Blood and Reign (Cassandra Myles Witch Series) (19 page)

“I’m not lea
ving. I think you know that. I’m not just being stubborn. I’ve grown to love it here. The people and the beauty that is returning to this place. It’s a miracle happening right before our very eyes and I’m certainly not leaving Ruby.”

“I
had to ask. I should have known you were too stubborn to give up now.”

Lucius sat beside me. Pulling me onto his lap
, his lips found mine. We kissed each other. Deep and long. Lost in the pleasure, he lifted me up from the settee and we tripped and walked to our room, never parting. It was a need for connection, a need for pleasure, and a need for comfort. Urgency made quick work of our clothes. Naked, our bodies joined and, when he entered me, I closed my eyes and tears began to stream.

This was about a release of all emotions. We held each other after, not talking, just enjoying the feel of skin against skin. The comfort of not being alone in a world that could be so horrible that clinging to those you loved was
the only thing we had to save our sanity.

I was alone when I woke up. I panicked, thinking something had happened to him. “Lucius?”

Dominick walked in. “I’m sorry
, Cass, he is questioning the rest of the fae and he wanted you to get some sleep. He asked if I would protect you while he was gone.”

I rubbed my eyes. The few seconds of adrenaline was quickly leaving my bo
dy and I was still so sleepy. I needed to focus my mind. I needed to know what I missed while my loving boyfriend was letting me sleep. He should have woken me and I was going to tell him when I saw him. I motion for Dominick to come sit with me. He didn’t move from the door.

“I don’t bite
, Dominick.”

“I know
. I’m okay here.”

I didn’t want to push it. “Have you heard how Ruby is?”

“I came from there earlier. She’s still unconscious, but Eli says her heartbeat is stronger.”

“
Thank Goddess. I was so scared I was going to lose her, Dominick.”

“
I… I know, but she’s getting stronger and I’m sure she’s going to be fine.”

“How are you?”

“Fine.”

“I’m worried about you.”
He was being cold, like we were strangers.

“Don’t
, Cass. I’m not your problem. I can take care of myself.”

I choked back tears. “I know.
I…”

“Cass
, I’m not trying to hurt you. I just want to be clear that whatever I do or don’t do is my business alone. That’s the way it has to be. You aren’t responsible for me.”

His words were harsh, but he was hurting. “I don’t see you as a problem or a responsibility. I see you as a friend who’s in pain. I’ll stop asking you how you’re doing, but I can’t promise I’ll stop worrying.”

“Thank you. I’ll wait for you out in your sitting room. I had the kitchen send you up some food. Ruby always handled that and I didn’t think Lucius would think of food and, knowing you, you wouldn’t eat all day if I didn’t have something here when you woke up.”

Shoulders hunched and head low
ered, he walked from the room. He was one of the best men I’d ever known. He kind of reminded me of my dad. He wanted to make sure everyone was okay, but didn’t put any effort into worrying about himself.

I dressed quickly and mostly pretended to eat breakfast under Dominick’s watchful eye.
I was too anxious to get going and my stomach was upset at the thought of another day of not knowing who I could trust. I needed to meet with my council and talk to Lucius, but Ruby came first. I wanted to see for myself that she looked better.

Dominick walked me to the door and th
en left. Na’min had moved Ruby to his own bed. He sat beside her, holding her tiny hand in his. He looked exhausted.

“Cassandra, our friend is one tough lady. Eli is optimistic about her recovery and I know she is growing stronger.”
His lips struggled to smile.

I kissed his cheek and sat beside hi
m on the bed. “She didn’t deserve this. Ruby is one of the sweetest people I know. Have they found Oona yet?”

“Not a t
race. How is that even possible? There wasn’t even a blood trail.”

“I’ve given up on judging what is possible and what isn’t
.”

“I think that might be wise these days
, Cass.” He turned from her and hugged me. His energy was sluggish.

“I’m going to find Lucius
. Can you get me if anything changes with Ruby? I want to be here when she wakes up.”

“Of course.”
He pecked my cheek.

Lucius was waiting for me when I left the room. He was looking weary. “What happened?”

“Nothing, Cass. I talked with everyone and no one seems to know a thing. I have people searching this castle inch by inch and no one has seen Oona, alive or dead. I’m running out of ideas.”

“
Something will turn up sooner or later. It has to.”

“Cian knows something, but my gut tells me he isn’t behind this. He seems scared.”

“I want to know who did this to Ruby. I’m not messing around anymore. I’m ready to do whatever it takes.”

“Good, because I have no intention of losing you.”

“You won’t.”

“You don’t…”

“Yes, I do. I’m not letting whoever is doing this take one more person I care about. That includes yours truly. Now I need to meet with my council. I feel the need to let them know that humans can be psycho bitches too. I don’t suppose you know where they are?”

“Well
, I might have ordered them not to leave the room you guys meet in until I had a chance to question them again.”

“You did what?”

“They were pissing me off. They weren’t being cooperative.”

“Give you an inch you take a mile, honestly
, Lucius. They are my council; you had no right.”

“I don’t care
. I wanted them to stew for a little while.”

“I’m going to chalk this up to an error in judgment due to extreme emotional distress.
If you do something like this again, we will have a very heated, unpleasant discussion.”

I turned and glowered at Lucius. The yelling and screaming could be heard way down the hallway. They were turning on each other. I hoped that when I arrived, they didn’t turn all that venom on me. My gig as queen was going from a raging success to a crapfest in record time.

