Page 20
Zoey
“The guard on your door is only there to protect you,”
Devilshea says as he glances to his left where the bulky sidhe soldier stands. One of them. There have been several watching over us. “You are free to go anywhere you like in the palace.”
“Anywhere?”
I ask in my softest, “oh, hey I’m happy to be here with the dude who kidnapped me”
voice. It’s sad that I have one of those. Sadder that I’ve used it way more than once or twice.
He frowns. “Anywhere safe. There are obviously parts of the palace that might disturb your tender sensibilities, but know I will always protect you from our enemies. The rest of the palace is yours, though not tonight, my love. Tonight there is too much going on. There are still rebels on the grounds. I want you to know that my soldiers tracked your son and his mate to the temple where they are currently hiding. I cannot enter. We will find a way to send word that they will be safe if they do not come back. My gift to you.”
Ladies, when a man’s gift to you is not murdering your son, you need a new man. However, when you’re trapped in his palace and he’s been known to burn people he doesn’t like alive, it’s best to give him your most vacant smile and thank his evil ass, which I do now. “Your kindness goes a long way with me, Your Majesty. As did that lovely meal and your company. It’s been a long time since I felt so…welcome.”
Welcome to steal. Welcome to turn all your servants against you. Welcome to decimate your whole life and not feel a moment’s regret.
He reaches for my hand, taking it between both of his. He looks so like my Devinshea, but there’s an intensity to his gaze that speaks of some form of madness. I have to be careful with him. “I’m glad. You relaxed once the wizard was gone. I am sorry for your discomfort. He did not explain the animosity between you. He merely told me he knew you.”
I consider telling him all about the times Myrddin has tried to murder me and my family. Just weeks before he sent assassins and killed Lee and then locked me in a room with him thinking Lee would turn and drain me dry. Thankfully, Lee was truly his dad’s son or he would have. But I think a little lie here might help my cause. There’s a reason that might suit me better, even if it’s not true. “He does not like me. I sometimes worry I caused all of this trouble.”
I still remember how to make my bottom lip tremble. Gotta sell the drama.
“How?”
He brings my hand to his lips and kisses my palm with a reverence I know I can use. “How would someone so sweet cause trouble? You were simply caught in a war not of your own making.”
Who the hell was I in this time? I surely wasn’t myself since no one even once asked me that question. I was probably careful, played my role with as much perfection as I could. I silently thank the Zandra who had lived in this time for setting me up so perfectly. If there is one thing I know a man like this can’t stand, it’s jealousy. “You don’t know everything. When Myrddin and I first met, he offered to take me away with him. I refused. I was married and pregnant at the time. Beyond that, I didn’t trust or want him in any way. I loved my Dev. I think my refusal might have hurt my whole plane. He has hated me ever since. I worry this is all some form of revenge for him.”
And I see it. The burn of possessiveness. The anger that some other man might touch what he thinks belongs to him. My Devinshea would laugh and tell me to kick his balls in, but this one lost me once and will not have it happen again. “He wanted you?”
I don’t wince as his hand tightens around mine. “I did not want him. I only wanted my husbands.”
A bit of satisfaction creeps in, and he brings my hand to his chest. “You wanted Devinshea and Deinny. You know he was nothing but a servant here. He worked for your father. He was your friend but you never wanted him. Only me.”
“He was my childhood friend, too,”
I explain. “Life is different where I come from. We went off to college together, and it was easy to be with him. Until I met you. By then it made sense for the three of us to be together. Danny was so powerful.”
“I suspect that might have happened here, too, had I not shown up at your father’s tavern when I did,”
he murmurs. “But your love story was always with me. Fiery and passionate. Only with me.”
Oh, Danny and I have a shit ton of fire between us, but I’m playing to his narcissistic side. “It’s true. My Danny is a vampire, and that was exciting for a while. You know what a companion is? I believe on the Vampire plane they call them consorts.”
He nods. “That explains much. He used you for your blood. You loved your Devinshea, but he was weak. And now you do not have to worry. You will be my queen, and once I give the wizard my end of the bargain, we will be done with him. He will not darken our doorstep again. I will make sure of it.”
“Does your end of the bargain include closing us off from the celestial planes?”
I realize I made a mistake when his eyes grow sharp and he drops my hand. He turns slightly, and I realize my other mistake.
When his coat rumples a bit with his turn, I see it. The amulet. The one I intended to ask Miria for. The one Danny went searching for tonight. He won’t have found it. The king is wearing it as a pin on the tunic he has on under his coat.
