Page 29 of Fey Empire (Fey Lords #5)

Chapter twenty-eight

I jump to my feet and face my furious husband. His eyes are wild, and he is breathing hard.

How do I explain this? How do I excuse that I told all of court that I was taking his brother to bed?

“Explain yourself!” Selwyn demands as he glares at me.

“That’s my cue to leave,” says Dyfri.

He rises from the settee and heads further into Selwyn’s rooms rather than towards the exit. Oh. The secret passageway. He is going to leave through there.

“Did you bed my consort?” Selwyn bellows after him.

Dyfri doesn’t turn around or slow his pace. “Do you think I would be so quick about it?”

“Dyfri Y Mhorriganogi!”

The dark-haired prince sighs and looks over his shoulder. “No, Brother dearest, I have not bedded your consort.”

And then he is gone. Slipped away into the shadows. Leaving me alone with Selwyn.

Reluctantly, I meet my husband’s gaze. There is a distraught look in his gold-flecked eyes, smouldering amongst the fury .

My stomach twists. I am pretty sure he believes his brother, but the rumours and gossip are going to cause him so much grief.

Fey don’t have fidelity in marriage, not for casual sex, but Dyfri is his brother and this rhocyn stuff no doubt complicates things. The fact I stole Dyfri away from that noble is probably all kinds of shocking.

“I’m… I’m so sorry,” I croak. “I was trying to help Dyfri. This horrible woman had him pinned and was going to make him do things and I…. I couldn’t bear it and I didn’t think.”

My gaze is firmly on the floor now, and the polished floorboards are beginning to look all blurry. The faint sound of Loki whimpering reaches my ears. I hope Peaony doesn’t let her out yet. She doesn’t need to witness all this unpleasantness.

“Don’t cry,” says Selwyn.

I sniff. “I’ll try not to.”

Selwyn exhales slowly. “Laurie, you are not in trouble.”

My head snaps up. That can’t be true.

My husband looks a lot calmer now, but he is clearly fighting for it. He steps towards me, and for some reason, I don’t flinch away.

“You were helping Dyfri?”

I nod wordlessly.

“You don’t…” he pauses and starts again. “You don’t wish you were wed to him instead of me?”

My jaw drops. What a shocking thought! I’m almost too astonished to speak.

“No. I like Dyfri, but not… like that.”

Selwyn is the only person I have ever liked like that. The only person who makes my stomach swoop with that tingling-fluttering-yearning sensation. I didn’t even know what desire felt like until I met him.

Selwyn’s shoulders relax. Tension drains from his body. “Then, I am very glad you helped my brother.”

I stare at him. Nothing is ever as easy as that. Nobody is this forgiving.

“What about all the gossip I have caused?” I say.

He shrugs. “It will be useful. A diversion and distraction from my true secrets.”

My lungs freeze, and my heart drops. All of a sudden, the note in my pocket weighs a thousand tons. I had forgotten about it.

Now Selwyn is admitting he has secrets. Things he would welcome people being distracted from. It is practically a confession.

Could this night get any worse?

“Laurie? You’ve gone awfully pale. Do you need to sit down?”

I shake my head, pull the note from my pocket and shove it towards him. Passing the message on could well be a terrible thing to do, but I don’t want to keep the secret. I don’t want to hide things from my husband and be on edge all the time.

Blake said he was done with the Resistance, so maybe I can be done too. Passing this message on could be the first and last thing I am ever asked to do. I don’t have to make decisions about the greater good.

He takes the piece of paper from me with a puzzled look. He glances at it and then back up at me.

“Did you read it?”

“No,” I say with a vehement shake of my head.

Selwyn frowns. “Who gave it to you? ”

A wave of dizziness washes over me. I’m going to be sick. I can’t get Blake into trouble, especially since he said he didn’t want to be involved. If I speak his name, I’m becoming a part of this, whether I like it or not.

“I don’t know. I found it in my pocket,” I say weakly.

Selwyn’s eyebrow rises. “Someone snuck this in your pocket without you noticing, and you knew it was for me even though it has no name on it?”

My bottom lip begins to wobble. I look down at the floor as my eyes water.

“Don’t cry!” blurts Selwyn. “It’s fine! It doesn’t matter who gave you the note, as long as they didn’t put you in any danger.”

