Her knees felt a bit rubbery as she pulled the packs down off his catamount and started digging through them. There were the bandages. And there was the traveling key coin he’d shown her. Her heart gave a little flip inside her chest. After what she’d just been through, maybe a little insurance she could get home was necessary. There was no guarantee she’d find Maya in time in this strange world. Anything could happen when they reached the capital, and if she got separated from Rook, she’d be totally screwed.
Cate took them both, surreptitiously sliding the coin into the pocket of her coat. She felt a twinge of guilt at taking it, after he’d nearly had his arm cut off to protect her, but she had to be practical. If she didn’t find Maya before the solstice came, she’d need it to operate a portal to get them out.
“You mean this roll of gauzy stuff, right?” she said, waving it slightly.
“Yes.”
He patiently explained how to cut away the remainder of his sleeve and how to properly wrap his wound. Doing just as he asked, she wrapped and overlapped the fabric around his huge arm until the blood no longer seemed to be seeping through, then tucked the end beneath the wrapping to secure it. Rook glanced down at her handiwork.
“You did a good job,” he said softly, his warm breath ruffling the hair at her temple.
A little bubble of pride welled up in Cate’s chest. “Thanks. Never had to do triage before.”
His gaze caught hers, the soft brown color sucking her in and absorbing her full attention like rich dark chocolate to a hungry dieter. “You have a healer’s touch. Gentle, but just firm enough.”
A fizzy warm sensation bubbled up inside her. “Hope this doesn’t put you out of commission long. We didn’t have a chance to finish what we started at the palace.”
In an instant his soft gaze turned searing hot. “You speak as if we don’t have time.”
Cate pulled back from his mesmerizing touch. “We don’t. I have to get Maya back to my world.” I, she thought with a pinch in her heart, have to get back to my world.
His hand dropped to his side and his gaze turned away from her. “Ah yes. Your friend.” When he looked at her again the burning intensity was smothered behind a guarded look. “I will keep my promise to help you find her. And you are right. If we want to reach Seaneath by tonight, we must not tarry here.”
Cate frowned and nibbled at her bottom lip. “Who were those men, anyway? Are you sure we won’t be followed? What about—”
Rook put up a hand to stop her. “They were scouts from Wyldwood seeking to infiltrate our borders.”
“But why attack us?”
He quirked a brow upward. “We’re at war,” he answered, as if that should explain everything.
“Oh. Is that who you’re planning on invading?”
He stared at her, his eyes hard, but he didn’t answer.
“But what about them following—”
He placed a finger on her lips. “They won’t follow. Ancor and I made sure they couldn’t.” He glanced at his big catamount and it blinked back at him.
Cate went to his lounging catamount and lifted her hand, hesitating as it stared at her with intimidating golden eyes the size of dinner plates. Given that it hadn’t bitten her in half and she was damn well close enough that it could have, she gently reached forward and stroked the cat’s damp, thick fur.
“What a brave thing you are,” she murmured.
The catamount began to purr. Cate froze for a second, not sure if the sound was a purr or a growl, given how loud it was, but considering the cat lazily closed its eyes, she stretched a shaking hand to scratch behind its enormous ear.
She was shoved sideways by the push of her own catamount’s head against her back. Cate smiled. “You did a good job too,” she said as she scratched her mount behind the ear as well. Between them both purring, she kind of felt she was stuck between the rumbling engines of two muscle cars.
Rook walked up to her, his eyes dancing with humor. “Do you always have such a way with beasts?”
Cate gave him a saucy grin. “Never, but it seems my skills are improving.”
“It seems being here agrees with you. Too bad we cannot linger. We must ride if we are to make Seaneath by nightfall.”
He pulled the reins of his cat and climbed into the saddle. Cate did the same. When she got home, she was going to try riding horses again. After this, there wasn’t a horse alive that could scare her.