It’s right there.
The amulet is there and I can take it. I simply have to get close to him.
He steps away. “That is nothing for you to worry about. I know it sounds like a frightening thing, but I suspect you don’t understand how much influence the celestial planes have on us.”
He seems to shake something off. “I don’t even understand all of it. I only know I made a deal with the wizard, and I have to see it through. You understand about the Fae and breaking our word?”
Yeah, that can go poorly when it comes to royals. Don’t get me wrong. The Fae can lie all day long, but when they swear themselves, they must follow through or face the wrath of certain powerful gods. It makes me wonder if I can figure out a way to call Herne the Hunter down on him. If Herne comes, he will know me. Perhaps he can get us out of here.
Or he will do his job, shoot us all the finger, and head back wherever he wants to be. Honestly, he’s kind of a dick.
I nod and think about how to get my hands on the king. It would be easy to offer him intimacy, but it’s too early for that. All those words Myrddin put in his head are still floating around in there. I have to prove I’m not exactly what Myrddin claims me to be.
Then there’s the risk that if I kiss him, he might not leave.
I know I should be stronger, but I step back. I don’t want to go through this again. I survived it once. I don’t know how I would do it again even if his face is my husband’s. “I do understand, Your Majesty. And you are right. I don’t know much about the planes. I have spent my time taking care of my husbands and our children, being the queen. I don’t know much more beyond that life.”
“And I will give it all back to you. When we are wed, my magic will flow again. You will see. The temple will open, and I will be a proper Green Man once more,”
he vows. “It all went wrong when I lost you. Now that you are here, things will be right again and you will have your life back as well. I will not fail you the way…well, the way I did in your time.”
Oh, he failed on so many levels. There’s an odd air of anticipation, and I realize if I don’t retire soon, he’s going to try to kiss me. I want to put that off as long as I can. “I appreciate it, Your Majesty, and I thank you for your consideration in giving me my own room. It has been a long day.”
His expression softens. “I remember. You don’t fall easily. I will be patient with you as long as you give me the chance to be. The palace is warded. You will be safe here. Stay in your room tonight. Tomorrow I will show you all I can offer. There’s a mirror in the bathing room if you require me.”
I raise a brow. “The bathing room?”
He merely smiles and turns and walks away, closing the door behind him. Well, I definitely won’t be bathing.
I take my first long breath in hours, shoving my fist in my mouth so I don’t scream.
I back up, not caring to look around the room he’s caged me in. I’m certain it’s beautiful and delicate and potentially deadly. All I can think about is my heart pounding as I let the horror of the night flow over me.
We’re here again. Goddess, how are we here again? I fall to my knees, praying there’s no surveillance on the room, but I can’t…I can’t hold it back….
Then arms are around me, and I feel a body moving behind mine.
“It’s okay. It’s going to be okay, Z.”
Before I can start to fight I know it’s Danny behind me, and I turn so I can get my arms around him. I love him. I love him so much. So much more than when we were dumb kids and everything was dramatic and overwrought. I joke about wanting adventure again, but I loved our life before we fell into that stupid painting. Quiet days with our children. Dumb arguments with the Council about petty things like who sits where. Dinners when we were all together and we would tell Lee he had to eat broccoli and pretend not to notice when he shoved it in the pocket of his pants.
I thought I loved him when we were young, thought he couldn’t possibly have more of a chokehold on my heart, but he does. I clutch him, my arms trying to trap and keep him with me. I lost him once.
Are we going to lose Dev?
“Baby, it’s okay. Rhys is okay. Dev is alive. He’s alive and he’s going to stay that way.”
His voice is a hoarse whisper against my ear, and I can feel his emotion. “Are you… Baby, did he…”
I shake my head, knowing he feels our position as keenly as I do. And then I realize how dangerous this is. I pull back. He always does this to me. “You have to go. How did you get here in the first place?”
He strokes a big hand over my hair, deep blue eyes taking me in. “Bibi knew where he would put you, and the servants all hate him. They’re oathed to him by a spell so they can’t harm him or say a word, but they can show a guest how to get through the many hidden hallways and servant entrances and exits. I’ve been in the closet for the last half hour and don’t worry. I have several charms and talismans that Evan gave us. Including the one that will make me invisible to security wards. I can’t get through them without help, but they can’t see me so they can’t sound an alarm.”
