The Glass Man

by Jocelyn Adams

  “Do I tell them?” I asked.

  “They’ll figure it out anyway.” His eyes wandered toward Nix, a tiny triumphant grin spreading across his face.

  “Stop it, Liam.” I shook my head and turned back to Neasa. “I’ll make this brief because we don’t have time for this protocol shit. The Goddess mated Liam and me a few days ago. No, it wasn’t our choice. I can’t help touching him, and I’m not sure how I feel about it, but it is what it is.”

  With my gaze fixed on my brother, I strode over to him, the weight of every eye in the room pressing on me. A few gasps and whispers followed.

  “Garret.” I sat down beside him. “I don’t have time to explain this to you properly, but I need you to go back your room until I come and get you.”

  When he leapt up, I pulled him back down and put a finger over his lips. His jaw flexed, and his eyes narrowed to slits. “I give you my oath, I’ll explain everything after I talk to these people.”

  If I’d been anyone else, the darkness behind his eyes might have made me cower. He stood without a sound, kicked over one of the chairs at the table and jogged back to the transport. When one of the guards in a white tunic followed him in, Garret glared at him. What the hell happened before I got here?

  As the doors closed, I stood and went to the table where Liam waited. He motioned for me to sit in the empty seat beside him. Those who didn’t have a seat at the table stood in a circle behind the chairs.

  “What’s the message?” I asked again.

  Gallagher sat straighter in his chair and closed his eyes. His head twitched as if something hurt him. When Parthalan appeared in the middle of the table, I pushed my chair back hard enough it toppled over, throwing me to the floor by the fireplace.

  “It’s okay.” Nix offered his hand to help me up. “Gallagher is projecting the message he received from one of Parthalan’s telepaths.”

  After taking a few deep breaths to overcome the rush of panic, I took Nix’s hand and stood. His hands were large and rough. A working man’s hands. I liked that.

  Liam hovered beside us, staring daggers at the blond Musketeer. I shook my head, left them both behind and sat back down at the table.

  The illusion played before me. Parthalan sat in a dim room, wearing streaks of someone’s blood thick enough to be mistaken for a striped crimson shirt. He leaned forward, elbows on his knees, his raven hair waving around his head.

  “Although I have enjoyed the chase, my darling, my patience with you has come to an end. You will return to the Black City before the sun sets on the human world tomorrow, or Donovan will suffer for your refusal.”

  With a gasp, I shot up from the table. “He’s not dead? But—I saw him collapse.”

  Liam wrapped his arms around me from behind and pulled me against him. I struggled free of his hold.

  The illusion continued. “He has already suffered more than any fae has suffered and survived, but I promise his pain will grow with every hour you delay. He will beg for death before I grant it.” Parthalan stood, his scowl evolving into a psychotic grin. He walked to the far side of the dingy room. It had the appearance of a dungeon from an old castle, chains dangling from the walls like broken arms. Dark splashes scarred the stone, probably old blood.

  The next set of shackles held a fae slumped forward. Blood trickled in a steady flow from his bowed head. My heart stopped when Rourke stepped into the image, grabbed the fae by the hair and yanked his head up so I could see the face. Barely recognizable as a fae, battered and coated in blood, I could only make out the goatee on his chin. The sounds in the room faded beneath the thudding of my heartbeat. My father.

  Rourke turned as if he knew just where to find me, flashing his lunatic grin. “Allow me.” He pulled a cloth from the pocket of his black pants and wiped the blood way.

  “Shit!” I blurted. “Stop, please stop for a second.” ‘The Glass Man tells only lies.’ My mother’s warning rang out in my head.

  Gallagher blinked and sat forward in his chair. The image froze. “What is it, Lila?”

  “I saw Donovan fall. Blood poured from his eyes and ears as we jumped from the window. Is there anyone else other than Donovan and Garret that can create illusions?” I pointed a trembling finger at the Parthalan hologram. “This has to be a trick.”

  “It’s possible,” Gallagher said. “That’s one of the reasons why I didn’t want Garret to see this yet.”