§
They rode for another hour before they emerged from the woods to a sight of rolling green hills and the bowl of a valley surrounded by mountains colored deep purple against the dying rays of the setting sun. In the center, surrounded by a lake, was a city perched on a small island raised to a point at the center. The tall dark glittering spires rose like staggered rows of blackened teeth against the golden color of the evening sky and made the waters of the lake look like molten metal. It was both beautiful and alluring, dark and dangerous at the same time.
“Seaneath, the capital of the Kingdom of Shadows.”
“It’s amazing.”
A glow of pride infused his skin. Even blood-spattered, injured, and covered in grime, Rook was still the most gorgeous man Cate had ever laid eyes on. More than that, he could go toe-to-toe with her in a way no man ever had before. He matched her, in intellect and humor, and was obviously as committed to caring for his people as she was to her sisters. He was made to command. Every hardened inch of muscle and sinew, every turn of his head and flex of his shoulders underscored that he was a warrior, a leader, a future king. He could take what he wanted and move on.
He’d made it clear in more ways than one that he wanted her. But with Maya at risk, she couldn’t afford to linger in this strange new world or sample what he offered her. She found the world here strange and fascinating, and the analytical part of her hungered to know all the details of how they came to be, why they were at war with their own kind, and why her being a Seer was such a magickal, wonderful thing.
The catamounts padded with slow, steady grace down the road that terminated in a wide stone bridge over the lake to the arched city’s gate. Fire licked against the black stone of the walls, reflecting from the enormous golden braziers that lit either side of the gate.
It was imposing as hell. Cate shifted uneasily in her saddle. Up close the walls were two stories tall and constructed of solid black stone. There was no telling how deep the lake was, but in the night it stretched in a wide circle of inky liquid for a good two hundred feet on all sides of the city. Getting Maya out was going to be impossible.
Then again, maybe not.
Cate cast a cautious glance beneath her lashes at Rook. He looked like he could freakin’ move mountains—maybe he could order Kallus to let Maya go. It was a slim chance, but right now she’d take it.
The walls of the city were thick, at least five feet of solid stone, but once they passed beyond them, Cate found she’d entered somewhere completely different than the rest of the kingdom she’d already seen.
Just like in the human cities, this fae one came alive as dusk descended. Huge glass balls, filled with flittering, glowing bugs, were suspended in crisscross fashion over the streets between buildings, lending a festive air to the city. Along the cobblestone streets all manner of fae moved in a living, throbbing mass. Those that could jump from building to building or travel in the trees and lines of lights that crossed over the streets did so. Everyone stopped and stared as if she and Rook were some sort of spectacle.
Cate brought her mount closer to Rook and leaned over. “Why are they staring?”
“Not only are you a stranger, but catamounts are ridden only by the highest castes of fae. They know you’re important.”
Cate wanted to shrink within herself. For so many years she’d tried to blend in, not see or be seen by the fae. It was disconcerting to suddenly be the focus of their attention.
While from afar the buildings looked as if they were made of glass, Cate could now see they were create
d from crystal, the fractures and fissures within the stone producing a glittering effect in the lights of the city.
“Your capital is very beautiful,” she said as she glanced at Rook.
He was watching her too.
“I’m glad you approve,” he said easily, but she noted a yearning in his voice, as if he wanted something more from her or held something back. She recognized the gesture after so many years of holding secrets back herself.
They wound their way through the streets of the city, eventually spiraling up the sides of the hill toward the dark cluster of spires at its the heart.
§
Every step they took closer to the castle, Rook’s discomfort grew. He knew what was waiting for them. She didn’t.
They would ask for proof of her abilities. Once her status was confirmed they would use her as a weapon first in their fight against Wyldwood, then in their plan to recapture Upland for the fae.
In the shadows he could see the eager faces of the different castes of fae that had come to gawk at the Seer. He had convinced himself that having her here, on their side, would be for the best, but now he wasn’t so sure. What if she refused to help them? Would they lock her away to keep her from exposing their plans for the invasion?
