, the Seelie noble who was now staying with us at the Castle—another long story. Taeral hadn’t exactly been open to his presence at first, with good reason, so he told him he wasn’t welcome. And Reun physically couldn’t come back into the place until Taeral invited him.
“How—you are not Fae,” Taeral said.
“No, but you are.” The man stared evenly at him. “And this is my house as much as Cobalt’s, so the Law still holds.”
“You know of the Laws?”
“All right. That’s it.” Sadie bumped me in passing and brushed right past the man into the place, almost spilling his coffee. “Thing is, I’m not Fae,” she said. “And you need to invite my friends inside, because they have to talk to Cobalt. Right now.”
The man blinked rapidly and stared at her. “Um. You’re trespassing?” he said. “Look, for humans I just call the cops.”
She gave him the sweet smile I knew well—the one that said she was about to go off in the exact opposite way that smile suggested. “I’m not human, either.”
“Okay. Everybody just…stop.” I held back a groan. Sadie probably wouldn’t go wolf just to prove a point—but probably was not the same as definitely. And any minute now, Taeral was going to start being his normal, threatening self. “Look,” I said to the guy in the doorway. “You know about the Fae, so I guess I can explain this to you. Cobalt—”
“You know nothing about this human,” Taeral snarled. “Do not trust him.”
I closed my eyes briefly. I could almost read his mind—he was worried because the Fae couldn’t kill each other without moonlight, but humans could. Any human with knowledge of the Fae might be a threat. But I didn’t sense anything dangerous from this guy, and I wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt. Something Taeral couldn’t do. “Trust me, all right?” I said to him. “Just give me a minute.”
Taeral relented. A little.
I would’ve been upset with him, but there was another reason he was like this. Fae had to keep their promises, or they’d die—and he’d promised to protect me. Letting me get hurt could literally kill him. So, I’d just have to hope I could reason with this guy…or Taeral would. Only he’d use not so much ‘reasoning’ as ‘violent persuasion.’
“Anyway,” I said. “Cobalt did some tattoos for me, a long time ago. And I just found out they’re not exactly normal tattoos. Know what I mean?”
“Uh…no,” the man said.
I let out a frustrated breath. “They’re magic. But I didn’t ask for magic tattoos, and I have no idea what they are or what they do.”
He looked almost startled. “Are you sure? I mean, that really doesn’t sound like something Cobalt would do,” he said. “Maybe you’ve got the wrong guy.”
“Oh, aye,” Taeral said. “Surely we’re seeking some other bastard Seelie prince who owns a tattoo shop and calls himself Cobalt.”
I just about choked trying not to laugh.
After a long pause, the man said, “All right. I guess maybe you’d better talk to him.”
“Good idea,” Sadie said.
“My name’s Will, by the way,” he said, moving back from the door. “And you are?”
“Gideon. That’s Sadie, and Taeral,” I said.
“Well, I’m not sure how nice it is to meet you yet. I’ll let you know once I finish my coffee. We’re night people around here.” He flashed a half-smile. “Come in, Gideon. Taeral.”
The vague pressure I’d almost stopped noticing vanished, and we walked inside.
CHAPTER 3
Beyond the entrance was a small, windowless room with two doors on the opposite side. There was a plain wooden table and chair off to the right, and what looked like a ledger book on the surface of the table.
And on the wall next to the entrance, glowing runes.
“It’s kind of an alarm system,” Will said when he noticed me looking at the symbols. “They glow when there’s an, er…”
“Unseelie.” Taeral probably could’ve sounded more disgusted, but he’d really have to work at it. “Not surprising, considering the wards on this place—and what your master is.”
Will made a shocked, half-strangled sound that might’ve had a laugh in it somewhere. “Master?” he said. “Oh man, do you have the wrong idea. Cobalt is my partner.”
“So you work here, too?” I said.
He smiled. The full expression this time. “Not that kind of partner. The shop’s downstairs, and we live upstairs.”
“Oh,” I said. Then my brain caught up with the words. “Oh, partner,” I said.
