“Don’t tell me.” Zoey glanced at the ceiling.
“Yeah, he kind of found where you hid the jar of honey. The big jar. It’s tipped over... Now he’s hanging off the cupboard handle by his cape.”
Zoey palmed her face, shaking her head. “Get him down. I’ll be right there.”
Annabeth nodded, smiled at me, and dipped back into the kitchen.
Zoey breathed in and looked back at me. “Sorry.”
“One of the kids?” I grinned.
“You could say that.” Her lip quirked up. “No, actually the kids are much better behaved.”
“I’ll let you go deal with it. I just wanted to thank you again for letting me stop by. This is amazing, Zoey, what you are doing here, what you’ve created.”
“Thank you. And thank you for coming.” She went to reach for my hand and stopped, placing it on her growing belly instead, dipping into a stiff curtsy.
I smiled, lowering my head in respect to her. I was envious of her, of the life she had. If I weren’t Queen, I would like to be doing this kind of work.
Torin escorted me to the door and steered me out. As he closed the door, Zoey yelled from inside, “Sprig! I swear, I’m going to let those bears eat your brains this time.”
I had no idea what she was talking about, but the way she said it revealed deep love in her voice.
FOUR
We made our way down the steps in formation, sprinkles of rain falling from the sky. I hit the cement path and stopped cold with the sensation of bugs crawling over my skin, scurrying around like someone turned on very bright lights. My head shot around, trying to find the source of my itchy nerves.
“What, my lady?” Torin stiffened next to me, picking up on my reaction, his gaze darting around.
“I don’t know, but something is off.” My spine quaked with a chill.
Torin didn’t second-guess or hesitate, rushing me faster to the car. A whoosh hissed through the air, metal bounced off the cement, rolling under the car.
“Bomb!” Torin bellowed. Twisting, he leaped for me right as an explosion went off under the car, breaking across my eardrums. We both flew back, his body cocooning me as we hit the lawn.
Time skewed my brain so I could not take in what was going on. The shrill sounds of a large metal object smashed onto the ground, scraping across the concrete. Peeking out, I watched the car tip on its side and slide toward us. I slammed my eyes shut, gritting my teeth, waiting for the impact. But the squealing of metal skidded to a stop.
I lifted my lids, looking into Torin’s wide blue ones. We both twisted to see the vehicle merely inches from us, smoke billowing out from the undercarriage, but otherwise fully intact.
Shouts came from different areas. They were calling “Queen” over and over.
“Are you all right?” Torin cupped my face, concern deep in his face.
“Ye-ye-ah.” I nodded, though my voice shook. It took him a moment, his eyes running over me intensely, before he scooted back off me, tugging out his gun. “Stay down, my lady.”
Fae used to battle only with swords, arrows, clubs, and sticks, partial to the old world, in which taking down an enemy took talent and training and the best man actually did win. Any idiot could kill with a gun. But since the walls had fallen, things were changing. The fae used guns more frequently now.
“Torin?” Thara rushed around the car, panic lashing through his name.
“Yeah, we’re fine.” He kept low, meeting her.
“Thank the gods.” Her hand reached out for him, briefly inspected the cuts over his back and face. He tugged her hand away, squeezing it to let her know he was okay. He huddled us at the rear of the car.
“Castien?” he called into his ear device. “Castien, do you copy?”
A frown pulled Torin’s mouth down, and I knew he was not getting a response.
No. Please say nothing happened to Castien.
Screaming from inside the Honey House drew my attention to the building, faces of children lined the windows upstairs, looking out with horror. Fear welled up inside me. Dark. Consuming. Wanting to attack the threat to these children. There was nothing I wouldn’t do to protect the kids. Nothing. It felt like a thundercloud rolling in my stomach. It was the same sensation I felt the night before—the desire to kill whomever might hurt us.
Druids were not killers. We healed. Protected. But the rush up my legs, pushing me to stand, was not from the light. It would destroy if it had to. A pregnant woman and children were in that house. The blast was meant for me, but they were in the crossfire. What if they got hurt because of me? I stepped forward, fury luring me out to find the culprits.
