Page 37 of Fey Empire (Fey Lords #5)

Chapter thirty-six

A s I approach Dyfri’s door, I see Jamie sitting in the hallway with his back against the wall. There is no shadow man guarding the entrance, but it is perfectly clear that we are still not permitted entry.

Jamie looks tired. There are dark circles under his eyes. I think he has been here all night.

Not that I slept any better. I tossed and turned and only finally snatched a few hours when Selwyn held me tight.

I should have kept vigil here, by Jamie’s side. It would have been the right thing to do. Now last night is yet another mistake to add to my long list.

Loki runs up to Jamie and licks his face. He smiles and pats her. She sits right next to him and leans her entire body weight on him while demanding ear scratches.

He obliges with another weary smile.

“Mabon is in there now,” Jamie says.

A wave of relief washes over me. “That’s good.” He needs his arm seen to if nothing else. And it makes sense that Dyfri would choose his brother over anyone else. Especially as Mabon isn't exactly the type to accept being shut out.

“Did Mabon barge in, or did Dyfri let him in?” I ask wryly .

Jamie chuckles. “A bit of both.”

I sit down beside him and allow my head to thud back against the wall. I can’t think of anything else to say. I don’t even think there is anything else I could possibly say.

Besides, this silence feels companionable and not oppressive. It is fine to let it linger and grow. Loki’s panting is a soothing, rhythmic backdrop to everything we are not saying.

We sit. We wait. We do not dare to hope.

“Dyfri was the first person to be nice to me when I arrived here,” Jamie says dully to the empty hallway.

Memories flash. Dyfri made me drink a truth serum, but then he tucked me up in bed and was kind. He thought I was too young to be wed, so he tried to stop the wedding. Because he cared. For me. A stranger.

“Same,” I reply in the same dull tone.

He was nice to me, and look what I have done to him in return. I am the very worst person in all of the worlds.

Suddenly, the doors to Dyfri’s rooms open. Jamie and I scramble to our feet just as Mabon walks out. The lilac-haired prince stops in his tracks when he sees us, and a look of surprise flashes across his pretty face.

“How is he?” asks Jamie.

Amethyst eyes fix on me for a moment, and my chest tightens. He has every right to blame me for everything, but he doesn’t still believe I really did order Dyfri to my bed? Does he?

“He allowed me to clean and bandage his arm. It will scar, but it is healing well.”

That is a small mercy, at least.

“And emotionally?” Jamie presses insistently .

Mabon puts a hand on his hip. “Those wounds are always the hardest to heal.”

Jamie makes a small, distressed sound before biting his bottom lip.

“He can just stay in his rooms? Nobody can… Nobody can…” I blurt and then trail off pathetically.

I’m not going to say that he was a rhocyn under the old rules before and survived, because that is no consolation to anyone. If anything, it makes everything worse. I can’t imagine being sent back to a hell you thought you had escaped.

But maybe nobody will want him now that they know just how very unseelie he is. Or maybe that will make them want him more? Fucking your enemy seems like a thing the fey would enjoy.

“He’ll be safe in his rooms?” I ask weakly.

Mabon narrows his eyes. “Possibly.”

He doesn’t look at all convinced, so maybe people can knock on Dyfri’s door and demand unspeakable things. And even if not, a life spent locked behind closed doors, is no life at all.

Nevermind that all of court are now even more convinced than they ever were that he is an evil unseelie. They don’t need to be aware of the plot Selwyn suspects, to fear and hate their oldest enemy.

Surely it is only a matter of time before somebody does something even worse to Dyfri.

“I’m sorry,” I whisper nonsensically, but truthfully. I am so very sorry. For everything.

Mabon frowns, and his eyebrows pinch together at the exact same time as Jamie says, “It is not your fault!”

“Yes it is!” snaps Mabon .

“Laurie didn’t do anything to Dyfri, he was trying to help.”

“Well, he didn’t do a very good job of it,” Mabon huffs.

Something inside me withers even though I’m relieved the prince now seems to understand that I didn’t abuse his brother. Not on purpose, and not directly. I just laid the foundations for my mother.

Jamie draws himself up to his full, not very tall, height. As if he is about to argue with Mabon. But before he can say anything, Ollie slinks around the corner and comes and stands next to Jamie.

Mabon sighs at the sight of him. Then he waves his hands at us as if we are annoying flies. “Shoo, shoo, little humans. No lurking.”

