Page 33 of Fey Empire (Fey Lords #5)

Chapter thirty-two

“ S he wants her roots to go deeper,” I say as I open my eyes.

Selwyn beams at me. “She does. Well done, Laurie.”

A blush heats my cheeks, but it is not one of shame or embarrassment. I’m blushing because I am pleased and proud, and a little shy.

“Let’s find her a bigger pot,” Selwyn says.

He hums to himself as he moves over to a shelf full of spare pots. He looks so very content and at ease. It is a lovely image.

The light streaming from the windows is beautiful. I’d love to draw him here, surrounded by his hundreds of plants.

Maybe I will ask when things are calmer and the disaster I have caused is over. Spending an afternoon pleasantly learning about plants feels abhorrent enough with everything going on.

I don’t deserve this. Not when I have ruined Dyfri’s life. I shouldn’t have moments of happiness while he is suffering.

I made this mess, and I can’t even help. I furiously wrote down everything I know about my mother’s magic. Her strengths and weaknesses. Her favourite spells. Her personality and how to rile her.

But Selwyn said none of it was allowed. No one is allowed to help anyone facing a duel. I can see how that is fair, but at the same time, it is so unfair!

Loki’s tail thumps against the floor. She doesn’t stop gnawing on her bone. It is only her tail that is moving.

Instinctively, I look towards the door. Just in time to see Dyfri stride in with his head held high.

A tightness eases from my chest. Thank the goddess. It has been three days since my mother challenged him. I was beginning to think he’d never come out of his rooms. Yet, here he is. Choosing to visit Selwyn and me.

I must tell Jamie and the others that Dyfri is out and about, as soon as I can. They will be so relieved. Though, I might just send a note since I don’t think I’m brave enough to face them. I’m sure they must all hate me now after everything I have done.

“I need your contacts,” Dyfri says to Selwyn.

While completely ignoring me. It is fair enough and utterly deserved, as well as no less than I was expecting. But it still stings like hell. Dyfri was the closest thing to a friend I ever had.

Selwyn raises an eyebrow. “Why do you need my contacts?”

Dyfri scowls. He may be out of his rooms, but he doesn’t look good. His face is drawn and there are dark circles under his eyes. His horns are back, but I swear they are smaller than they were.

“So I can avenge Mabon,” Dyfri snaps.

Selwyn blinks. “Is that what you should focus on right now? ”

Absolutely not. He shouldn’t even be thinking about that right now. He should be concentrating on planning how to whoop my mother’s ass.

“Yes,” retorts Dyfri as he crosses his arms over his chest.

“Dyfri…”

“Stop talking and give me your contacts.”

My gaze ping-pongs between the two brothers. I am completely useless here, and I hate it. There is nothing I can do, and if I tried, I’d probably only make everything worse. The best I can do is to be a silent observer.

Selwyn sighs heavily. “I avenged our brother a long time ago.”

He did? Oh my goodness! I didn’t even know he knew anything about what happened to Mabon. And what type of revenge does he mean exactly? Or is it best that I don’t know?

I swallow tightly. Yes. I think in this case, ignorance absolutely is bliss.

Dyfri’s eyes narrow. He is not instantly believing Selwyn like I am. But then again, Dyfri is probably this suspicious of everyone and everything. With good reason. Because people like me crash into his life and upend it.

“The duel…” Selwyn begins, but Dyfri interrupts again.

“I don’t want to talk about it.”

Selwyn’s eyes swirl with something that looks like pity. I wince. Dyfri is not going to want to see that. Nobody ever wants to see that.

“It is going to be fine,” Selwyn says gently.

Dyfri instantly bristles. “You can’t help. No one can. Have you forgotten the rules?”

“Trust me,” pleads Selwyn with wide eyes .

Oh hells. What is my husband up to? He was adamant that any form of helping was not allowed, but now he is definitely hinting he has a plan.

I’m a little hurt that he is not letting me help, but as long as someone helps Dyfri, I don’t care about anything else.

I certainly don’t give a shit about the details.

