Say it, something basic inside me growled, making my back stiffen.
Mate.
It didn’t make sense, but it felt right to admit, to say, even if just in my own mind.
The druid left his seat, taking his plate to the sink before brushing a quick kiss to his daughter’s crown and walking to the door, signing, “I’m headed for the city, if I’m still around when you get to her majesty’s townhouse, I’ll meet you there,” just before walking out.
I took another sip of my drink, the taste starting to grow on me with the white cream added. Before I could set it down and take another bite of my eggs, the hairs on the back of my neck stood on end. Freezing, I lifted my eyes to look down the length of the granite countertop to see Ro glaring at me. Curious, I lifted a brow in question. Got something to say, big guy?
“You know you’re a thousand years older than she is, right?” he pointed out warningly.
“Age is hardly relevant in this case.” I could tell my response wasn’t what he anticipated. “If I took into account how old I was compared to the men and women I’ve lain with, the pool would be quite empty.”
Seeing as it was none of his business, I turned my attention back to my breakfast and didn’t let anything else disturb me until I’d cleaned my plate. Upon waking that morning, I knew right away that I was abnormally tired. Never had lovemaking made me feel so weakened before. It didn’t take long to realize it was because Maeleigh had replenished her own magic in the process of our joining, a first for me. Danu knew I’d do it all over again, but I knew the cravings for sustenance would be insatiable for the day as I regained my own magical stamina.
I could still feel Ro’s eyes boring into me, probably wishing his gaze could burn a hole, but I ignored him. I moved to the sink, where Bri had started to rinse the pile of dishes inside, setting them strategically on a rack that she’d pulled out from a box under the counter. Wanting to help, I took direction from her on where things went, utensils in the baskets, pots and pans on the bottom and cups on top, it was like a bloody puzzle of flatware, and when it was full, she dropped a small white pod in the pocket of the door, shut it and pressed a button. Soon after, a whirling sound could be heard. I must have had an amazed look on my face from the amused smile on the beta’s face when she looked over at me. Pleased with our work, I turned to see Maeleigh finish with whatever she was doing on her phone to look over at Gearden, leaning against the counter opposite her. “Are you ready?” she asked out loud.
He scowled, letting me know that he shared the same feeling at the idea of Maeleigh leaving the property at the moment. Five men had attacked her no more than a few hours ago and she wanted to leave the safety of her home to go check out the late queen’s unguarded residence
Even still, he nodded. And, again, something we could agree upon. There wasn’t anything we could do to stop the woman we’d both fallen for. She was a leader by circumstance and birth. She’d grown so much since I’d first met her. Keeping her locked up while there was a killer roaming free would only keep her from being who she was.
An alpha. A queen.
My queen.
Chapter Twelve
Maeleigh
It took a lot of energy to stomp out thoughts on Lugh and Gearden as we drove into the city. We traveled in the old suburban that belonged to the Westboro pack, and after the first twenty minutes, I was already wondering if we could afford a newer model. It was obvious there was something wrong with the engine and the interior looked like someone had been trapped in it during their first shift. Or maybe just trapped, considering how big of an asshole Vic, the previous alpha, had been.
Again, I rode in the middle seat, which probably didn’t help the queasiness I was feeling in my stomach. The lack of shock absorption was another big contributor. Fighting back a wave of nausea, I tapped the seat in front of me. Ro, riding shotgun, turned to look back at me.
“Think you can work on this piece of junk this week?” I asked him, trying my best to keep my eyes on the road as I signed. At his nod, I could tell he was thinking the same thing, that the sorry excuse for transportation needed a big overhaul. Desperately, I pressed the button on the door, rolling down my window, relishing the cool, fresh air as it hit my face and whipped my hair around.
I felt Gearden’s hand on my thigh then, giving it a comforting squeeze. At his touch, my stomach settled just a little, taking the edge off. Now, if I could just make it the rest of the forty-minute trip without yacking on the already dirty floorboards, it would be a miracle.
“Lugh says you can control it,” Gearden said, his voice a balm to my troubled mind.