He swallowed hard as an even more insidious possibility crept into his mind. If Cate refused to help them, would they slay her? He gripped the reins of his mount too tightly and the cat let out a low growl of warning. Rook soothed the beast with a scratch behind the ears. He doubted he could do the same if Cate became furious with him once she realized she could never go home again. He had but one chance left to convince her.
They would have to bathe and change before being presented to the court. Beneath the blood-soaked, ragged edge of his sleeve, his wound throbbed. The metallic scent of his blood, and that of his enemies, mixed with the sweat of his skin. Both had dried to an uncomfortable crisp crust on his clothing.
The next two hours would be his last opportunity to fully claim Cate as his own—not just for himself, but to protect her from the machinations of the Shadow Court. Rook knew he could at least attempt a negotiation with his father, but the rest would see and use her as a weapon of war. Rook wanted there to be no question who her champion was among them, because deep down, this was no longer politics to him.
With Cate it had always been far, far more. She touched something untapped within him, a desire to protect and cherish her, to raise her to the level of a queen. To…love her.
He stared at her, the chilly evening air bringing color high into her cheeks and the lights of the city sparkling in her eyes. The power of the realization struck him hard, like a physical blow. Dear gods. He. Loved. Her.
And that changed everything.
Chapter Seven
All Cate could do was stare.
The courtyard of the royal castle in Seaneath did indeed make Rook’s palace by the sea look like a small beach cottage. It spread out for two hundred feet in either direction of the main entrance. Guards in crisp dark blue and black woolen uniforms looked more human than Rook’s bobblehead fae servants, as they stood at attention every ten feet along the walls of the castle proper.
Rook pulled his catamount to a stop and she followed. “Settle!” Rook commanded and the large cats crouched down, their bellies to the ground. Without a word two of the guards came and held the cats’ harnesses, while she and Rook dismounted.
“Thank you,” Cate said to the guard. He stared at her as if she’d grown a second head.
Rook quickly stepped up beside her, their packs slung over his shoulder. He took her by the elbow, guiding her quickly toward the massive double doors of the palace. “One does not thank the fae,” he whispered harshly into her ear. “It is considered an insult.”
“But I—”
He cut her off with a look. “Next time, just tell them they’ve done well. That will suffice for acknowledgment.”
Cate bit her lip, the flush creeping into her cheeks. She hadn’t been in the capital more than a half hour and already she’d done something inappropriate. This was definitely a different world, and she was going to be damn lucky if she could find Maya and get her out. But Rook’s presence beside her gave her a measure of comfort. She knew without a doubt he’d protect her no matter what happened.
“We’re not going to see the king right now, are we?”
“No. We must be presentable first. Our appointment will not be until later tonight.”
Her mind spun as she tried to calculate just how long she had left until midnight, when she’d need Rook’s coin and a portal to get them back. Two, three hours tops.
The large doors of the palace were pulled back for them to enter. Cate refrained from saying anything to the guard, merely nodded. He nodded in return. But in the next moment her social skills in the fae realm fell to pieces once again as she gasped and gawked at what she saw.
The entry hall was the size of the indoor riding arena where her younger sister Clare had taken lessons. Where everything, from the billowing white drapes at the windows to the white marble construction, at Rook’s palace had been light and airy, the imposing Shadow King’s domain was dominated by dark and substantial.
The gleaming black marble of the floors and crystalline walls were only relieved by the rich color in the tapestries that decorated the room. Intrigued, Cate stopped to look closer at one of the tapestries, then blinked several times because she swore one of the yarn figures moved. Back on the coast, she’d thought perhaps the paintings were more like some kind of fae television, but this was different.
She reached out and touched the moving figure. The one-dimensional woman, only six inches tall, sneezed violently, then glared at her and flounced to the other side of the tapestry, the gauzy fabric of her dress flowing and rippling behind her as she traveled across the intricately woven warp and weft.