“Yes. Soon to be husband.”
“Congratulations.” Well, at least that explained why he knew about the Fae. They were together in a more-than-friends way. Cobalt would’ve had to tell him the truth.
The truth. All at once, I realized why his voice seemed familiar. I’d heard it in the life before the Others happened, when I was just a body mover trying to avoid involvement with the rest of the world. But I’d never heard it in person. “I know you,” I said. “Well, I don’t know you, but—you’re Will Ambrose, right? You have that nighttime radio show. The Truth Will Out.”
Will blushed a little. “Yeah, that’s me,” he said. “You’re a listener?”
“Off and on. Well, I was until recently. Not that I don’t like the show,” I said. The Truth was a talk show, mostly dealing with LGBT relationships. From what I’d heard, this guy had helped a lot of people get through some serious shit. “I listened while I was driving around nights, for my job. But I’m semi-retired now.”
“Oh. Cool.” At least he seemed a little warmer now. “Well, I guess we should go talk to Cobalt,” he said. “I have to warn you, though, he just woke up. He might be a little cranky.”
“That’s fine,” I said, shooting a warning glance at Taeral. “We’re the ones who just crashed your place. Hell, I’d be cranky too.”
“All right. This way.”
Will opened the door on the left, and we followed him up a flight of stairs. At the top was a kind of railed balcony with a step-down into a large, open loft room. Most of it was a living room, but along one side was a kitchenette and small dining nook. And on the other was a big picture window, with an incredible view of Manhattan that included the East River, sparkling in the early sun.
For the location alone, this place must’ve cost a fortune.
“So, uh, stay there a minute,” Will said as he moved down the few steps to the loft. “I’ll go get him.”
He hadn’t gotten ten steps when a door across the room opened, and Cobalt came out.
I had no problem recognizing him, but he was kind of scarier than I remembered. All he had on was a pair of shorts, and he looked ripped enough to bench press a car. Long, shaggy dark hair didn’t quite conceal the tribal tattoos along the sides of his neck that spilled across his chest and shoulders. He had a silver ball stud just below his lower lip, a single hoop earring in one ear, and a bristling row of hardware along the edge of the other. Not exactly what I pictured when I thought fairy prince.
And he was way beyond a little cranky. Something close to fury simmered in his blue eyes—which were riveted on Taeral.
Will gave a nervous cough and hurried toward him. “Heh. Morning,” he said.
“Yes, it is.” Cobalt’s gaze narrowed on us. “Friends of yours, love?”
“Not exactly. But, um…” He reached the bigger man, glanced back, and then stood on tiptoe to murmur something near Cobalt’s ear.
The Seelie’s expression changed from suspicion, to vague recognition, to something like resignation. “Gideon
Black,” he finally said. “It’s been a long time.”
Will’s brow furrowed. “You know them?”
“Not them. Only him.” Cobalt made a weary gesture in my general direction. “Come in, please,” he said. “You’ll have to excuse me if I grab some coffee before we chat. This is early for me.”
I was surprised he remembered me. But before I could head for the couches, Taeral stopped me and whispered harshly, “I do not trust him. He’s all but admitted he’s done something to you.”
“Maybe. But it looks like he feels bad about it,” I whispered back. “I think we should give him a chance to explain.”
“He is Seelie.”
“Yeah, I’ve heard that,” I said. “And you don’t like it when people make assumptions about you because you’re Unseelie. Right?”
“Right,” Sadie said, circling behind me to thread her arm through Taeral’s. “Come on, grumpy. The man asked us in. Let’s go.”
I tried not to be jealous of the way she looked at him, or the way he actually responded to her. They had a…thing. It wasn’t exactly a relationship, but I knew they’d been very familiar with each other at least once or twice. And they still spent a lot of time alone together. Usually in his room, sometimes overnight.
It sucked having a crush on my brother’s not-really-girlfriend.