Evan is excellent with Fae magic, and she made sure we had all her tricks before she took off for the Hell plane. She told us she wanted us to have them even though we thought we were going into friendly territory. She looked at me with grave eyes and reminded me there’s no such thing. My sweet girl. “He said he knew she was on the Hell plane.”
“Myrddin?”
Danny asks.
I nod.
“Well, that was inevitable. It’s the first time Lady Sloane has visited her manor. I’m sure all the gossip rags are covering it. Don’t worry. She can handle herself, and Kelsey and Fen will watch her like a hawk. Or a couple of really overly protective wolves. Lee won’t allow anything to happen to his sister. Did you see him?”
Normally the idea of Hell plane media would amuse me greatly, but I can’t stop thinking about what’s happening to Dev. “Lee? Yes. There’s a version of him here, and he really hates his father. I saw Neil, too, and I’m a little worried he’s attracted to himself.”
I wish I hadn’t been hauled out so quickly. I don’t know what happened to them. To any of them.
Danny snorts and hauls me back into his arms. “Our Neil is out there. He sent Brendan and Cassie with Rhys, but he’s with us. He found me in the stables where the trolls decided to stash me until they could get me here. Sasha wasn’t far behind. They’re being led into the palace as we speak. They’re going to hide in the servants’ quarters. We owe those trolls or I would have to have fought my way out, and Myrddin armed the guards with silver.”
I hate that man. “You really don’t think you could cut through his guards?”
I’m used to Danny being Superman, completely invincible.
“I don’t know if you felt it but Myrddin did something when he walked into the palace. Some kind of ward he activated when he knew we were here. It was always a trap. I can’t fly. I feel weak. Even getting my fangs to pop out is a challenge,”
Danny admits. “It’s dampening my senses, too. I need to find that ward or figure out how far from the palace it holds and then I can take them all out, and no amount of silver is going to stop me.”
“He either put it in a central location or he’s got more than one.”
Sarah taught me a lot about wards. If it’s covering the palace grounds, it’s incredibly powerful or he’s got more than one. “I’ll keep my eyes open, but you need to run if they come after you. He can’t cover the whole sithein.”
“I’ll talk to the servants and ask if there’s anything new they’ve seen,”
Danny offers. “You be careful. I’ll try to get Bibi assigned to you.”
“Devilshea should have gotten rid of all the non-sidhe, apparently.”
The words hold no small amount of bitterness.
Danny snorts and then sobers. “You can’t call him that, baby.”
I sniffle, keeping my voice low. “I know. He’s wearing the amulet. I have to get close.”
“Or once I take down the wards, I can get close, pull off his head, and steal the amulet,”
Danny offers. “Or we can wait until Myrddin flashes out. I would bet anything the wards require his presence. It’s a hefty magic that can keep a vampire king’s powers on the fritz. Summer did it but she was with me the whole time. I didn’t fight it. I’m fighting the hell out of this. Surely he needs to get back to the Coven House soon.”
“I’m not so sure about that. He needs something from the king. It’s the only reason he hasn’t outed the fact that I’m pregnant.”
I quickly run down everything Myrddin said to me, including his plans to take over Hell. I don’t think he’s leaving unless there’s an emergency.
“I mean, I could have a conversation with Lucifer, but who knows if he’ll believe me,”
Danny says, shaking his head. “I know he’s been using Gray as a focal point, so it’s hard for me to believe he hasn’t contemplated the possibility.”
Lucifer Morningstar is a tricky character, from what I hear. I’ve only ever dealt with the broody, disgruntled version. The old man who wants everyone off his lawn and can’t stand the sound of children’s laughter, but I’ve been told there are other aspects. It makes me wonder which one my Lee and Evan will potentially deal with. Hopefully none of them. “Myrddin said something about Gray. Something about him protecting Shy. He was angry.”
A brow rises over my vampire’s eyes as he stares at me, his fingers entwining with mine.
“I’m unaware of the dark prophet’s movements beyond what he did to save our children. If Gray saved Shy from her parents’ fate, then I have to believe he did so for a reason. He killed the most powerful psychic families in our world, and many of the individuals. I know he would have taken Shy out even though she was a child at the time. Gray could have easily influenced the situation to get her out of the house for the night. Since she was a kid, Myrddin might have missed her. We’re sure this is our Myrddin we’re dealing with? I’ve spent hours talking to the trolls and gnomes and brownies the king didn’t spell to silence. There aren’t many, but they’ve figured a couple of ways around the spells. Some of the house servants find they can draw or write things they see in a rudimentary form. The ones who can talk like Bibi have gotten good at translating. They told me Myrddin has been visiting the palace since late summer, so almost half a year.”