  To my right, a female fae with light brown pixie-style hair cleared her throat. “I can see through any fae glamour, and I see no illusion here.”

  “But you are seeing what I see, Granya,” Gallagher said. “It may render your cumhacht ineffective in this case.”

  She nodded, dropped her gaze to the table, then turned to me and offered a sympathetic smile. A few of the others around the table whispered to one another, their faces all equally grim.

  I slumped back down in my chair when dizziness enveloped me. “Okay.” I planted my hands on the table to steady myself. “Let’s see the rest.” I spoke the words, but the voice in the back of my head screamed at me not to look. I had to see.

  Gallagher closed his eyes and the scene continued with Rourke throwing the bloody cloth to the ground. Parthalan appeared on the other side of my father, handed a dagger with a curved blade to Rourke, who spun it once in his fingers with the skill only years of practice could have perfected. He laughed as he pressed the tip of it into Donovan’s chest at the base of his throat. My father’s crystal eyes opened. He screamed as Rourke slid the blade farther down his skin. A scarlet ribbon opened up in its wake.

  I gripped the table until my fingers turned white. The sound of my father’s pain invaded my ears and injected acid into my soul.

  Parthalan sauntered back to his chair and sat down. “If this does not persuade you to come, then I will begin arming my human thugs with fae weapons. Their descent into beasts has amused me, but I’ve grown bored. Perhaps a little violent action might … entertain me.” He blew me a kiss, the blood from his hand staining his mouth crimson. Moaning, he licked his lips. “See you soon, princess.”

  The illusion vanished, along with the air in my lungs. I bolted up from my chair, stumbled toward the wall and smashed my fist against it again and again until Liam grabbed my wrists and pressed them against the smooth surface.

  I roared in his grasp. “I could have saved him from this!”

  “No,” Liam said, “you couldn’t have.”

  I’ll kill them. I’ll kill them all. “He’s alive. I’m going to keep him that way.”

  Liam whirled me around, gripped my face with his hands and forced me to look at him. His swirling blue eyes pulled every muscle in my body tight. “We don’t know that for sure.” Liam averted his gaze. “Donovan was afraid this might happen. I gave my oath that I wouldn’t let you go back for him, and I intend to keep my word.”

  My palms thrust into his chest, tearing a grunt from him. “I won’t let him suffer and die like that!”

  “The matter of the Unseelie is of no concern to us, Majesty.” Neasa folded her hands together on the table. “We need to decide on an offensive before he escalates war among the humans.”

  Unable to contain the instant rage, I dashed for her, picturing my hands around her scrawny neck. The lid on my well of energy rattled, but it didn’t give. Otherwise, she would have been folded into a pile of flesh on the floor. A commotion rose beside me before someone tackled and pinned me to the cold tile.

  I fought against Nix as he contained me in his arms with effort.

  “I’m sorry,” he said between grunts. “I don’t want you to do anything you’ll regret later.”

  “I wouldn’t regret decking that heartless hag!”

  Both of us yelped when Nix flew upward, bringing me with him.

  “Let her go.” Liam’s fingers locked onto Nix’s shirt.

  “Enough!” I shoved a hand into each of their chests, taking a few breaths to calm myself. Their energies tasted different. Nix’s seem
ed muted somehow, but they both crawled up my arms like a heat wave and threatened to overwhelm me.

  I stepped away, shook out my tingling fingers. “I promise I won’t rip her head off—for today. So what do we do now?”

  “The queen needs to call her people home,” Gallagher said.

  I found him standing behind me, his hands in his pockets.

  “Why did they leave in the first place?” I held fists against my legs, still wrestling with the desire to pound something.

  “When your mother left, they became fearful that the Unseelie would destroy the city. They fled and hid amongst the humans.”

  My blood burned through my body, a rage I could hardly contain. “Well that’s just perfect. One person leaves and everyone runs away? Fucking cowards. They abandoned their city to die. What would I want with a bunch of self-absorbed pansies?”

  “You need to lead them. Build us into a nation. Make us proud to call ourselves Seelie again.”

  I blinked at him for a long time. “I don’t know how to do that. I’m not even sure if I want to.”

