Page 67

“No thanks are due me. I’ve done little enough to help you.”

That was certainly true. Fane shrugged. “I prefer to make my own way.”

“As is right for a man.”

Fane shifted his weight, impatient to get back to Marjani. The gods save him from fae etiquette. At this rate, he’d be here half the night before his grandfather got to the point.

“Look, Roald, what do you want?”

His grandfather’s dark brows lowered. “Your father should have schooled you in fae ways.”

Fane shrugged. Arne had come and gone as he pleased, leaving Fane’s raising to his mom. Fane hadn’t even known he was part fae until he was an adult.

“So I’m a primitive bastard who doesn’t know his arse from his elbow. You think I haven’t heard that a hundred times?”

Roald glowered at him. Then he sighed. “You remind me of your grandmother.”

“Saga?”

They both glanced at the painting above the fireplace.

Roald’s gaze turned inward. “She was a lot like you and your father. A cheerful, easygoing woman—but she had pluck. Push her too far, and she pushed right back. But even that was done so tactfully I barely noticed I hadn’t gotten my own way.”

Fane uncrossed his arms. “I wish I could’ve met her.”

“She would have loved you—her only grandson. I’m sorry she didn’t live long enough to see you born.” Roald’s strong throat worked. “I think of her…more and more, as I age. I wonder if I’ll see her when I pass to the other side.”

“I—”

“But that’s an old man talking.” Roald’s fierce eyes fastened on Fane again. “I hear you sired a daughter on a human. Is it true?”

Fane went rigid. Evie was his secret. Only Arne knew about her, and he’d agreed that Fane should hide her from the fae world. You never knew when someone would take it into his or her head to use Evie against him.

How in Hades had his grandfather heard? But now that he had, Fane had to tell the truth. He couldn’t lie, and evading the question would be as good as admitting it.

“Yes. I do.”

Roald sighed. “What is it with this family and humans? I suppose she has no Gift.”

Fane moved a shoulder. “She’s mostly human.”

It was an evasion. Evie might be only one-eighth fae, but she’d turned out to be a Gifted amplifier who could boost another fae or fada’s Gift.

It was a rare and very valuable talent, one the fae would prize as much as her mate’s clan did.

Evie was now training with Baltimore’s healers to amplify their healing Gifts.

“They tell me she mated with a fada.” Roald’s voice was heavy with disapproval.

“She did. A jaguar shifter.”

“A jaguar.” Roald pursed his lips. “What can you expect from a woman? The fada have a certain animal appeal.”

Fane stiffened. “She’s happy with her mate, and he treats her like a princess.”

Roald shook his head, but changed the subject. “I have good news. Your father will be arriving in a few hours. I’d like you both to join me later for dinner.”

Harsh words rose in Fane’s throat. It was too little, too late. But this was his grandfather—and he hadn’t seen his father in years. They never seemed to be at the court at the same time.

“I can’t,” he said. “Not tonight. I’m sorry.”

And damn it, he was sorry. He’d thought he was done trying to win Roald’s approval, but apparently he wasn’t. Still, a formal fae dinner lasted for hours. No way was he leaving Marjani alone for that long.

“The king’s business?” murmured Roald.

Fane stared back expressionlessly. An envoy didn’t speak of what he did for Sindre.

“Tomorrow evening then,” his grandfather said. “I’ll speak to Arne when he arrives.”

“I’ll look forward to it.” Tomorrow night Fane would be sneaking Marjani out of the castle, but he’d fit in the drink somehow. It would be the perfect cover if Sindre got suspicious.

“And thank you for the invitation,” he added. “Please tell Arne I’m sorry I can’t be there tonight. Now if you’ll excuse me—”

The other man inclined his copper head. “Until tomorrow.”

Fane turned to leave and then halted. “My lord?”

His grandfather had already turned to gaze at Saga’s portrait. “Mm?”

“I’d appreciate it if you didn’t mention my daughter to the king.”