I have no doubt. “It’s absolutely our awful wizard. According to him, he’s a unique being. All of the powerful gods are. It makes sense because he’s immortal.”
“Vampires are immortal, but according to our new friends, I had a doppelganger here. Your closest friend. The king had me burned at the stake for burying you,”
Daniel points out with a frown.
I thought about this. “You’re long lived. You’re not immortal. Not really, and definitely not you. You go when I go, buddy. The same with the Fae. Long lived but can be killed. I know Myrddin can be, but I suspect his energy would go into something else. A bit like Bris. Or he’s simply a very special boy and I will thank the goddess there’s only one of him. But he knows far too much about us to not be our version of the man. I believe him about Bris and Ostara. He said Summer is one of them.”
“So she’s safe.”
Danny breathes a sigh of relief for our eldest child. She’s in the Summerlands, powering the outer planes with her unique magic. I saw what happened when the outer planes were cut off from the magic as the last queen passed. Before Summer had taken her place, the planes had threatened to mesh together.
Is that what will happen to Earth and Hell without celestial power to keep us separate?
“According to him, but he lies.”
I feel a dullness pour over me. How long will my children be hunted down? He wants this one gone and she isn’t even out of the womb yet. I have to focus. “Do you know how long the king has been in power?”
“Over ten years.”
Daniel seems to have gotten some history lessons. “But he goes off plane often, from what I understand. He’s spent a lot of his time looking for another version of you. They like it when he’s not here. But lately the rebellion has found someone to rally around.”
I already know this part. “Lee. He’s come of age and he’s raising hell. I met him earlier. I hope he’s okay.”
“According to Sasha and the pixies, he’s holed up in the temple with Rhys and the rest of the group.”
Danny lets a small smile light his face. “It was kind of cool to talk to the pixies. They avoid me at home, but these are spy pixies. No fear. One of them was riding Sasha’s shoulder, leading him to where I was. He’s with Neil. We decided it was too dangerous to move all of us. I’m worried Sasha’s going to try to get into the dungeons before we’re ready.”
My heart aches for Sasha. I know his story well. Months ago he told us he felt his wife. “I thought Ostara was talking about you when she said vampire. Is Sasha okay? If he moves too quickly…”
“I talked to him. Ostara will keep her host alive, as will Bris,”
Danny says with certainty. “Sasha is going to try to get to a place where he can watch over them. Bibi says there is a way. But the dungeons are guarded, and I worry if we burst through they’ll murder Dev out of spite. I don’t know the layout. I need more intel and Sasha and Neil are going to get it for us. Bibi doesn’t know a lot about the spell they intend to use to peel Bris off. They’ve never worked it before, but she thinks they’re going to soften him up tonight so it will be easier tomorrow. I suspect they will use Ostara as a guinea pig. I’m not sure what they expect will happen. At least one like Bris cannot be tied to this place. I don’t think they can trap him.”
“But they can trap Dev?”
I know the answer. Dev’s soul is mortal. It will linger until it’s ready to leave. It can move but not right away. If he dies, he could suffer the fate of the rest of the dead in this palace.
He puts a hand under my chin and forces me to look him in the eyes. “I love Dev, but it’s Bris Myrddin wants. It’s Ostara. Those ancient souls could serve as real fuel. You know what he’s trying to do, right?”
I nod. He told me as much. “He’s going to use that power to close the door since the plot with Gladys didn’t work.”
I use Kelsey’s name for the Sword of Light. It fits her better anyway. “I can’t stand the thought of Devinshea being tortured.”
“Well, he’s not tonight.”
Danny sits back against the big bed that dominates the room, drawing me close. “We’re causing some trouble. Myrddin really wants to catch me so the servants are helpfully giving reports on where they’ve seen me and the damage I’m doing. According to the grapevine, there are only three guards on the dungeon, and they are simply there to keep me out.”
I raise a brow, silently asking the question.
“And again, I don’t know what wards I’ll be up against,”
he says with a sigh. “And you have to get that amulet. I know we wanted to ask the ancestors about how to find Sarah, but now we have another question.”
How to return safely to our own time.
“Why don’t they fight back?”
It’s what I don’t get. “There are more of them than there are of the king’s guard. I understand that he’s powerful, but I would fight.”
“Would you?”