“Majesty! Get down!” Torin screamed, right as a bullet buzzed past my ear, startling me out of my trance. Torin grabbed for me, yanking me down next to him. “Are you insane? We are under attack!”
I jostled my head. What the hell? Was I insane? What had come over me?
More bullets bounced off the car that shielded us.
“Did you see any of the assailants?” Torin asked Thara.
She shook her head, swallowing. “No. I didn’t see anything.”
“Shit. We are supposed to be the best of the best and here we are acting like amateurs. Totally unprepared for this,” Torin spit back at Thara, but he sounded more as if he were berating himself.
“Castien?” Torin called into his device again. His scowl deepened, and I felt sick. “Sturt, Lea, Rowlands, Vander, Georgia, your status?”
I could hear the responses coming from his ear device.
“Sturt here,” a deep Scottish accent responded. “I’m in front of the first car with Rowlands.”
“Vander and Georgia here,” a woman spoke. “We’re behind the third car. The attack is coming from southeast, near the intersection.”
“Lea? Castien?” Torin barked their names, and more gunfire pinged off the car by our heads.
My lungs tightened. The only reason they didn’t respond was because they couldn’t. I gripped my stomach. Not only was Castien one of my friends, but I cherished him beyond belief for how happy he made Ryan. They were soulmates, their love shining through all the devastation Ryan had gone through. Castien had brought him back to life. Literally. If he died protecting me because I asked him to be one of my elite guards, I would never forgive myself.
Hearing Zoey’s voice, I glanced at the second floor. She ushered the kids away from the window, yelling for them to follow Annabeth. She then looked down, finding me.
I had known her for a few hours, but what I saw in her face reminded me of Ember. Fierce and ready to join. More than that, it was almost like she was begging me to say yes, to let her join the fight, like something under her skin itched to be released. But I could only think of the baby she carried and the children inside the house. She wouldn’t just be risking her own life. I shook my head. “No,” I mouthed. “Protect them.”
Her lips pinched together before she nodded and slipped away from view. I breathed a sigh of relief, knowing they would be all right.
“Get the Queen to the front car,” Sturt spoke into Torin’s ear, the buzz carrying to me. “We’ll cover you.”
“Okay. Listen for my count,” Torin replied, getting his feet underneath him. He hurried me to the front of the car. “Thara, I’ll go out first.” He glanced back at her.
“No, Tor—” With one daggered look from him, her mouth clipped shut.
“We are the Queen’s shield; we stay tight. We protect her no matter what,” he continued. “My lady, you stay directly behind us. All the way to the car.”
“Okay.” Would I ever get used to letting people put their lives on the line for me? No. But I understood it was a requirement of the job.
“In three,” he spoke into the mic. “Three. Two. One.” He leaped up, his gun raised, shots flooding at him with ear-piercing pops. Thara darted up next to him, a scowl trenching her mouth and eyes. She was excellent at keeping her aura colors hidden from me, but I saw a flare of black and
crimson before she went to grays again.
“Now,” Torin hollered at me. I jumped up and moved behind them. As a unit we started to move, slugs ripping through the air. I heard Torin swear several times, but I couldn’t see what it was about.
“Ahh!” Thara yelped, leaning to the side. “Leg. Hit,” she said to Torin, but she didn’t even falter, keeping pace with him. The slight gap between her and Torin let me see what had upset Torin. My stomach buckled, coiling with acid.
Two bodies lay in the street. Blood covered them from head to toe. It was so thick no recognizable features could be seen. My hand went to my mouth, a strangled cry breaking free. Victims of the bomb. But I knew who they were.
“Castien!” I screamed, shoving through Thara and Torin.
“My lady. No!” Torin’s voice bellowed from behind me, but I couldn’t stop. The need to get to Castien and Lea drilled my legs into the pavement. I fell to my knees, hearing the gunshots in my ears, but my focus blocked out anything but Castien gasping for air, his body shuddering with each intake.
