Blood and Reign (Cassandra Myles Witch Series) (6 page)

“I can understand you not wa
nting to lose a privilege you’ve been given. Feel free to keep the title, but any power that goes along with it is suspended until I can figure out what was done and by whom. What Queen Oona did to you was horrid, but what was done in the name of that crime, the revenge she rained down on all light fae since your escape was an atrocity as well. I need time to figure out who did what to whom and the best way to move past it all.”

“That isn’t fair.”
I half expected her to stomp her feet.

“Nothing in this realm is fair. It
’s so far from fair that we would have to drive for days just to see fair.”

I knew they wouldn’t get the reference, but the look on her face was just too awesome. I got the feeling that the fae weren’t big on boldface honesty. “Do you have anything else to address?”

She turned her head from me and I took that for a no. “Lochlan, what can I do for you?”

“As you can imagine
, my people have suffered unspeakable things. Especially our queen…former queen. The things I witnessed Mab do to her and had her do.” He stopped and composed himself. “My people want revenge. They want those that have hurt us to pay.”

“I can understand that
, Lochlan, but if I let you gain revenge on every dark fae, then where will your race be? It will be a civil war and it might be the last thing your kind does. I am here to see you survive and maybe one day make this realm the beautiful place it used to be.”

“Then you will have to do something quick
. I don’t think it will take long for us to regain our strength and then it will happen whether you want it to or not.”

“I really hope that wasn’t a threat. I’m sick of threats.
Mab tortured Queen Oona. She was made to do and endure unspeakable things. However, she wasn’t an innocent in all this. What was done to her was an act of revenge.” I took a deep breath. This place was so fucked up. One was just as horrible as the other. Yseault was glaring at me and so was Lochlan. At least they could agree on one thing. They both hated me.

“
Mab wasn’t interested in justice; she was interested in satisfying her own sadistic whims. The light fae just happened to be an easy and obvious target. I think each side has suffered and if we try to quantify that suffering, we could be here forever. At some point, we need to start over. You are all free now and your world is coming back to life. You are all survivors and you all deserve a chance to rebuild and move on.”

“The
dark fae want Queen Oona’s head. You took Mab’s and now we want hers.”

“I’m not making that decision right now
; maybe I’ll never make it. Oona isn’t even in her right mind. I can’t see how killing her will help anyone.”

Yseault’s anger
pulsed around the room. I wasn’t going to make my first royal order a beheading. The faint glow of her skin became brighter. I didn’t know what that meant, but it couldn’t be good news. “Yseault, I’m still a little full from draining your queen of all her essence, but I could always make room. Whatever that little glowy thing you have going on there better stop.”

She look
ed startled at the threat and, for a second, she flashed brighter until her inner glow was snuffed out. She looked flat and a little scared. I didn’t know if I could pull off another drain, but I knew my face was telling everyone in the room I could.

“I’m going to set up a council, mad
e up of dark, light, and lesser fae. That is where we will decide what to do and how to proceed. Everyone will have a say.”

“You can’t be serious? I think that might be one topic Lochlan and I may agree on. The lesser fae are not advanced enough creatures to be part of ou
r government.”

Lochlan didn’t agree verbally, but his silence spoke volumes. “I have only Ruby as an example
, but she seems plenty evolved to me.”

“Well
, you are human; your standards would understandably be lower.”

I wasn’t going to respond to that. I really wanted to, but maybe I was getting a handle on this diplomacy thing.
Bringing the fae world together was going to be like walking up a wall: painful, senseless, and impossible.

“
This human wants you to choose two representatives from each fae. That will make six and the Goblin King will make seven. I reserve the right for the time being to veto anything that I don’t agree with. So please go back to your people and choose wisely. Whoever makes up the council will decide the future of your world. I want these candidates to be open to change and willing to compromise. If you choose someone who only wants revenge, then you will only end up choosing again.” From what I could see, there was no difference between the light and dark fae. They were both stubborn, irritating fools.

I wanted them out of my room. “Anything else?”

“Yes, when are the dead ones and the wolf going to leave?” Yseault was going to be the death of me. What were the chances that she wasn’t going to be on the council? Maybe that could be my first veto.

“They will leave when they like.”

“Having the wolf here is bad enough, but two vampires living here is an abomination. We are beings of life and magic, and they are the opposite of those things. One is the child of the man who sealed us in here. I want them gone.” Lochlan stood up and walked closer to me. I didn’t believe he would hurt me, but I also couldn’t let him get away with the challenge.

“Lochlan, I suggest you sit down. I won’t be threatened by you again. I could have King Kael here in a flash, but I also could lay my hands on you and drain you until
you were as weak as a baby. I’m trying to be sympathetic to your plight, but those two men mean a lot to me. They stay.” He sat down slowly and I decided this meeting was over.

“Pick your representatives
; you will hear from Ruby about where and when the first meeting will take place, but it will be sometime tomorrow morning.”

They got up and milled out. I turned to Ruby
once I had shut the door. “What is wrong with them?”

“They ha
ve known hate for so long they’re afraid to let it go, Your Majesty. People who hate and do atrocious things because of that hate don’t want to admit they had no cause to do what they did. I think they will hold onto it quite tightly.”

More good news. Lov
ely. “Can you come up with two people to put on my council?”

“We will discuss it and come up with the names. Most o
f the lesser fae have never held any kind of power in our own realm. I hope it doesn’t change us. It certainly hasn’t done a service to the others.” Worry lines marred her pretty face.

“If they are all like you
, then I’m not worried. I think the council will settle a few of the problems right away. One, it will give each side an equal say and two, they will have to work together to get things done.”