Sadie, Taeral and I sat on the long couch facing the back of the room. There was a coffee table in front of it, and a matching loveseat on the other side where Cobalt took a seat next to Will, holding a steaming mug in both hands. “So,” he said. “Should I assume you’ve noticed something strange about your tattoos?”
I nodded. “You could say that.”
“I shouldn’t have…” He sighed and sipped his coffee. “You’d no idea what you were, at the time,” he said. “That much was obvious.”
“So you thought to take advantage of his ignorance by casting enchantments on him?” Taeral said.
Cobalt frowned at him. “I’m sorry. Who are you?”
“His name’s Taeral,” I said quickly, before he could introduce himself in a less friendly way. “He’s my brother.”
“Your brother. Well, that explains a few things, at least.”
“Really.” Taeral’s voice was dangerously calm. “What, exactly, does it explain?”
“Why you’re so protective of him, and why you’ve assumed the worst of me.”
His lip curled. “I’ve merely assumed that you are Seelie royalty. That alone is sufficient cause for mistrust, to say the least.”
“Look, I’m not exactly—”
A tremendous bang sounded from below, making the floor shake a little. It was immediately followed by another slam, and then footsteps slapping the stairs.
Cobalt heaved a breath. “Speaking of protective older brothers,” he murmured. “Here comes mine.”
CHAPTER 4
Cobalt might’ve looked more threatening than I remembered, but I still didn’t believe he’d hurt anyone.
His brother, on the other hand, scared the hell out of me.
The tall figure who charged up the stairs and strode across the room wore all black, like Taeral—but his outfit was leather and straps and hardware. He had collar-length, dark red hair, fierce green eyes, and a wicked-looking scar along his jaw. I had no doubt he was Fae, because I could feel the power radiating from him. Almost like he wanted to broadcast that he was not to be fucked with.
Taeral was already on his feet and facing the oncoming big brother. Before anyone else could react, he threw a hand out and shouted, “Céa biahn!”
The leather-clad Fae flew back and crashed into the balcony railing.
Then the whole room exploded in motion.
Cobalt bolted from the couch, headed for Taeral. Will lunged, trying to stop him, and missed. The brother bounded up almost instantly and drew an arm back, probably to throw a spell—and Sadie shot to her feet, going for the luna-ball in her pouch.
I stood slowly, aware that the moonstone had started glowing white fire. The way it did sometimes when I was feeling threatened. “Enough!”
Everyone stared at me.
“All right,” I said, pinching the bridge of my nose. “Taeral is sorry for throwing you across the room…er, whoever you are. Cobalt’s brother.”
“Uriskel,” Taeral said through clenched teeth. “And I am not sorry.”
“Oh, good. Guess we don’t have to introduce you two,” I said.
“He is a traitor! The sadistic pet of the Seelie nobles,” Taeral spat.
Cobalt’s eyes took on a warning light. “Watch what you say about my brother,” he said tightly.
“Your brother. What a bold lie, and no less than I’d expect from Seelie royalty.” Taeral’s hot glare moved to Uriskel. “He is Unseelie. And he’s betrayed countless numbers of his own kind. Given them over to the Summer Court for torture, imprisonment. And execution.”
Okay, that didn’t sound good. I guessed I was right to be afraid of him.
Incredibly, Uriskel smiled. There wasn’t anything close to happiness in that expression. “Guilty as charged,” he said, executing a mocking bow. “Have I wronged someone you know, then? Taeral?”
“Aye. You have.”
“Uriskel, please,” Cobalt said hoarsely. “Don’t let them think—”
“Cobalt.” He infused the name with warning, and then stared coldly at Taeral. “Believe what you will about me,” he said. “I’ll not explain myself to the likes of you. But make no mistake—Cobalt is my brother, and I’ll allow no harm to come to him.”
“Likewise,” Taeral snarled, moving closer to me.
“Ah, yes.” Uriskel’s green eyes settled on me in flat assessment. “You are the interesting one here, aren’t you? You and your…moonstone,” he said. “Though your werewolf friend makes a close second.”