He was dying. “Oh my god.” I bent over, taking his head in my lap. “Castien…”
Blood spurted from his mouth, his lips parting to speak. “Tell Ryan…” He coughed.
“No.” I cut him off. “Whatever it is. You will tell him.” Sobs thickened my throat. I was aware of figures moving around me, weapons firing, defending me from assault. But I blocked out everything. Castien’s life was my only concern. Swallowing back the tears, I tried to speak, but sobs clogged my throat.
His life was in my hands, and it depended on me speaking clearly. I dispelled the gunk in my throat and started again, shoving out the words with weight. Red liquid gushed over my hands as I placed them over his internal organs I could see through the gashes. I lowered my lashes, the healing chant spewing from me.
A sharp zing of pain sliced at my arm, breaking my enchantment. I slumped to the side with a cry. As I gazed down, my arm oozed blood, a bullet burrowing to a stop inside my flesh.
Arms slipped from behind, pulling me up and away from Castien. “No!” I thrashed against the hold, curling back down for my friend. “He needs me. I will not leave him!”
“And I will not lose you too,” Torin snarled in my ear. “Your life is always first. And Castien would be the first to agree with me.”
“I. Don’t. Care!” Torin had no idea the desperation I felt, the need to make sure Castien lived. It completely overshadowed my own life.
He spoke sharply into my ear. “Okay, if you don’t care about yourself, think of the others you just put into harm’s way by coming out here. They could all die... to protect you.”
I went still at the thought. I had put them all in danger, and because it was Castien, I hadn’t even thought about the others coming to defend me. I glanced around, seeing my service team surrounding me, most of them bleeding from multiple bullet wounds, not one looking to move until I did. Their dedication and strength floored me. But when I peered down at Castien, my soul wanted to break apart.
“Please, Torin.”
I was sure he would ignore my plea, but instead he shoved me behind him, toward the first car. “Go! I’ll get him.” Torin waved me on. “Go!”
Without hesitation, I ran for the car, diving into the backseat. This one didn’t have the protection like the other one, but it was upright and ready to roll.
The longest minute of my life ticked by before Torin was back with Castien in his arms. He shoved him in next to me before climbing into the driver’s seat. The wheels squealed as he punched the gas, bolting us forward. Gunfire rang off the trunk, and I ducked my head below the seat.
“What about everyone else?” I peeked up, glancing backward.
“They are heading for the third car.”
“Lea?”
Through the rearview mirror, Torin’s lips twisted, turning white. “She’s dead.”
Tears built up behind my lids, choking me. I nodded, staring down at Castien, his head in my lap. His breath was steadier from the little I was able to heal him, but not enough to make me feel we were in the clear.
The chant started off steady, my magic filling him. But like a leaking bathtub, my energy seeped out quickly, the buzz of my adrenaline tipping over the top and nose-diving down.
The throb in my arm pounded like a heartbeat, one that had just run a marathon. Pain sliced up my nerves, and twisted out what was left of my strength until my speech slurred. My head dropped forward onto Castien, blackness licking at the edges of my sight.
“Majesty,” Torin called back to me, sounding like he was in a well. “Stay with me, okay?
I tried to pry my lashes open, but nothing happened. The stinging discomfort in my arm made me welcome the darkness more.
Sleep, my body commanded. And I listened.
FIVE
I awoke to the familiarity of my own room. The electric blue lake and green mountains capped with snow were like a painting through my doors. Yellows and oranges reflected off the clouds, telling me a new day had begun.
I sat with a start. Morning? Had I slept almost an entire day?
A throb of pain cut across my arm, and I glanced down at the gauze wrapping it tightly. Healing it hadn’t even crossed my mind, not when Castien needed all my energy.
Oh. God. Castien.