Tentatively, I raise my head. Concern is swirling in Selwyn’s eyes. His expression is soft. I think he means what he is saying. He is not going to demand answers from me. He is going to allow me to keep my secrets. He trusts me.

He steps up close to me and takes a gentle hold of my shoulders. My body moves, and I fling myself against his chest and wrap my arms around him. He startles and then holds me tightly.

Fey don’t hug, but he seemed to enjoy it last time. And he is very good at them.

I sniffle and try to pull myself together. Everything is fine. He has forgiven me for everything. For Dyfri, for the note. This horrible, awful evening is finally over.

“I don’t think I want to go to any more balls,” I sniff.

Selwyn’s chest moves, moving me with it. A deep laugh rumbles out of him. His lips brush softly over the top of my head.

My lungs stop being tight and my heart remembers how to beat. Everything truly does feel okay now .

Disasters aren’t so bad when you have someone on your side.

I love these gardens. Even though it is drizzling and the sky is promising more rain, it is still wonderful to be out here.

Loki isn’t minding the rain at all. Droplets are gathering on her thick coat and sparkling like jewels, but she is far too busy sniffing at everything to care.

I take in a lungful of fresh air. I don’t mind the rain either, but I’m not going to linger in it long enough to try to listen to plants today. I’ll save that for better weather.

Right now, I am more than content to enjoy the peace and continue to bask in the knowledge that Selwyn has forgiven me for my mistake.

Yesterday was awful, but it ended far better than expected, and today is a whole new day.

“You!” someone yells loudly.

Startled, I look up. A streak of purple is racing across the overgrown lawn straight towards me.

It is Prince Mabon, with a worried-looking Blake hot on his heels.

Prince Mabon storms right up to me, stopping mere inches away. He puts his hands on his hips and his amethyst eyes blaze.

“You dare to order my brother to your bed? You? A puny human who we welcomed into our family?”

Oh goodness. It never crossed my mind that any of the princes would believe the ruse. I glance nervously at Blake. Can I tell his master the truth? Selwyn told me to stick to the story.

“You have insulted two of my brothers!” seethes Mabon.

“Mabpie,” begins Blake, but the prince holds up a hand and stops him.

“Shh. Not now. Don’t interrupt.”

Blake gives me an apologetic look. It seems that, unlike his master, he understands that nothing really happened.

Mabon draws in a breath. He is the very picture of righteous indignation. He steps even closer to me, and Loki growls. An ominous sound that is far too deep to come from her small, fluffy body.

Mabon glances down at her. He frowns, but he also pauses.

Over his shoulder, I see Dyfri approaching, and I have never been more relieved.

“I heard you were on the warpath,” he says calmly as soon as he is close enough.

“Yes!” declares Mabon with a toss of his head.

“You don’t need to be.”

Mabon splutters with outrage at Dyfri’s calm assertion.

“I can take care of myself,” says Dyfri.

“No, you can’t!” As soon as the words pass Mabon’s lips, he winces. “Sorry,” he retracts, several decibels quieter than his first words.

Dyfri crosses his arms over his chest. “Apology accepted.”

“Why are you accepting this?” Mabon exclaims, waving his hand at me in a shockingly dismissive gesture.

“I have my reasons,” Dyfri’s voice is still calm.

His dark eyes flash me a ‘Please be patient with him’ look. I’m getting the idea that Mabon is often hard work .

“You can’t have good reasons,” huffs Mabon, but he is calming down. Slightly, ever so slightly. But things are looking hopeful.

Dyfri sighs wearily. “You don’t understand.”

Mabon draws himself up to his full height. “Yes I do!”

“You can’t!” Dyfri snaps suddenly. “You are not a rhocyn!”

Mabon inhales so sharply it sounds as if he has been struck a mortal wound. His face drains of all colour. Even his eyes dim and go a little glassy.

His entire body has fallen utterly still. Like a deer spooked by something.

Blake gently takes his arm and guides him away. The prince stumbles along beside his pet, with none of the usual fey grace.

I watch them make their way across the lawn with an uneasy feeling in my gut.

“Is he okay?” I ask Dyfri.

Dyfri is staring after his brother. He is frowning, and his eyes look deeply troubled.

“No,” he says softly, without tearing his gaze away from Mabon’s distant back. “And I am going to find out who hurt him.”