A laugh burst out of me unbidden.
Lochlann narrowed his eyes at me.
“You’re not kidding are you, Cas? You truly can’t help it? Even now you’re staring at my breasts.” His innocence and embarrassment endeared him to me in a backwards sort of way.
Cas smirked and tore his gaze away, but I could tell it took some effort.
“Come on!” Lochlann yanked him by the arm, and they both walked in front of me. Cas kept trying to gaze over his shoulder at me, but it earned him a slap in the head every time.
“So why can’t we do this ceremony thing in Parthalan’s room?” I rubbed my bare arms and rolled my neck. “Does he need a big stage in order to perform?”
Cas whirled around. “The members of the Court wouldn’t fit in his bedroom.”
Lochlann grabbed him by the throat and shoved him into the wall.
“What?” The word came out in a whisper. “Are you saying he’s going to … in front of the entire Unseelie Court?” Not that I knew how many fae that meant, but if Donovan’s plan didn’t work, then I had no chance of escaping a whole herd of fae. No wonder he wanted me scantily dressed—the ultimate humiliation. My feet moved me backwards, and my lungs squeezed down until I could hardly breathe.
I turned and ran, chased by Lochlann shouting, “Stop!”
The boots slowed me down at first, but I leaned forward and ran on my toes. Hallways branched off every few yards. It didn’t take me long to become hopelessly lost. When heavy footfalls drew closer, I darted around the corner and down a corridor. It grew darker and narrower the farther I ran.
“Don’t make me hurt you!” Lochlann shouted between gasps.
“You can’t—” Cas started.
“Shut your trap!”
I turned enough to see how close they were, but I stumbled and fell in the boots. When I scrambled to my feet, cursing, Rourke’s face met mine. My guts twisted into knots. I held my breath and waited for the lightning bolt to fry me.
He winked.
My breath came out all at once. “Donovan. You scared the hell out of me.”
“Play along.” He spun me around, wrapped an arm around my throat and twisted my right arm behind my back.
Lochlann and Cas skidded to a stop in front of us, looked at the floor.
“I’m sure the king will love to know the two of you have failed him again,” Donovan said in Rourke’s creepy cadence. “Run along now. Lila and I are going to have a little chat.” He pushed me forward, and I stumbled along in front of him.
I attempted to show panic on my face, but it wasn’t necessary. Both guards kept their eyes down. They backed away slowly as if any sudden movements would draw a strike from a snake. When they reached the main corridor, they turned and sprinted in the opposite direction we’d been walking.
Donovan let me go, and we walked side by side. “Fools,” he muttered.
“Are Willa and Althea safe?”
“I gave them their skins and disguised them as wolves. I’ve done all I can for them.”
“Thank you.” A bit of tension eased out of my muscles.
“You saved them.”
I shook my head. “I didn’t do anything.”
He put his hand on my shoulder, turned me toward him. My father’s smile coming out of Rourke’s face was disturbing. Pride shined in his eyes again. “Don’t be humble. And don’t be afraid. Our plans are in place.”
“Our? Who else is helping you?”
My father didn’t answer. I stopped and stood in front of him. “Who?”
He averted his gaze. “You must trust me now, and do exactly as I say.”
“I don’t like this.”
A pained laugh rattled in his throat. “Neither do I, but we must go now.” With a smile, he offered his hand to me.
After a few deep breaths, I took it. “Why can’t you disguise me and sneak me out the same way? We could leave together, right now.”
Donovan hung his head before staring back at me. “I’ve tested every exit from this building. Parthalan had Sebastian place a perimeter ward around the entire structure. If you cross the barrier, Sebastian will know it.”
“What are wards?”
“That’s Sebastian’s cumhacht. It’s typically a witch’s power. There are lots of different kinds, but this one is a sort of magical barrier specifically tuned to you.”
“Witches don’t really exist, right?”
“Many races inhabit this world, my child, but now is not the time for that.”
He was right. I shook off my curiosity. “How do you know the ward’s there? And how do you know it’s tuned to me? I mean, are you sure?” My hope faded.