Ollie scowls. “Like fuck I’m leaving.” He looks at Jamie. “You are going to get some rest.” He turns his fierce attention to me. “You are going to come back and take over from me at lunchtime.” Finally, he glares at Mabon. “And you are going to flounce off and stop trying to tell us what to do.”

With that, he sits himself down on the floor and crosses his arms over his chest.

Mabon glowers down at him with both hands on his hips. “Tristan is too soft on you, pet.”

Ollie rolls his eyes. “Whatever.”

Mabon huffs one last time before turning on his heels and striding away. It is not quite a flounce but only because the prince is clearly trying very hard not to.

Jamie smiles at my aghast expression. “Don’t worry, they like each other really. ”

They do? That doesn’t seem in the least bit likely. But then again, I thought Ollie hated Dyfri, yet here he is. Showing up and taking his turn at keeping vigil.

Ollie grumbles something, but doesn’t deny Jamie’s statement. So I guess it is true. Heaven help me. I will never get the hang of this place. Even the humans are confusing.

“Alright, I will see you guys later,” says Jamie. He flashes me another warm, but tired, smile, then heads off towards his rooms.

I give Ollie an awkward nod before scurrying away with Loki. Taking turns is an excellent idea. This way, there will always be someone outside Dyfri’s door. Even if he never lets anyone in, he knows we care enough to be there.

As I hurry down the hallways of Buckingham Palace, my thoughts turn to Selwyn. He had to dash off somewhere this morning as soon as we awoke. I wonder if he is done yet, and if not, what time will he be back in our rooms?

There is no doubt in my mind that he is working on plans to help Dyfri, and I need to convince my husband to allow me to help.

Loki stops suddenly and sniffs at a door. Her fluffy tail wags and she tries to open it with her nose.

“What are you doing, silly? We can’t go in there!”

Her tail wags faster.

Sighing, I walk up to her. I’m going to have to nudge her to get her attention. Just as I reach for her fluffy flank, the door flies open and I’m yanked inside. Loki runs in after me. The door slams shut behind us.

Monty stares down at me, with his hands still on my shoulders.

“Monty?” I say stupidly .

I look around the abandoned room, scattered haphazardly with furniture covered in white dustsheets. The window shutters are mostly closed, making it dim in here. It is a perfect hiding place.

“Is everything okay? I can’t get a hold of Dyfri, and he said he’d be in touch on the full moon.”

Oh. Monty really is here, and I’m not imagining things. I had forgotten all about the plan to potentially steal me away on the full moon. So very much has happened.

I stare up at my brother’s worried blue eyes, and my heart sinks. “I’m fine.” I reassure him. “Dyfri not so much.”

Heavens, to think a mere month ago the biggest thing on my mind was that my new husband was intimidating. Now I’d give anything for that to be my biggest problem.

Monty frowns. “What’s happened?”

“Mother mostly,” I sigh.

His eyes blaze. “What has she done to you?”

I shake my head. “Not to me, not directly. I promise you I’m fine.”

Loki barks at a sheet-covered settee, and a dark head peeks around it. Peering at the dire wolf uncertainly.

Loki makes a strange noise, as if she doesn’t know whether to growl or whine.

“Better grab your dog,” Monty says quickly. “Dogs tend not to like demons.”

Holy stars. I step forward to grab her, but she starts wagging her tail. The dark head stands up and reveals itself to be an extraordinarily beautiful human-looking young man. Any demon energy is well and truly shielded. Which makes sense since he has snuck into the fey court with my brother .

“This is Gray,” says Monty. “He brought me here through the shadows.”

“Nice to meet you,” I reply automatically.

Gray tilts his head at Loki, who wags her tail even more.

“She’s a dire wolf,” I explain. “So she might not be scared of you.”

The demon slowly offers Loki his hand. She sniffs it, and then licks it. Gray breaks out into a huge beaming smile. Then, the next thing I know, the two of them are tearing around the room in some kind of exuberant game of chase, as if Gray were a fellow puppy.

“Welcome to my life,” Monty says with a fond grin. “It is always chaos. Usually Gray. Often Lello. On days they are calm, someone else takes over.”

“Sounds delightful,” I chuckle.

“It is. I can’t wait for you to be a part of it.”

I look up at him in alarm.

“I’m here to take you home,” says my brother.

I swallow. Sweet goddess help me. I have to convince my brother that I’m safe here. Safe and happy, and that I want to stay.

I want to stay with Selwyn. My husband. My fey prince.

The man I am falling in love with.