Roald turned his head and their eyes met. “No,” he agreed. “It would be best if he didn’t know.”

“Thank you.” Fane nodded to the two elves, who were holding open the door for him.

Back in the hall, he expelled a breath. For six decades, his grandfather had pretty much ignored his existence. So what had changed? Unless he suddenly felt a belated duty to his deceased mate, who after all, had been one hundred percent human.

With a shrug, Fane set the puzzle aside. He had a bigger problem waiting in his room. One he needed to get back to before she took it into her head to come looking for him.

Returning to the great hall, he heaped a large plate with food—cheese, herb-encrusted roast chicken, salad, whole-grain rolls fresh from the ovens. He popped a silver cover over the whole thing, pocketed a couple of apples, and wended his way back through the bluish-white maze to his room.

Stars, he was sick of all the unending white and silver and blue. He yearned for green grass and lush trees and flowers that bloomed longer than a few short weeks.

Back in the room, Marjani was fully dressed down to her boots, but she was slumped in the easy chair, eyes half-closed. One hand cupped the quartz on her chest, a pretty conglomeration of amethyst crystals in a soft gray and purple. The center glowed weakly.

His breath snagged. She looked so exhausted, her beautiful oval face drawn.

The earth fada didn’t share the secrets of their quartz with anyone, but he knew it was a symbiotic relationship. A quartz didn’t come to “life” until chosen by an earth fada, and the earth fada in turn drew life energy from the quartz’s crystals.

But both Marjani and her quartz looked depleted. He grimaced, helpless and not liking it.

He eased the door shut as quietly as possible, but her eyes opened. She straightened, her gaze on the plate. He passed it over and set the apples on the table.

“Sorry I took so long. I ran into my grandfather.”

“Your grandfather?” She paused in the act of lifting her fork and frowned. “He’s at the court?”

“Yeah, but don’t worry. He won’t be stopping by. We’re not exactly friendly.”

He tried to keep the bitterness out of his tone, but the way Marjani tilted her head told him he hadn’t succeeded.

“No?”

“He’s a pureblood.”

“Ah,” she said, a world of understand in that single syllable. Everyone knew how purebloods were about tainting their bloodlines.

Fane dropped onto the wood chair and picked up his ale. But he didn’t take a drink, just turned the brown bottle in his hands, unsettled by the encounter with Roald.

Marjani began eating with a delicate greed that reminded him of a stray cat that had adopted his family when he was a kid in Newfoundland. A sleek gray female, the cat hadn’t been able to look awkward if it tried—just like Marjani.

She was halfway through when she gave a rueful grin and offered him the plate. “I’m starved—sorry. Would you like some?”

He helped himself to some bread and cheese and then handed back the plate, telling her to finish it. “You need it more than me.”

“Thanks. I’ve burned a lot of energy this past week.” She touched the quartz, and then flicked him a look and hurriedly dropped her hand as if afraid to draw his attention to it.

Irritation spiked through him. What did she think he was going to do, rip the goddamn quartz from her neck? Then he remembered that she’d been attacked. Maybe some man had ripped it from her neck.

He took a gulp of ale.

She ate more slowly now. Her tongue flicked a crumb from the corner of her mouth, and he was reminded again of the graceful gray cat. He half expected her to swipe a tongue over her palm and use it to wash her face.

And why the hell was that arousing? But it was. He pictured her strong dancer’s body under his while he licked and nipped at her lush rose lips. Or maybe straddling him, slim fingers wrapped around his cock as she closed those soft lips around the head…

She licked a dab of goat cheese off her finger and he shifted on the chair, so hard it hurt.

He dragged his gaze from her and finished his ale. When he spoke, his voice was hoarse. “Marjani.”

She paused in the act of lifting her bottle to her mouth. Whatever she saw on his face made her set it on the small table between them. A steel stiletto jumped into her hand.