Cate gasped and pulled back her hand. “They’re real!”
Rook gave her an indulgent smile, his hand slipping from the crook of her elbow to hold her hand affectionately in his. His warm touch was reassuring in such a formidable place, but the slow, deliberate swirl of his thumb against her palm made her begin to melt at the core.
“They are waiting for the king to call the court to order,” he explained. “These are the portals that are used to travel here. Each scene you see is a different realm of our kingdom.”
She instantly recognized the wide open hall of Rook’s palace in one, and a small pyramid of stones topped with snow and backed by trees of the winter mountain scene in another. No one waited in the winter tapestry. At the far end of the cavernous hall, a spot on the wall stood suspiciously bare.
“What hung there?”
“The portal to Wyldwood’s court,” he answered. His words were civil, but a caustic tone tainted them. “It has been removed, since we went to war with them and our diplomatic ties have been severed.”
She couldn’t imagine anyone invading this place or escaping from it; it was too massive, too well-fortified. Overhead hung a massive chandelier the length of a semitruck, created from daggers of shining clear crystal. Cate swallowed hard, crossing her fingers as she walked beneath it and hoping that there weren’t such things as earthquakes in the fae realm.
Rook held fast to her hand and he gave it a small squeeze. Cate turned away from the tapestries. His gaze was intent, desire flickering in the depths like a smoldering fire. She couldn’t deny the attraction that simmered between them, or the fact that her body craved his touch, especially since they’d been interrupted at Rook’s palace.
But it was more than that.
Sure, Rook could take any woman’s breath away, but he did something more to her. In all the years he’d watched her, teased her now and again with the sweep of his fingers across her nape in the park or his breath in her ear, he’d always been respectful of her, always been protective.
Always treated her as if she were special.
A warmth unfurled low in her belly. Having a
chance to spend time with him had made her realize they were far more alike than they were different. They were like matched halves of a set. It didn’t matter that they were fae and human or worlds apart. He gloried in her just as she was, and no one had ever done that before.
Had he been just a guy and not fae, her grandmother and sisters would have welcomed him with open arms. But he was fae. And while that might be an automatic scratch-out in their books, it no longer was in hers. Because deep down she knew she could trust him, knew that she cared for him in a way she’d never let herself care for a guy before.
Not that it mattered. Whether she trusted him or cared for him, neither was going to make a difference in her world. His people still planned to invade somewhere. And once that started, the Shadowlanders would be at war and she wouldn’t be able to see him. Cate knew she couldn’t live here with him, and he certainly couldn’t belong in her world.
She’d have nothing but memories of this time spent together when she returned to Seattle.
Their soft leather riding boots made only a whisper of sound on the marble floors.
“There will be a warm bath, food, and fresh clothing waiting for us in my apartments.” He guided her to a small golden grate beside a tapestry. A group of well-dressed fae laughed and talked as they picnicked among fields of rolling wheat, but they quieted as she and Rook approached.
Rook glanced at them and they all lowered their heads in a nod to him. He inclined his head in acknowledgment. Everyone in this world showed deference to him. And yet he acted as if she were far more important than he was.
Cate stood up on her toes and whispered in his ear. “They can see us?”
Rook’s dark brown eyes danced with humor. “It is a portal. A window in is a window out.”
Damn. There seemed to be eyes on them everywhere. The soft chime of bells sounded as the golden grate slid aside. Thank God. Something she finally recognized—an elevator. And maybe a chance to be truly alone with him.
Cate gripped tighter to his hand as they walked in. The lighted buttons on the panel didn’t have numbers but more runes on them, and she made a note of which one stood for the great entrance hall. He depressed one that looked like three swirls in a triangular arrangement. The golden grate slid shut. Her stomach gave the familiar dip as they ascended quickly.
Shadowlander (Shadow Sisters) Page 7