“What?” Will stammered, cutting a glance at Sadie. “Did he say werewolf?”
She shrugged. “It’s true. I am.”
“Holy…”
“Yeah. That’s about what I thought when I found out,” I said, relieved that things had calmed down a little. Even the moonstone had settled to a dull shine. But the relief might not last long, since everyone except me and Will seemed ready to attack at the slightest provocation. “Listen, can we all agree not to kill each other? We didn’t come here to cause trouble.”
“Then why did you come here?” Uriskel said. “And who’s broken my wards?”
“Is that what’s summoned you, brother?” Cobalt flashed a wry smile. “Well, I’m afraid they’re here because I made a mistake. One I was about to explain before your…ah, dramatic entrance.”
Uriskel sighed. “Very well,” he said. “I suppose I’ll not harm anyone. Yet.”
When no one else chimed in, I gave a deliberate cough. “Taeral?”
“Fine,” he grunted. “I will refrain from attacking the traitor. For the moment.”
“Trust me, I’d rather not hurt anyone,” Sadie said. “I didn’t bring any extra clothes.”
Will blinked at her, and then gave me a strange look.
“You don’t want to know,” I said.
“And I’ll not harm anyone, even if they insult my brother. Though I’d appreciate it if they’d not speak of things they don’t understand.” Cobalt’s shoulders slumped, and he shook his head once. “Can we try this again?” he said. “Please, sit down.”
It was times like this I really wished life had a reset button, because I couldn’t see this conversation going well.
Grudging introductions were made. Uriskel refused to join us, instead choosing to stand next to the big window with his arms folded and his back against the wall, glaring at everyone.
I still didn’t know what to make of him. There was no doubt he’d done the things Taeral said. He didn’t even try to deny it. But he obviously loved his brother, and Cobalt seemed almost pained by the subject. Like there was a good reason his brother was a bastard, even though Uriskel refused to share.
And I had to admit, the whole brother thing did seem suspicious. I didn’t know a lot about the Fae, but it did seem pretty much impossible. The Seelie and Unseelie were different species, I thought—so this was like trying to believe a goldfish and a pit bull were brothers.
I definitely didn’t see the resemblance. But I also couldn’t completely brush it off, because my brother was a…Taeral.
Cobalt picked up his coffee mug from the table, and then put it back down. “First, let me explain this,” he said. “I’m no prince.”
“That’s not what I’ve heard,” Taeral said.
“Yes, I know the rumors.” He frowned slightly. “By birth only, I am the son of the former Seelie King. But I’ve never known the bastard, and I’m glad for that.”
Taeral raised an eyebrow. “Former?”
“Aye, the Summer Court has a new king now,” he said. “It happened very recently, and it’s a story for another time. But I was banished from Arcadia years ago, long before I knew about my…royal blood.”
Something in Taeral’s posture relaxed, and I was glad for it. He knew a little something about being banished. Not him personally, but his father. Our father, technically speaking. I didn’t know much of the story, but the Unseelie Queen had banished Daoin, and Taeral chose to stay in the human realm with him out of loyalty.
It was a choice that hadn’t turned out well for either of them.
“So about your tattoos,” Cobalt said. “I assure you, they’re not intended for harm. And I believed you’d never realize they were enchanted, because…well, you clearly did not know you were Fae. I assumed you were a changeling.”
“I was, actually,” I said, surprised he’d figured that out. “And I’m only half Fae.”
Uriskel made a derisive sound. “That explains your brother, at least,” he said.
“Don’t.” Cobalt shot a firm look at him. “Anyway,” he said to me. “Most changelings never know what they are. You must know what it takes for one to realize their potential, since you’re aware of your true self.”
“Yeah. I had a little help with that.” Taeral had to explain the changeling thing to me, when I still didn’t trust a word he said—and I’d had to dig up the remains of my real mother, a woman I’d never met and didn’t know existed, since she died giving birth to me.
Realm of Mirrors (The DeathSpeaker Codex Book 3) Page 2