“I hope you’re right
, Your Majesty.”

Now that I felt I had done as much as I could for now, I felt an urgent need to see Dominick. I wanted to make sure that he and Killian were okay. Killian and Dominick were homeless. Dominick had no pack left and Killian couldn’t call Vancouver or Seattle home anymore if he wanted to live. I didn’t know if Quintus would go through with his threat or not, but Killian was welcome here as long as he wanted to stay.

Ruby
, the never-ending font of knowledge, had heard Dominick was running in the forest this morning. Brownies would make excellent tabloid reporters. I looked out one of the windows facing the Queen’s Garden. Dominick was a handsome man, but his wolf was exquisite. He lay curled up on the cobblestone path. His black and grey fur was a shimmering sea under the light of the sun. He looked to be in a sound sleep except for one ear slightly askew. He was ever vigilant and I couldn’t blame him. I made my way down to the garden.

Walking up the path
, I made as much noise as possible. Even if he looked alert, I didn’t want to take a chance and startle a sleeping wolf. His other ear pulled back and he sniffed the air. If a wolf could smile, I think he was. His giant tongue lolled out of his mouth and his tail began to wag. Stretching his whole body before making it up on all fours, he let out a tiny yip when he was done.

Cocking his head to the left, he watched me
as I walked past him and sat on a stone bench at the end of the path. He gave one final shake of his large body and sauntered over to me. Placing his giant head in my lap, he looked up at me with those soulful amber eyes. I had his undivided attention.

“
It’s good to see a friendly face, even if it’s a furry one.” My fingers burned as they sank into his hot fur and scratched his neck.

He stood up on his
haunches, placed his paws on my legs, and nuzzled his muzzle into my neck. A cold wet nose tickled me as he gave a soft whimper. “Okay, now, don’t get fresh.” I scratched his ears. He lifted his chin and I scratched his broad chest. The world I lived in was so strange and beautiful. I sometimes wished for a boring life, but I didn’t know if I could go back to normal. Scratching a werewolf’s tummy was just too much fun and I’m pretty sure that normal people don’t do those kind of things.

“
Dominick, I know I agreed to be queen to save our lives, but I intend to take my promise seriously. Things aren’t going to be easy, though. The fae are as a stubborn as mules. They’d rather fight than survive.”

His big head cocked to one side
, then the other, and he gave a quiet bark.

“
As cute as you are in this form, it would be easier to have a conversation if you could talk back.” He whined and threw back his head. He went out of focus and then his body shimmered and he hurt to look at. Then I had a very naked and very aroused man in between my legs.

“Your wish is my command.” He was looking me right in the eye. I h
ad to use all my will power not to let my eyes dip down below.

“I don’t suppose
you have clothes out here?” Talking to wolf Dominick was less awkward than naked Dominick.

“No, sorry. You could offer me your dress
, if you like. I could wrap it around myself.”

“No
, I don’t think that would make me feel more comfortable; it’s just that you seem to be enjoying yourself a little too much.” I cleared my throat.

“It’s very hard not to become aroused when a beautiful woman scratches your tummy
.” His lopsided smile made a brief appearance and then his face darkened.

“What’
s wrong?”

“I promis
ed Killian not to bother you, but I’m afraid for him, Cass. He isn’t getting any better.”

“Why? What’s wrong
, Dominick? What the hell are you talking about?” My heart sank. I knew what he was going to say. I just didn’t want it to be true.

“Quintus came to our room last night
, Cass. Killian could sense him coming and he was terrified. I begged him to run, but he said there was no point. He just stood there waiting for him, just staring at the door. The look on his face was so grim. The door flew open and Quintus strolled in, flanked by his flunkies, radiating anger. Everything in the room was shaking and his eyes were glowing so bright he was hard to look at. He ordered me out of the room, but I wouldn’t go. I knew I couldn’t overpower any of those vampires, but leaving Killian just didn’t seem right.” His voice was shaky; he was on the verge of tears.

I cupped his face and kissed his
forehead. “Sshhh, you’re doing the right thing. I need to know.” I had been a fool to let Quintus see Killian unescorted. I knew how mad he had been.

“
He had two of his dead goons hold me back. I think he really wanted me to watch. Killian shook his head back and forth, not making a sound as he watched Quintus approach. He was resigned to whatever horrible thing was coming his way. I struggled, but it was useless. I had to stand there and watch. It was … so terrible, Cass.”

“Watch what?”
My stomach was doing flip-flops. I had to know, but didn’t want to know all at the same time.

“
Quintus pulled a chair up in front of one of the beds and motioned for him to sit down. Killian seemed helpless to resist him. He walked slowly to the bed, sitting in front of Quintus. They locked eyes and didn’t move a muscle. It felt like hours, but I’m sure it was only seconds that they sat in silence, then an icy smile spread across his face and he asked Killian why he had betrayed him. Why, after all he had done, did he take the one thing in his life that he valued above everything else?”

“Killian refused to talk. I
t was clear it didn’t matter what he said anyway; Quintus had a plan and no answer he could give would change things. Quintus did all the talking. He went on and on about how much he had cared for Killian. How he had taken him under his wing and did his best to make sure he succeeded. He only asked for loyalty in return.

“
They are almost the same size, Cass, but it was like a giant threatening a child. His power was spitting all over the room and it was clear he was enjoying himself. Quintus took Killian’s hand in his. Stroking it as if to comfort him, he pressed his lips to the back of his hand, raised back up, and then crushed it. I heard the bones breaking and grinding together. He never stopped smiling. The whole time, Cass, he kept that sick look on his face.”