“I felt it, like walking through cobwebs. I didn’t know it was specific to you until I asked Sebastian about it.”
“Cobwebs.” So that’s what I felt that day at the farm where I met Liam. It must have done something to mask their energy from me and keep most of the sounds out. I thought for a minute, picturing the way Liam had closed his eyes right before my senses returned to me that night. “I thought Liam lifted the ward the night Parthalan came.”
“They must have had a metaphysical means of communication between the group. Liam probably told Sebastian to remove it.”
I nodded, somewhat enlightened and more confused at the same time. We started down the corridor again in silence.
A few minutes later, we arrived before gigantic wooden doors that were at least twenty feet high. I turned and stopped short of touching Donovan. “I’m …” I couldn’t say it. His presence reminded me of my mother—a safe haven where I could tell him anything, that I was afraid, or let him see me cry. I wasn’t a little girl anymore. I hadn’t scraped my knee or thought I’d heard a monster beneath my bed. The monster had already dragged me away to his dark cave, and he waited behind that door. I needed to be strong.
Donovan wrapped his arms around me and held me tight. My heart sang.
“Soon you will be free of this place. You will be free to become who you are supposed to be, and one day you can return here as queen. A queen of all fae.” After kissing me on the forehead, he pushed the doors open and stepped through.
The sight before me erased all thoughts from my mind. I stood there gaping, unable to move.
You have got to be shitting me.
An enormous cathedral stretched out so far I couldn’t see the sides of it. The conversations crashing around the room in a deafening roar fell silent, and all crystal eyes turned to look at me. There had to be several thousand, at least.
Donovan cleared his throat. When I tore my eyes from the towering glass ceiling, he urged me forward with his head. I took a step and stopped when it ricocheted like a gunshot into the silence. After a deep breath, I straightened my back, lifted my chin and sauntered down the main aisle toward the raised dais at the far end. I wouldn’t give Parthalan the satisfaction of seeing me squirm any longer than I could help.
Three ornate wooden thrones with red embroidered seats sat on top of the stone platform in the distance. Two benches framed them on either side. Behind them, a stained glass window stretched from wall to wall, a rendition of the Black City, complete with a few Sluagh dotting the purple sky.
On either side of the aisle, there were smaller daises set along a gentle, bowl-shaped slope, so the uppermost one sat far above my head, but still had a perfect view of the entire room. Bodies filled every seat, all grouped in little clusters of fae wearing matching clothes. Mostly, they wore black with a different colored or patterned cloak tied at their throats. Some wore elaborate beaded or feathered hats, while others had gem-encrusted swords strapped to their sides. Every color of skin painted the room.
My heels clacked as I continued toward the front of the Court. Parthalan lounged in the tallest throne on the dais. One leg dangled over the wooden arm, swinging casually. A satisfied, rather wolfish grin spread across his features.
I glared at him.
Sebastian sat on one of the benches, slouched forward
with his elbows on his knees. His eyes rolled up to me.
The door crashed shut behind me.
I nearly leapt off my high heeled stilts and turned to find Lochlann and Cas pushing some sort of thick rectangular object along the aisle. A red velvet blanket had been draped over it and trailed along the floor.
Donovan cleared his throat again. When I looked at him, wrapped in his illusion of Rourke, his expression made me think he’d been trying for a while to get my attention. I resumed my course forward and walked until I made it to the edge of the dais in a large open area. Parthalan sat ten feet away, still perched on his throne. Tension drew the muscles in my back taut.
I have to stop this.
The platform arrived behind me. The two guards arranged the blanket neatly all the way around and placed red satin pillows at one end. What lay beneath wasn’t a table, but a thick stone slab on wheels. A sacrificial altar.
I did my best to breathe while I tore my gaze from the makeshift bed to Donovan, who had a fierce look in his crystal eyes. He turned and walked around the king’s dais to the stairs, climbed up and sat in the throne to Parthalan’s right—where Rourke would normally sit, I assumed. He glanced at his watch, then at me. My logical side knew my father sat only a few feet away, but part of me ached to have the safety of his arms around me again.I held myself still.
