Page 29

You’re No Good

Delores

It’s possible Fitz has rubbed off on me so much that I’ve lost my mind entirely.

I have no idea what got into me when I shoved my way through the twins to face the queen of the gargoyles.

The only thing I can say is that every fiber of my being screamed that I had to meet her on her terms to keep my men safe.

For once, the human-ish part of my brain, my predatory rabbit, and the zinging blue magic inside of me were completely in agreement—which I couldn’t ignore.

So I did what they wanted, and surprisingly, now I’m sitting in a high-backed chair at the left hand of the female royal.

They made Renard sit on my other side, with Aubrey next to him.

Felix, followed by Fitz and then Chess, are across from us to the left of the king.

There’s a flurry of staff bringing out silver lidded trays and tureens and an absolute shit ton of what I suppose is regular food.

I know how Rennie and Aubrey gain their nutrition, though, and this is a very puzzling state of affairs.

As the table is filled, more gargoyles filter in, led by two younger looking clutch members that I suppose are some sort of valets.

It’s more stiff and formal than I expected from Rennie’s kind, but that, too, may be for show.

The Queen certainly behaved with both regalness and a shimmer of normality once I threw down my gauntlet.

“ Bienvenue, ma chère famille! ”? 1 The queen says as she rises from her seat at the head with a glass of wine in her hand. “Since we have guests, I will say our blessing in English this evening.”

My eyes dart to the men across from me. Lucille and Bruno certainly were not religious, and despite colorful curses, Renard hasn’t seemed such, either. I have no idea what to do right now and it’s a lot scarier than facing this woman down.

“May the wind carry our wings to victory, may our troubles be far behind. May the strength of our stone protect us, and the warmth of our nests call us home. May Aine receive our prayers, and her children be given their land.”

The rest of the table repeats the strange poem, and I turn to look at Renard.

He’s gobsmacked, completely silent as he stares at his mother.

I don’t know why he’s so shocked, but it’s definitely a big deal.

So I wait for the queen to be seated, hoping I can distract her from her son’s small breakdown.

She doesn’t sit, though. Instead, she claps again to get everyone’s attention.

“My kin, tonight’s feast is in honor of our guests, and therefore, the chef would like you to note that trays inlaid with rubies on the edge should only be consumed by gargoyles.

Anything else on the table will suit the palates of all shifters in the room. ”

Ah, there it is—her subtle way of nodding to the eating habits of their kind without spilling the beans.

Renard lets out a breath of relief at my side, and I give him a tiny grin. “You were worried, weren’t you?”

“A little bit, oui . I am not ready for that conversation just yet.”

My answer is cut off by the queen clearing her throat. I look back to see her holding a basket of fluffy looking rolls with a very suspicious grin. “Consoling my son, young leader?”

That’s the first time either of them have mentioned their relation to Rennie and he tenses again. I arch a brow as I take the basket, placing one on my butter plate, and shoot back, “Simply marveling that I’ve never been handed bread by a queen before.”

“Very smooth,” Felix mutters and I swear, the king he’s next to huffs in quiet laughter.

“Oh, darling, you needn’t dance around the obvious,” the queen says as I pass the basket along. “We will have a more private conversation once the meal has been cleared, but neither Mael nor I are fools. Your merry band is far more than a group of friends accompanying my errant child to our realm.”

What the hell am I supposed to say to that in mixed company?!

“Your Majesty,” Aubrey rumbles as he helps himself to things from the forbidden trays, then piles some on Rennie’s plate. “We do not seek to hide anything from you. It would be a massive breach of protocol between all our kinds, regardless of any status with those species.”

“Very diplomatic of you, Draconis,” the king says as he picks up something that looks like a gravy boat but is ringed with rubies.

The royal drizzles the sauce over his meat, then passes it to his wife nonchalantly.

“Dragons are always quite respectful of tradition, I find. They have a strong connection to the past that allows them to almost see into the future at times.”

“The world is full of repeating patterns; it’s true,” my biggest mate says carefully. “I am surprised you will share with someone from my clash, though.”

The queen sighs dramatically, then drops her fork. “Oh, I cannot stand this nonsense! Mael, the jig is up, my love. You win—I didn’t last the meal.”

“Ha! I knew it, Doireann,” the male gargoyle says, pointing at her as his expression turns giddy.

“I will have to think of something extremely appropriate for my prize.” When he turns to look at us, the king looks more joyful than he has the entire time we’ve been in this room.

“I bet her she could not hold this pretentious bullshit for a whole feast without breaking, and I won.”

“It helped that everyone here but for our guests was in on it, Mael.” The queen sighs again and gives us an apologetic look.

“I apologize for our silliness, Delores. We don’t get many visitors up here by design, and when our son wrote for the first time in hundreds of years, it inspired us to be a bit juvenile. ”

Wrinkling my nose, I marvel at their jolliness.

If they were normal parents who hadn’t exiled their only son for the infraction of teen love, I might join them in their frivolity.

But the icy letter from their scribe, the distance they purposefully created, and their happiness at tricking Rennie is downright cruel.