Daniel sighs, and I lay my head back against his chest. His hands go around me, one on the gentle curve of my belly where our tiny abomination sleeps. “From what I understand it wasn’t like Miria and Declan were great. They caused their own damage. The lesser Fae thought they could wait it out. If they were quiet and polite. When the king took out the scarier creatures, they thought he wouldn’t come for them. Ogres can be violent. Large trolls can be dangerous. Not them. They’re helpful. Why would he burn gnomes and brownies?”
“Because he’s a fucking monster.”
Tears are right there again. I know my Dev. It’s awful to realize what he could have been. What any of us can be with the right pressure put on us.
“All I’m saying is that fear can lead to dangerous hope. The hope that things will work out even if you don’t put yourself on the line and fight. It’s all fear in the end, but at least the palace lesser Fae seem ready to do what they can. Sometimes what a rebellion needs is a sign,”
Danny says. “If we can break Dev and Ostara free, it might be what they need. I promise, I’m not leaving Dev in there one second more than I have to, but he would also want you to be safe. I already tried to get into the king’s rooms. Myrddin’s been there. He warded the place against pretty much everyone, and they locked up the servants’ entrance after a couple of attempts on the king’s life, so I can’t get to him.”
“But I can tomorrow,”
I say with a sigh.
“I have the utmost faith that you can and will,”
he replies. “And by then Rhys and Shy will have moved to the rebel village, and we can find a way to join them. I promise you, we will get out of this. We will get home, and we will take Myrddin down.”
I sit against him for a moment, simply breathing in his strength. He’s the center of my world, he and Devinshea. I don’t know…can’t begin to comprehend what I would do without either of them.
“Myrddin said if I don’t play my part he’ll tell the king about our baby.”
Daniel whistles softly. “He really needs whatever the king has. Once he has it in hand, he’s going to kill the king, and then he’ll go after you. He’ll try to take you into custody because he knows I’ll turn myself in.”
I shake my head. “No, he’ll kill me because he’s afraid of Harriet.”
I told my husbands what happened at the Council House before I blew it up, but I don’t think it sank in yet. “He believes she’s an abomination with the potential to kill the world or something.”
Daniel is quiet for a moment.
“What do you know that I don’t?”
He sighs behind me. “When we got back I talked to the academics about what happened off plane. I explained how you got pregnant.”
I’m not sure I want to know what they said. “You talked to Henri?”
“And Hugo. It is not unsurprising that sometimes a latent vampire knows a companion during their human lives. They are often attracted to each other. It’s not unheard of for those pairings to produce children.”
I like where the words are heading. It’s the way he’s saying it. There’s that hedging tone to his voice. The one that tells me there’s a but in here somewhere. “And what are the children like?”
“Mostly normal. The few female vampires we have are all from latent-companion pairings.”
I try not to wince. Something about vampire genetics makes the overwhelming majority of vampires male. From what I understand there are only two female vampires walking the night today. I’ve only met one of them and she was…odd, to say the least. But I can handle it. “I survived Lee’s childhood.”
He’s silent for a moment and I prompt him. “What else did they tell you?”
I’m proud of myself for not asking the question I want to ask. Why haven’t you talked to me about this before now? Why wasn’t I in on that conference of yours? That’s another fight for another time.
“I’m a vampire king. You’re the equivalent when it comes to companions. I believe they are worried that we take more after our ancestors than the others. That our DNA is closer and stronger to what it used to be than a normal latent and companion.”
I know this one. “The Amazons? That’s who the companions were. Obviously she’ll have Amazon DNA.”
His head shakes. “No, baby. That’s what they called themselves years and years after the fall. I’m talking about who they were before they fell.”
“Angels.”
“Yes, the Amazons evolved from a group of fallen angels who did not turn demonic. They were warriors who took on the role of protecting humans and eventually became companions. But your ancestry is angelic. And mine is demonic. I’m considered an Earthly demon king who married an angelic queen.”
He seems to be trying to lead me somewhere. But I do not understand the road map he’s handed me. “And?”
He growls a little, and though I cannot see him I feel his eyeroll. “Harry didn’t teach you the crap he taught me. You know you were lucky you got to spend all your time in high school playing around with the yearbook staff.”
“Daniel.”
“Nephilim, Zoey. Myrddin thinks Harriet is a Nephilim, and if she is, we will have trouble from both Heaven and Hell. If she is, we might wish we let Myrddin close that gate because I fear they will come for her.”
Table of Contents
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- Page 20 (Reading here)
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