Vaguely, I turned my head to get a look at Lugh sitting behind me, but I couldn’t quite do it without my stomach taking a dip, saliva gathering sickeningly in my mouth.
“Concentrate,” Gearden told me, but I knew it was Lugh’s words. “You’re in control. Call on your magic to will it away. To settle.”
Taking calming breath, letting it shutter out, I grounded myself as best I could, then did what he said. It was shaky, but I managed to do just what he said, relieved when I felt my belly settle and find relief.
“Hold it, or it will disappear.”
I nodded, my eyes closed as I focused on keeping the sickness at bay and maintaining the reins on the magic that allowed me to hold down my breakfast.
Soon enough, we parked along the curb in front of Selena’s townhouse. It was old looking, but well kept. Compared to the neighboring building, this one had had brick replaced and newer mortar installed recently.She had stayed in the city because most of her people resided there, hiding among the humans, all but magicless. What magic they had left, was the most basic. Maybe having really good “luck” in the garden. Being able to entice a person into giving you that loan or a lower price on a car. Which would be handy, I thought absently, waiting for my stomach to finally feel normal as we stepped onto the sidewalk. It wasn’t extremely busy, but there were a few people out; one man walked his oversized dog, another woman jogged, ear buds playing a tune anyone could hear with or without super hearing like most of my group possessed.
Disgruntled, Tomos and Dom climbed out from the depths of the suburban, followed by a more poised Lugh, who gave me a quick assessing look. I gave him a nod to let him know I’d be fine and we all followed Dom as he ascended the steps to the front door. First turning a key in the lock, he pressed his hand on the center of the seemingly unmovable door, his lips moving faintly before he turned the knob and stepped inside. I stepped up to the small four by four square of brick to enter behind him, but Lugh pulled me back against his chest at the same instant that Tomos moved in front of me.
“He’s checking the house first,” Gearden explained when he caught the pissed off look on my face. Instantly, I settled and, before I could catch myself, I started to relax into Lugh. Only for a moment though, and then I was back standing straight, waiting for the all clear. When Dom returned a few minutes later, he gave us a nod and we all moved forward. I walked all the way into the formal sitting room, giving everyone space to enter.
The furniture was pristine, antique looking, very regal and expensive, just like she was. I smiled at the thought of her enjoying her older, finer things as she sat with a cup of tea, probably with the fire roaring, no matter the temperature outside. I didn’t know her long or well, but I admired who she was and appreciated her help in the lessons she gave me, or had at least started to, before I left for Seelie Hill.
“Tomos says he’ll show you her bedroom” Gearden told me, interrupting my melancholy thoughts.
As I stepped back to the foyer, I looked up to see Tomos standing halfway up the stairs, looking down at me, his expression questioning. I nodded and began to climb the stairs, feeling everyone behind me. My friends, my men, my allies.
At the top of the stairs, two doors down, Tomos indicated an open bedroom door. I stepped inside to see similar furniture as what was in the foyer, except the bed was massive. Only a queen size mattr
ess, it was the frame that was monstrous. Four mahogany posters raised to the ceiling like wooden pikes. The bed was so high off the ground, there was a step surrounding the perimeter. It was like the room was built around the bed itself, not the other way around. It was still made, too, the covers tucked in, fabric crisp and clean.
“Where are the staff?” I asked, signing to Ro, remembering that he’d worked there once before, during his reconnaissance of the queen herself.
He turned to Dom, asking him out loud. The other man turned to answer me directly, “Relieved, for now. Until you should recall them, if that is your wish.”
“No. That won’t be necessary” I signed, letting Ro interpret.
“She was a very organized individual,” Tomos supplied.
I nodded, filing the information.
Then, in the blink of an eye, a woman stood in the center of the room, no more than two feet in front of me. Before I could even jump and fall back in surprise, the room exploded in movement. Dom and Tomos seemed to tackle me, causing me to fall onto Tomos as Dom laid on top of me. From around their arms and bodies, I could see Gearden and Lugh started to attack, Gearden already partially shifted. Until the woman held her hands up, shouting something that made them still.