At least that was an improvement on the iron switchblade. She could cut him with steel, but with his fae blood, he’d heal fast. Iron, on the other hand, could do some serious damage.

He blew out a breath. “Put that damn thing away. You have nothing to fear from me.”

“No?” She cast a pointed look at the tent in his jeans.

He lifted a shoulder. “I’m a man—and a fae. I like sex and I find you attractive. Doesn’t mean I’m going to act on it.”

She set the tip of the blade on her index finger. A flick of her hand, and the stiletto began spinning. She let it spin for a few seconds and then sent it flipping over the back of her hand. She caught it with her other hand and threaded it through her fingers in a dazzling display.

His mouth quirked. If she thought her little demonstration frightened him off, she was mistaken. But he was sorry if he’d made her uncomfortable.

“I get the point, love.” He leaned back in his chair, left foot hooked over his right thigh. “Literally. And if it helps, I already knew you were lethal.”

She slipped the stiletto back into her boot. “And you know this how?”

“It’s my business to know things. You’re Adric’s second—one of his top people. No one knows much about you, except that you were at his side as he fought his way to alpha. But I’ve heard those knives aren’t just for show. “

In fact, she was the Baltimore clan’s top assassin, but he was too canny to say it aloud. Let her guess how much he knew.

Her smile was full of teeth. “Just for the record, you might want me—but there’s no way in Hades you’re going to have me.”

“As you say.” He waved a negligent hand.

“Now, how about I tell you a story about a little girl who grew up at court? A beautiful and Gifted girl with more natural power than the court had seen in a generation. She would’ve been a court favorite except for one thing.

She was born of an ice fae father and a night fae mother. ”

“Go on.” Marjani drew up her legs and wrapped her arms around them, resting her chin on her knees.

He stared at a softly glowing fae light, formulating his words. He wasn’t telling the story to be clever. He was forbidden to speak of Lady Blaer directly to an outsider.

“Maybe she was born twisted, or maybe it was because she was shunned from a young age. I don’t know.

Her mother kept her for the first decade or so and then dumped her in Reykjavik and told her to make her way to the ice fae court.

The king took her in and kept her close—she was too powerful to do otherwise—but she spent most of her time in the east tower with only goblins for company. ”

“Holy mother. That’s inhuman.” Marjani shook her head against her knees. “And you people call us animals.”

“They’re not my people,” he growled. Once, he’d hoped… But not now—they’d made it clear he was an outsider, one of the lesser races. “And yes, they are inhuman. They’re fae.”

She blinked. “Gotcha. So who is this lady and why do I care?”

“I can’t tell you her name. But if you listen, you might learn something.”

“Can’t—or won’t?”

“Can’t.” He waited until understanding dawned on her face before continuing, “A couple of decades passed. In the human world, it was more like fifty turns of the sun. One winter solstice, the young lady broke out of the east tower and appeared at the court—and proceeded to become one of the king’s advisors. ”

“And?”

“She’s one of the most powerful fae in the court now.

The king is old and she amuses him. He lets her have her way, more than he should.

She’s so beautiful it hurts your eyes to look at her.

Men—including fada—fall at her feet. She binds them to her with sex, and then if they’re lucky, she sends them away… even if they don’t want to go.”

“And the unlucky ones?”

He gave her a stark look. “She keeps them.”

“In a cage.” Marjani tightened her grip on her legs.

“She’s half night fae. She feeds on their pain.”

“We go crazy if we’re caged. The animal has to be free.”

“I’m afraid the black wolf is already halfway there. It’s been weeks since I saw him as a man.”

She lifted her head from her knees. “But he sent my brother a message. That’s why I came.”

Fane straightened up. “The hell he did. When?”

“Last week—about ten days ago. He told Adric to meet him in Reykjavik. Dared him to meet him.”

“That’s impossible.” Fane’s heart started to pound in slow, hard strokes. “He’s not in any condition to send a message. Not without help.”