I’m uncertain if it’s deliberate cruelty or they're just fucking crazy, but no way am I letting this go.

“Perhaps you don’t get many visitors because your reputation for unnecessarily sadistic behavior has spread beyond these mountains.”

Mael stops laughing, tilting his head as he stares at me. “Excuse me? What sadistic behavior?”

“We are not like the rulers of your Council, young leader. I confess to being clueless about your accusation.” Doireann’s face falls and I hear a few soft snarls around me.

The guys know they’ve hurt Rennie, as well, and this will not end well if the damn rock heads don’t quit playing games.

“You exiled Renard for something ridiculous and have not spoken to him in a bazillion years!” They look at me, then the king nods once, and I throw up my hands.

“Instead of writing back, you delegated it and then set up an elaborate ruse of formality and lies when he came home. You haven’t even spoken to him directly to further service that stupid joke.

Do you not see how that could appear to be abusive and cold-hearted? ”

Doireann blinks, looking around the room for a moment before she yells, “Everyone but our guests, out!”

In a blink, the other gargoyles, staff included, book it out of the room as if they’re on fire.

The royals look at me and my men for a moment, then the king reaches up to pull an amulet out of his collar.

It’s bright red, but it glows as his fingers press it lightly.

A flash of light precludes a weird ‘pop’ in the air and then breathes a sigh of relief. “It’s done, my love.”

“What’s done?” I ask suspiciously. Mael and Doireann lean forward, their faces reflecting concern rather than anger. I feel Rennie’s confusion as he stares back at them and it makes me impatient. “Go on, tell us. I’m tiring of the fucking bullshit.”

Doireann smiles again, but this time, it’s not imperious, but genuine.

“Delores, there are so many things I wish we could have told Renard, and now you. We have precious little time a day to do so without fear of being heard, though. Mael can protect us for short bursts, but not at length like we could many years ago. I think you all know why that is, or you would not have come to us.”

Renard’s voice is raspy as he asks, “Is it because of the Treaty?”

“Yes, son,” Mael says. He looks sad and regretful rather than the happy prankster he was a moment ago.

“Everyone in the mythical and magical communities knew what was coming several years before the wars that ended in the Treaty. We started adapting our cultures to fit in better with the shifters, so we could survive them—something our powerful friends understood. They knew not all of us could survive if they lost and did their best to help cover up the truth.”

“Which is what, exactly?” Felix demands. His eyes are golden with frustration as he looks at our hosts.

“Mythicals are and have always been the product of shifters and magical beings inter-breeding.” Doireann shrugs, as if that’s not the biggest bomb in the room.

“Everyone knew that at one point, and they didn’t care.

It wasn’t a problem until a small group of wealthy shifters started loudly blaming every issue or problem on magic.

They claimed it was going to get us discovered by humans and we’d all be exterminated.

The movement picked up speed much more quickly than anyone expected. ”

“And we were at the peak of the hysteria when you came to us,” Mael whispers. “All four of us debated what we were going to do when we noticed you two were so obsessed with one another. We knew it could lead to our people being targeted.”

“How in the fuck was pretending to kill and bury her, then exiling me the best solution?” Renard spits his question angrily, sitting up straight for the first time since we were seated. “ Mon dieu, maman, papa. J’étais à peine un homme! ? 2 ”

Fitz snorts, his lips curling up. “Barely a man now, too, broody boy. You did better than they expected, I suspect.”

The queen nods, her eyes shining with unshed tears. “It’s true, you were so young. And we did not want to lose you at all, but Fionola’s parents were convinced that you were both too stubborn to listen. We didn’t want a real life Romeo & Juliet situation, so we… faked one.”

Aubrey slams his fist on the table, then stands with a snarl. “I must move or I will do something we will all regret.”

I nod at the dragon, putting my hand on Rennie’s leg to comfort him.

Looking at his parents, I shake my head.

“I wasn’t there and I have no idea what kind of threat the shifters were.

But I can’t imagine putting your child through the unimaginable grief of seeing his first love be killed for the sin of loving him, then casting him out on his own.

It’s as farcical as a soap opera, and what’s more… ”

“What’s more?” the queen says, her head tilted in confusion.

“What’s more is that you failed so completely to fix anything.

” I stand now, too, feeling the energy inside of me rising with my anger.

“Renard was crushed and mourned in a pit for centuries. You’re all trapped in a mountain fortress to stay safe from mythical hunters that I thought were funded by humans, but very likely are being paid by the Society to kill off all your species surreptitiously.

And most of all, whatever the Fae royals did to fake the damn funeral, they lost control of their girl.

She’s currently implementing a fucking long game to implode the entire world, starting with the heirs of the shifter elite.

Obviously, her goal is a war to free her people. ”

The king and queen stare at me in horror, and Felix buries his face in his hand.

Chess and Fitz are trying to hide their smirks, and Aubrey is muttering to himself as he stomps around behind us.

Only Rennie has the guts to look at me, and he chuckles softly.

“I guess we’re not holding our trump cards anymore, ma petite ? ”

We were due to spill the fucking beans at some point, and I could have done a much worse place than the gargoyles’ goddamn banquet hall, I suppose.