I entered to the room to find small groups of my councillors engaging in
full-blown screaming matches. All except poor little Taryn, who was zipping about the room like a bee on crack.

“SHUT
UP!” Yeah, I can be loud when I have to be.

The silence
rang in the air after all the noise that preceded it. It didn’t last long, though. When they realized I was the one who had yelled, they all converged on me, complaining about being kept confined.

“Just stop
. I can’t understand anyone if you all talk at once. Lord Eton, say your peace.”

“Your
Majesty, I don’t like being told what to do by your dead consort.”

“Calm down
. You’ve been in here for an hour at the most. Considering there is someone going around attacking the fae aristocracy, you’d think you’d want to cooperate.”

“How is Ruby
, Your Majesty?” Taryn stopped her bee routine and fluttered in front of me.

“She is stronger, but not out of the woods yet
, Taryn. I hope she wakes up soon and tells us what happened, but I can’t count on that. We need to find out who did this.”

“I would lik
e to offer you as many goblin guards as you need, Cassandra. My wife is worried sick about you. She wanted to come and guard you herself.”

“Thank you
, Trehern, and please thank Queen Maire for her concern. I’ll take you up on the guards. I don’t know who is doing this and I’m running out of people I trust. Especially now that I have to split them between me and Ruby.”

“Now let’s sit and talk about this.
We need to find out who is behind this and we also have to do damage control. I won’t let everything we’ve worked towards go to hell.”

Lady A
rwen cleared her throat. “I didn’t say anything to your consort, mainly because I don’t like him, but also because I don’t think what I have to say will help you any. I believe you are trying to help us and most of the light fae are happy with how things are running and are truly grateful for everything that you’ve done, but there are a few who think it’s an abomination to have you in our realm, let alone as our monarch.”

“Do they hate me enough to kill me, sabotage me?”

“I don’t know. I wish I did. These are rumors. They are things that come second hand. I didn’t take them seriously. No people are ever entirely happy with their ruler. People disliked Oona. I should have come to you sooner, but everything was going fine.”

“That doesn’
t help us fae. Some unknown people who may or may not hate Cassandra enough to kill her.”

“I don’t care
, dead one. It’s all I know.”

“Lochlan, it’s your cousin. Do you have any idea what might have happened?”

“No, but
maybe if Oona is dead, it’s for the best. I don’t think she was ever going to be normal again.”

No one sai
d anything for a while. She had suffered and maybe she deserved it, but maybe she deserved redemption too. She at least deserved a trial. A chance to defend herself.

I turned to Cian and he
shrank into his chair, avoiding my stare. He was pale and he looked like he might pass out.

“Cian
, please, if you know anything, you need to tell us so we can stop them from hurting anyone else. We can’t let all this progress we’ve made be undone.”

He ran his hand through his hair. His eyes narrowed. His mouth pursed. You could see him weighing his decision.
He shook his head. I wish I could hear what was going on in there. He was fighting with someone or maybe just himself.

“You don’t know what you’re asking.”
His voice caught in his throat.

“No
, I don’t. Tell us. We’ll understand.”

He screamed and stood straight up, his chair flying across the room. Cian fell on his knees, cl
utching his chest. I could see the pain in his eyes.

“No, I wasn’t going to tell. Stop it. I…”
He shrieked and fell on his side. We all watched, helpless. I bent down and put my hand on his shoulder, trying to get his attention. Fire burst from his back, sending me scurrying away. The fire spread quickly, as if he was made of straw. Engulfed in flames he rolled around on the floor, trying to put himself out. Everything moved in slow motion. His voice taken, but his mouth still moved.

Lochlan threw a tapestry over
him; a thin plume of smoke rose up from the thick cloth. A raspy breathing came from under the thick material. I couldn’t believe he was still alive. Using all my courage, I shuffled over to him and peeled back the cover.

“Cian, we’ll get Eli. You’ll be okay.”

He laughed, but it was wet and garbled. “I’m dying, My Queen. No fae lives after breaking a spell of silence.” His face was mainly untouched. I reached out and stroked his cheek. He squeezed his eyes shut and leaned into my hand. Tears ran over my fingers.

“You’ve been given the punishment
; tell me what you weren’t supposed to say.”

“
I didn’t want this. I was rooting for you to win.” He coughed and, for a moment, I thought he was gone. His eyes flew open and he smiled. “I broke my own rule: never endanger yourself to save another. You turned me from a villain to a fool.”

His body was black
; he couldn’t hang on much longer. He needed to tell me what he knew. Reaching out with a charred hand, he placed it on my knee. I leaned in. His lips moved, but only a low moan escaped. I willed him the strength to tell me what he needed to.

“She… she’s still the queen.”

He tried to say more, but his eyes fluttered and then shut for the last time, his bow lips relaxed into a smile. I hoped that meant he was at peace. His breathing slowed and then stopped. I stood up and when Lucius put his arms around me, I let them stay. I needed his strength right now. This was the last straw. I was going to find who was doing this and they were going to pay.

Cian was taken away and the rest of the council sat with their own thoughts. I looked from one to the other. They were all scared. So was I. Cian had been murdered, Ruby had been attacked, and who knows what happened to Oona. They all looked like they wanted to run, but now was the time for action.

“Can anyone expla
in what the spell of silence is?”

Lord Eton pulled himself from his thoughts and looked at me. “
The spell of silence prevents a fae from telling a secret. If the secret is told, then the person will die in the way they fear the most. He hadn’t even told us anything. He must have been about to.”