“My people.” Parthalan’s voice echoed into the room. He rose from his throne, lithe, regal, watching me as he walked to the front of the dais, and jumped down beside me. “This night you will bear witness to a mating between the two most powerful fae ever to have lived.” He paced in a circle around me, studied all of the fae as if it would be a great insult to leave one group unacknowledged. He spread his arms wide, and his voice rose in volume with every word. “And when we rise, bonded, blessed by the Goddess herself, we will cleanse this world of her disease!”
A roar of cheers thundered. All rose to their feet, shouting and throwing triumphant fists into the air.
Donovan’s eyes followed a circuit from his watch to the stained glass window and back to me. I gestured to Sebastian with my eyes, hoping my father would realize he needed to be more subtle. He gave a tiny nod, sat back in his chair and drummed his fingers along the arm of it.
“And now, my darling.” Parthalan sashayed to me. “Our time has come at last.”
“What?” I squeaked. “I mean, already? Isn’t there some sort of ritual first with, you know … words?”
“Oh, there’s a ritual.” He snickered as he traced my bottom lip with his finger. “It begins when I finish peeling the last bit of clothing from your delicious body and spread you upon the altar like the kingly feast you are.”
I managed not to throw up. With a thundering heart, I took a step back, but Parthalan lurched forward and grabbed me by the upper arms. I considered begging. I considered pretending to faint or something equally degrading. My pride wouldn’t allow it. Instead, I held his gaze, my breath puffing out in short bursts.
He kissed me hard, grunted as he pulled me off balance and dragged me toward the altar. The fae shouted, urging us on like a rowdy horde at a titty bar.
I panicked when my bare behind pressed against the velvet blanket. I jerked my head to the side to search for Donovan. A hush fell over the crowd. The kiss broke, and we both looked up.
A swirling, purple cloud descended from the ceiling and engulfed us in an ice cold mist. I shivered from the contrast of Parthalan’s warmth and the frosty blanket around us. It had a pulse and spoke, but I couldn’t understand what it said. My heartbeat slowed in contrast to Parthalan’s amplified rhythm. Our skin glowed light blue. A moment later, the mist evaporated, took the glow from our skin and the chill from the air.
Parthalan released me and held his arms out. “What is this?” He screamed into the ceiling. “You have given your word. Even the dead will be held to their oaths.” He paused for a long time. His posture sagged. Slowly, he turned back to me. The dark intent in his eyes made me scramble over the altar before I looked at him again.
His inky hair blazed around his head, and his eyes had turned to blue fire. “Tell me, Lila. Tell me Liam did not have you while you stayed at that human dump.”
I opened my mouth but closed it again when I found no air to speak with. Avoiding questions usually served me well, so I went with that. “Why would it matter?”
“Tell me!” He pounded a fist down on the altar. It split in two, and the entire room shook. Nobody else made a sound. “The only reason the ancestors would not grant us a mating is if you are already mated before the Goddess.” He punctuated each word with a sharp inhale. “Now … tell … me. Before I get angry.”
Hell. If that wasn’t angry, I didn’t want to see what was.
Parthalan darted around the altar. I shuffled to the far side to keep it between us.
“Lila!” Donovan shouted. My head snapped toward the dais in search of him. He stood beside it, shifting his feet.
The door in my head opened. Liam’s voice whispered through my mind. “Take cover. Now!”
I sighed. When I shook off the initial euphoria, I dove behind the stone platform. A moment later, the stained glass window exploded behind the dais into a startling burst of color and sound. The glass hit Parthalan, throwing him back a few feet and onto the floor. He screeched and clawed at his face where shards protruded in a few places.
Behind me, cries of pain and terror rose in crescendo until the sound hurt my ears. When I looked back at the rest of the fae, I saw nothing that would cause them to writhe on the floor and scream the way most of them did. Many scrambled for the door at the back as if fleeing an unseen beast, but it wouldn’t open. Some lay motionless in the aisle, glassy eyes open. Others slumped over their thrones or benches, unconscious—or maybe dead, I couldn’t tell.