  “Call them home, and I’ll help you.” Gallagher gestured to the rest of the fae in the room. “We all will.”

  “What about Donovan?”

  “Put out the call, and we’ll talk about it.”

  I rubbed my forehead to ease the weight of the impossible task resting there. “So in other words, we won’t do a damn thing?”

  Gallagher stepped closer, offered me his hand. After a brief hesitation, I sighed and took it.

  “We won’t risk your safety, Lila, but I give you my oath that if there is a way to save this fae, it will be done.”

  I studied his face and found no deception there. His touch comforted me, sapped the rage from me as well as valium.

  “Thank you.” The rip in my soul didn’t stop bleeding, but it didn’t hurt quite as much.

  Gallagher’s brow creased as he placed fingers against my temples and closed his eyes.

  “What are you doing?” I squirmed for a moment. What can he find in my head? Does he know I’m a half breed? With a growl, I jerked my hand away. “Get out of my head.”

  “Incredible,” he whispered. “Forgive me, but I couldn’t help myself. The Goddess has granted you her Sight. If I didn’t see it for myself, I wouldn’t have believed it.”

  Gasps and whispers rose in a chorus around the room.

  “I’d appreciate you not announcing my personal shit to a bunch of strangers.”

  He nodded, his hands dropped to his sides, and his mouth turned down at the corners. “I must tell you—that’s not all that has changed with you.”

  I followed his gaze as it moved to Liam, who fidgeted beside me.

  “He has blocked more than your Light,” Gallagher said.

  My mouth fell open as his words registered with me. I whirled around to face Liam head on. “What’s he talking about?”

  Liam wouldn’t meet my stare. “I did it to protect you.”

  “Did what?” I threw my hands up, stepped closer.

  Nix came up behind Liam, stood ready with a wide stance, his eyes on me.

  Liam growled. “After we—the thought of you with Parthalan, how he said you reacted to him …”

  “Would someone tell me what the fuck is going on here? Because I don’t speak stutter and half sentences.”

  “He inhibited your attraction to other fae,” Gallagher said. “Like a radio, he tuned you to his frequency and blocked the rest.”

  My eyes flew open as wide as they’d go. “You—what? Is that why you’ve been so unwilling to fix me? So I’d crawl all over you like a lovesick nympho and you wouldn’t have to worry about any competition?” I clutched my chest, an unbearable weight upon it that threatened to crush me to a pulp.

  I pointed a finger at him, wheezing. “You know how hard it is for me to trust, and you pull this shit on me? What else is there Liam? What else haven’t you told me, because now is the fucking time!”

  “Nothing,” he muttered as he kicked at the tile floor. “There’s nothing else.”

  “Perfect. Then release my Light and undo whatever the fuck else you did to me.”

  Hesitantly, he closed the distance, looking everywhere but at me. “Lila, I—”

  “Save it. I knew there was a reason I didn’t trust you. I guess my instincts are always right.”

  He nodded, his shoulders drooping. “I need to touch your bare chest. I mean, not—above your …” He gestured to my breasts.

  “Just do it.”

  After wrestling with my shirt from the front, he went behind me and reached his hands down through the collar until his hands rested against the skin below my throat. The pressure beneath his hands made me groan and lock my knees to remain standing. His breath quickened, and he moaned.

  I screamed when my energy flooded through my body, shinning through my skin as if I’d just crawled out of something radioactive. A moment later, all the fae in the room lit up in my head—the lights of home—some brighter than others.

  Liam whispered through my mind as he released me, “I love you.”

  I swallowed past the giant lump in my throat. My face hardened into the stone mask I’d worn for years. Even the voice in my head turned cold. I thought slow, pointed words at him. “How dare you say that to me! I don’t even know what those words mean, but I know you wouldn’t treat me like your personal whore if you loved me.”

  How could I have imagined a life with him? I’d lived alone all of my adult life and had survived just fine. Maybe that was the way it was supposed to be.

  “What do we do with this one?” Nix’s heated stare fixed on Liam.

  My eyes closed, stealing away the site of the Unseelie. “Get him out of my sight.”