I flung the covers off, my bare feet padding across the floor. I barreled through my door, heading toward the infirmary, vaguely aware I was dressed only in a flimsy nightgown. Not something I would ever dress myself in. My favorite sleep attire was a Firefly T-shirt I got at Comic-Con years ago. Much of my personal staff was horrified by what I wore, thinking the Queen should be dressed like royalty in bed too. Nope. Never going to happen. Not conscious anyway.
“Majesty! Where do you think you are going?” Hazel bounded out of the chair outside my door. She stood at my height but was thick and stocky with silvering hair and a stern face that liked to frown at me a lot. She was my attendant, sort of like a lady-in-waiting. She had been in this role for centuries and did her job well, but she was not the German, cookie-making grandma she appeared to be. The woman had to be old even by fae standards, but she was plucky. I think she could out wrestle and outrun me if I tried to slip past her.
“I need to check on Castien.”
“You most certainly will not.” She pointed back to my room. “You need to rest.”
“I’m good. All rested.”
“March it back there, missy. You will go nowhere dressed like this.” She continued to wave me back to the room. “Highly inappropriate for a Queen to be seen like that in public.”
I was pretty sure she didn’t like me, or the fact I was Queen, but I would never get rid of her. She was like an institution in the castle. No one could recall a time she was not in it.
“I have to see if he is okay.”
“You can after you are properly dressed.” She’d given up pointing where she wanted me to go. Her hand turned me back into my room.
“Scandal follows you enough, Majesty. I don’t think they need another picture of you running around in your underwear.”
Another one. Right. The press did get lucky that one night I freaked out after a vision and ran straight out of the gates before my guards could catch me. It happened a few days after my coronation, dressed only in my Firefly T-shirt and tiny boy-shorts. Nice to wake to that on the front page. The reporters were a lot more vigilant now trying for more pictures.
Dressing myself in whatever was within grabbing distance, I flew out the door, not letting Hazel block me this time, and sprinted for the section of the castle containing the infirmary. Thara was on guard outside my waiting room, but she let me go, jogging after me without a word, seeming to understand exactly where I was headed.
Thara, Castien, and Torin were my core sentinels, the ones I trusted with my life. Torin ran my security unit. But those three were in on my every move and decision I made, so they could better protect me. And I considered them friends.
My knee-length boots hit the floor as I bolted to Castien. My subjects did double takes as I passed, their mouths agape at their Queen running like a flailing ostrich.
“Your grace?” A green-haired healer stood up, curtsying as I ran to the front desk. “We weren’t expecting you.”
“Castien? Where is he?” I sucked in gulps of air. Damn, I was out of shape. Torin had started basic training with me a couple weeks ago, saying I needed to at least know how to defend myself. I was not the best student although I had been enjoying the drills more after my meeting with the noble committee. I didn’t like being bad at things, but I’d never excelled at exercise. PE was always my lowest grade.
“Room six.” She pointed toward the back.
“Thank you,” I replied and rushed in that direction with Thara silently on my tail. I got to the door and stopped, my hand on the knob. Anxiety and guilt lumped in my stomach.
“I’ll wait for you here, Majesty.” Thara’s voice drew my head up to her.
She was tall, five ten, with long, dark brown hair and light caramel skin. Her Native American heritage dominated her proud face and almond-shaped eyes. She was breathtaking. Always regal and stoic and a little cold and serious, she didn’t sugarcoat things, which I respected. As Queen, even when I knew they hated me, I got a lot of ass-kissers. I appreciated her upfront attitude.
Her particular talent was to see people’s abilities. In meetings with new individuals, she’d whisper in my ear what type of fae they were or what magic they held. Knowledge was power, and that was an extraordinary gift in my line of work.
“Thank you, Thara.” I nodded and pushed open the door with a deep breath.
Castien lay in bed, IVs sticking out of his arms as bags of blood helped replenish his lost supply. The majority of his face was still black, shredded, and scalded.
My hand went to my mouth, my lids blinking frantically. He was alive, but the damage was so severe.
He was there because he was protecting you.
Lightness Falling (Lightness Saga Book 2) Page 4