Ro advanced from behind her threateningly, his eyes glowing gray as his wolf also hung just beneath the surface, waiting to lunge and strike out, tear something apart. I saw his lips move as he growled at the intruder. “Who are you?”
“Jeaon,” she answered, her gaze moving to find mine. I saw it then, relief and indignation. “A spell has been placed on this house.”
“A spell?” I asked outloud, realizing that I couldn’t sign while buried under two hundred pounds of muscle. Shoving at Dom’s chest with my elbow, I ordered him to “get off.”
Reluctantly, he pulled away, helping me to stand up and off from Tomos. I straightened my shirt when I stood on my own two feet, then signed, “What are you doing here?” Ro vocalized.
“Looking for my queen,” Jeaon replied. Before I could say anything, though, she held a hand up. “We aren’t safe here as long as the spell is in place. Just as I did with you, we could be ambushed at any time.”
I gazed at her for a moment, considering her words. She was either a liar or a possible ally. But, if she was right, then I had a duty to the people who’d followed me here to keep them safe.
“Your Majesty,” she said, more of a plea in her expression. Everything in me told me I could trust her, except for my mind, which was all too familiar with secrets and how they could hurt.
Finally, I nodded to her. “Let’s get out of here.”
Just as we exited the house, barely even on the sidewalk, Dad walked up, looking normal until he picked up on the tension of the group and read my expression. “What is it?” The second he finished signing, his gaze latched on our new arrival to the group.
“Jeaon?” he asked, a frown making deep lines between his brows. My own face mimicked his as I looked between the two, wondering how the hell he knew her, but then, it didn’t surprise me either. After all, he somehow knew Alistahr, why wouldn’t he know another Unseelie? Still, I was irritated by all the people he knew in this world that I didn’t. It was just another reminder of the secret he kept from me about my heritage and what I was.
“Long time no see, Benjamin,” Jeaon replied. The slow, appreciative glance she swept up and down the length of him had something sick twist in my belly, this time having nothing to do with a moving vehicle. Ugh. Were they lovers once?
The idea of it had me swallowing a gag, but it was the look Dad gave her back that had me concerned.
“What are you doing here?” he inquired, signing for my benefit. He didn’t just look worried suddenly, at the sight of her, but angry as well. Something told me neither had to do with Jeaon herself, so much as it did with what her presence meant. Like seeing lightning and expecting the thunder to follow.
“I came to meet my new queen,” she answered, looking like she wasn’t going to go into any more detail than that.
Dad only scowled for a hard moment at her, then stepped close to me. “Are you alright?” he signed, not voicing his question. I understood then that he didn’t trust this woman, this new Unseelie female.
“I’m fine,” I answered, then turned to look at Tomos and Dom, both standing on either side of the newcomer. “Who is she?” After her obvious deflection of the same question, I didn’t waste my time asking her a second.
Dom kept his steely eyes focused on the woman in question, replying, “The Queen’s Blade.” He said it like I should know what or who that was, but even Ro, who’d interpreted, came up empty.
Confused, I looked to Lugh for more information. His eyes were still wide on Jeaon, as if she would disappear before his eyes. Hell, she’d magically appeared from nothing a few minutes ago, so I didn’t blame him.
“Lugh,” I said his name, hoping to jar him out. When he didn’t shake out of it, I lightly touched his hand. There it was. He gave his head a quick shake and closed his eyes, clearing the faraway look from them.
“Ah, she…that is to say, she’s the queen’s assassin,” he answered, his hands seeming to skip on the letters but I read it anyway.
“Assassin?” I gasped, turning to look back at Jeaon again, raking my eyes up and down her small body, seeing that, save for her beauty, she didn’t seem dangerous looking. If you took away the whole “appearing out of nothing” factor, that was. Ro moved to stand closer to me, Bri’s shoulders grew tighter and my wolf felt the weariness of the whole group.