Someone yanked me to my feet. I turned and punched him in the face. Garret groaned and threw back the hood of his black cloak.
“Shit, I thought you were one of the Sluagh,” I shouted over the screaming horde. “What’s happening?”
He didn’t say anything as he tugged me toward the far side of the dais, his eyes bright. Blood trickled from his nose.
A high, piteous scream burst from Parthalan’s lips. He arched his back where he lay on the floor, threw his hands out as though someone stabbed him repeatedly in the belly.
Donovan’s illusions.
As Garret and I cleared the dais, Donovan moved to the side. Liam stood amongst the glass confetti on the floor, still naked, still beautiful and without a mark on him. The sight of him eased a pain I hadn’t noticed around my heart.
Donovan nodded to me, sprinted toward Parthalan, his eyes fixed on something in the crowd beyond.
“Come on!” Liam shouted.
I’d never been so glad to see another person in my life. I sprinted and threw myself around him. He pried me off and shook me. “No time, we have to go.”
“What happened to the window? How did you get here?”
“Not now!”
“What are we supposed to do?”
He dragged me by the arm toward the window, while I searched over my shoulder for Donovan.
“Get on my back,” Liam said. When I hesitated, he shouted, “Now, Lila. Now, now, now!”
Brow furrowed, I slid my arms around his waist. Garret pressed himself against my back and held on to me. A hundred questions lined up in my head, but I didn’t say anything.
Parthalan wasn’t screaming anymore, but the rest of the conscious fae continued to cry out. Donovan stood a few feet from the king, blood gushing from his nose. Unbearable pain invaded my heart.
Liam pressed his hands over top of mine. “Whatever you do, don’t look down, and don’t let go.”
“What do you mean?” I shouted. “We’re going to jump? No! I’m not leaving here without Donovan.”
When I tried to let go, Garret forced my arms around Liam’s waist again. “This is the way my father wants it,” Garret said with a wavering voice
.
Liam tried to maneuver us closer to the gaping wound where the window had been, but I dug my heels into the floor. I struggled against Garret, who was clearly stronger than he appeared. A single tear made it passed my lashes as I looked back.
Parthalan had climbed to his feet, clutched the broken altar for support and cast a demon stare at my father. Wind swirled around him, lifting his hair in a dance above his head. His skin glowed, and his eyes darkened when his gaze landed on the three of us at the window. My skin prickled under it.
I roared and dug my heels into the floor. “Let me go. Donovan!”
Liam strained to move us forward. He teetered at the sill. “I’m sorry. There’s no other way.”
A moment later, I could only watch as my father crumpled to his knees, his eyes on me, a sad smile on his lips.
Liam jerked me off balance and dove out the window. Donovan’s pained cries chased us down as we fell.
I screamed, clutched Liam tighter, breathless as terror squeezed my throat. “Go back! I can save him if you give me back my power. You have to go back!” I screamed through our link.
After a long free fall, Liam’s muscles writhed beneath his skin like snakes in a sack. I held my breath when feathers burst from his body, drowning my vision in white. His body grew impossibly large beneath me. His neck and head disappeared into a feathered mass. Gigantic wings unfolded and beat against the air moments before we would have crashed into the cobblestone street.
Instinct forced my hands beneath the feathers, and I grasped two of the thick quills at their base. The owl, at least twice my length, pushed against the wind, carrying us higher, then banked to the right. He turned his head. One bright yellow eye blinked at me before he turned away again.
I started to plead, but the rational part of my brain knew it was futile. No amount of begging could change the fact that my father had died to save me. My soul shattered, and my stomach seized with the pain of deep loss. How could fate be so cruel? To give me my father for an hour only to steal him away again? My brother. Liam. Both in danger because of me. I couldn’t bear the thought of losing them, too. Garret squeezed me tighter as the wind grabbed at us, but he said nothing. He pressed his face against my bare shoulder, his hot tears wetting my skin. He’d lost his father, too, but I couldn’t comfort him yet. We had to get away first.
The Glass Man Page 15