“Trust you?” Dyfri draws himself up to his full height. “Why should I?”

Selwyn opens his mouth to say something, but Dyfri cuts in.

“I know who you meet with!” he seethes. He turns on his heels and flashes me a dark look. “You should leave him while you can.”

He storms out, slamming the door behind him. My body flinches at the loud sound. Plant pots rattle, but luckily nothing falls to the floor.

Loki pauses chewing her bone, but then resumes her gnawing. I’m glad someone is unaffected by all the unpleasantness.

I turn to Selwyn and find him staring at me with a frantic look. I’ve never seen his eyes so wide or his face so pale.

“Please don’t leave with your brother on the full moon.”

My heart slams against my ribcage. My stomach drops down to my boots. Selwyn knows? He knows? How long has he known for? Do I have no secrets at all, in this place that seems to be made of them?

“It is not what you think,” Selwyn blurts.

I shake my head to try to get my thoughts in order. What is happening now? What is not what I think? I’m getting the feeling that he is not talking about my secrets, he is talking about his .

“I… I…” Selwyn steps up to me and takes both of my hands in his.

He has gone deathly pale. Dyfri’s parting comment really, truly has him rattled. I should open my mouth and reassure him that I’m not going to run away with my brother because Dyfri is stressed and upset and lashing out and saying mean things. I’m not so easily swayed.

“I don’t want the throne. I am not seeking power. I am not trying to hurt anyone.”

Okay. I knew he was plotting and potentially planning treason, but I never assumed the motive was anything simple. I knew it would be complex and multifaceted.

Whatever his reasons, he doesn’t need to confess to me. I don’t understand why he is suddenly so on edge. But then again, I fail to understand most things.

Selwyn stares deep into my eyes. He stares right down into my soul.

And he allows me to see him. His walls come down, and all of a sudden I’m looking at an earnest young man with far too much weight on his shoulders, and a miasma of desperate, dogged, determination around him.

The air of someone who can see all the odds are stacked against them, but is still stubbornly trying to succeed.

“I would tell you that I think invading Earth was morally wrong and that humans deserve to govern themselves and their realm. But you would not believe me.”

I blink. The way he is looking at me now, is certainly making me believe it. He looks deeply principled and passionate about right and wrong. Exactly the type of person who cannot stand idle while injustice occurs.

“And there are other reasons,” he adds .

I wait for him to continue. He doesn’t need to explain anything to me, but I am so happy he wants to. I don’t want there to be any secrets between us.

He takes a deep breath. “It is a long, complex story woven of many strands, but at the root, there was a court vizier my parents trusted. They never knew, but he was the Unseelie King’s son.”

Unseelie like Dyfri’s mother? Oh, this can’t be good. Nobody ever has anything good to say about the unseelie.

Selwyn licks his lips. “I… I have reasons to believe that the plan to invade Earth was a seed planted and nurtured by the unseelie. They seek to weaken us, to cause us to spread thin. With so many here, they can invade our heartlands.”

He draws in a shuddering breath.

“Once they conquer our heartlands, it will be a small matter to step through the portals and take Earth too.”

My jaw drops open.

“We have spent ourselves in doing all the groundwork. Humans are now cowed. The systems are in place. The unseelie can simply stroll in and take it all.”

My mind is reeling. By all accounts, the unseelie are far worse than the seelie. Horror is thrumming through my veins. It has turned icy cold in here despite the summer sun shining through the windows.

This is a lot to take in. And all so utterly unexpected. Never in my wildest dreams would I have figured out or even imagined that something of this magnitude was playing out.

My world and my concerns have been small. I wanted my husband to like me. All the while he has been fighting an interdimensional war against multiple enemies .

“I can’t allow any of that to happen. The seelie heartlands cannot be taken. Earth cannot remain under occupation,” Selwyn says softly. “So I am working to stop it.”

His grip on my hands tightens. His eyes glow with intensity.

“I did not choose to become a traitor lightly, there was no other choice.”

His voice is solemn as he says, “The fey need to go home.”