“Wait,” I told them all. The last thing I needed was someone to go all halfcocked and escalating things. “The queen’s?” I repeated.
Her chin notched up before she nodded. “Does your loyalty pass on as the crown does?” I asked, allowing my mark on my face to show, daring her to tell me no.
I watched as her whiskey brown eyes took it in, processed its meaning, then, as they zeroed in on my own blue ones, seeing into me and I into her. I acknowledged that she probably rarely allowed anyone to see into her as she had with me, when she said the words, “Yes. I am the Unseelie Queen’s Blade.” Her mind told me the truth behind her words. Her fealty was to me now.
I didn’t say anything for a moment, just allowed the iridescent tattoo on my face to fade before I caught any unwanted attention. When it was gone again, I nodded and looked to Gearden.
“We need somewhere safer,” I told him.
He looked to Ro, “Got any ideas?”
Ro thought for a second, then, with a curious look on his face, he said, “Yeah. We can walk.”
Chapter Thirteen
Maeleigh
When he said we could walk, I was skeptical. There were nine of us, how the hell would we casually walk down the street without getting noticed? Sure, we weren’t all dressed mysteriously in black clothing, unlike our new friend and my new assassin, but such a sizeable group of young adults didn’t just go unnoticed by anyone when we all looked ready to strike out at the smallest sign of threat. So, we spread out. I hung back as Dad, Ro, Tweedle Dee and Dom led the way. They weren’t happy about it, but I wanted some space from some of the overbearing testosterone, and they were the only ones who had to listen to me. Even if I tried, I doubted Lugh and Gearden would separate themselves from me. Still, they did give Bri, me and Jeaon a couple feet of space as we followed the others.
It wasn’t a long walk, but it allowed me a few minutes to process some things. I looked to Bri, signing, “Will you update her, please?” I indicated Jeaon and she nodded, starting to catch her up on what had happened over the last couple days. I deliberately kept my focus on the group ahead of us; I didn’t want to relive some of the highlights. I still hadn’t dealt with Ariela’s death yet. Ro and the other men turned around the corner, and when we did the same a few moments later, I was met with the sight of lush green grass and large, mature trees.
“A park?” I asked him, signing incredulously as we drew closer
to a concrete picnic table under the closest available shade. It wasn’t crowded, being a school day, but there were some people milling about enjoying the park. It was a warm day, at least warm for Spring, but not sweltering, which brought out a lot of people. It was perfect though. At least this way we weren’t just standing ominously on the sidewalk in front of a dead woman’s home which, apparently, had been spelled somehow.
I didn’t sit, as it was easier to see everyone’s faces when they spoke or signed if I stood. We gathered, and Dad stood on the opposite end of the table, for similar reasons I did, assuming he’d interpret for me. As much as I hated the secrets he kept, I still couldn’t fault him for always keeping me included.
As Bri passed me to settle on the edge of one bench seat, facing me, I lifted a brow in her direction, to which she nodded. Good, our new friend had been brought up to date. Perfect.
I zeroed in on Dad, lifting a hand to sign, “Ready?” He nodded.
Not wasting any time, I turned my attention to Jeaon. “Explain how you knew about the spell.”
Right away I caught the look of apprehension on Dad’s face from the corner of my eye and I ignored it. If he wasn’t going to be forthcoming with information, then I was going to get it from the source. And, if what she said about her loyalty being to me, her new queen – goddess that sounded weird – was honest, then she would be give me the truth.
She didn’t disappoint. Without missing a beat, she answered, keeping her eyes on mine, not even once looking like she might look to Dad like some did when unaccustomed to interpreters. “It’s something I was trained to recognize since before I can remember. If a place is spelled, it could mean a failure in my mission.”
Or her life. But, obviously, that wasn’t her top concern. Which told me that neither was it the previous queen’s. I wondered how many Blades Selena had had during her time on the throne. Were they just as disposable as they were valuable? Did she train them aplenty so that another could easily slip into the place of their predecessor should they come to an untimely end?
Truce: Book 1 in the Aftermath Series Page 13