  24

  Gallagher appeared beside me as a few of the guards escorted Liam to the transport.

  “How do I call the fae?” My voice drained of emotion. I turned away, unable to watch Liam leave as if it would drive the hurt deeper inside me if I did.

  I squeezed something warm in my fingers. Intense energy climbed my arm. I looked down to find Nix’s hand turning white in my grasp. I let him go and stepped away with a scowl.

  “Your Sight of the Goddess will make it easier,” Gallagher said. “We’ll go to the top of the tower. Concentrate on all Seelie, then use your Light to make your voice carry stronger upon the wind. When they feel your power, they’ll return.”

  “And then what?”

  “And then you’ll greet your people as their queen. Tell them what you expect of them. We must deal with Parthalan as a nation or fall beneath his boot.”

  I wiped a hand down my face, gripped my hips. “I’ll heal the city first.”

  Nix offered me his arm. “I’ll help you.”

  “The return of the fae will heal the city.” Neasa’s four inch heels tapped across the room toward us. Her tinsel hair swished out behind her. “Don’t waste your Light on lesser beings. You’ll need it to call our people home.”

  “The only lesser being here is you.” My energy welled up in a flash. The air in my vicinity vibrated and glowed. My golden hair danced around me, weaving itself into a chaotic tangle above my head. I didn’t realize how much I’d missed my Light, like an entity living within me with its own pulse, its own mind.

  My old friend.

  Neasa’s mouth flew open as if I’d shoved a taser up her rigid backside. Pity I didn’t have one.

  Nix grabbed my arm. He inhaled sharply at the touch, and I echoed him a moment later. Intoxicating fire spiraled along my bones, invading my chest and other places. I jerked away, rubbed the goose bumps on my arms.

  “How can you think of anything else while your city suffers?” I sneered at the smug bitch. “The shifters are beings with souls. They feel pain and loneliness just like you, and I’ll heal them whether you like it or not.”

  Gallagher edged between us. “I can draw Light from others and lend it to you when you’re finished.”

  �
�Perfect.” I headed toward the transport. “Nice to know someone gives a shit about this place.”

  Nix followed me, chuckling. “It’s about time someone put that broad in her place. She’s been strutting around here like she owns the place since Qu—” He cleared his throat and fidgeted beside me as we waited for the transport.

  “My mother’s name won’t turn me into a raging beast, Nix.” My fists balled tighter.

  His lips twitched. “Yeah, I think it’s a little late for that.”

  “I’m not in the mood for you to poke fun at me. If I crack you one or blow something up in your face, it’s your own damn fault.” I forced myself to breathe through my nose until the anger subsided. Neasa and I were going to have to come to an understanding, or I’d end up popping her one.

  When the doors opened, I stomped inside, stood in the corner and concentrated on my energy to distract me.

  I gathered up everything Liam-related and tucked it away deep in the cellar of my mind. No time to fret over lying dirtbags. I had a city to save and a whole shitload of asses to kick. I held little hope that I could save my father, but I’d still try.

  • • •

  Nix and I stood in a small garden in the middle of the city. A lush green carpet of moss cushioned my feet and smelled of fresh growing plants. Little blue bell-shaped flowers added a sprinkling of color to the emerald canvas. Small mounds of wildflowers grew around trees I’d never seen before, the foliage dark pink and wispy like feathers. The fragrance smelled somewhat like roses but sweeter.

  “This is the heart of Dun Bray,” Nix said, passion clear in his voice. “Most call the Court the heart, but this is where I feel the greatest connection to the city and her creatures—and to the ones who have left their earthly bodies and fill our skies with their Light.” He looked up, a heartbreaking smile on his face.

  “Have you lost someone?” Part of me hoped his answer would be yes, that maybe he would understand my agony. God, really? I’m wishing my pain on him so I’ll have someone to talk to? Now I can add cold-hearted bitch to my list of qualities.

  He lowered his gaze to me again. We were the same height, so I could see through his facade into the hurt dwelling behind those brilliant eyes. When he offered me his hand, I took it without hesitation, eager to ease his suffering and hopefully mine at the same time.