Prince by Blood and Bone: A Fantasy Romance of the Black Court (Tales of the Black Court) (28 page)

“We took a shortcut through the Black Forest that winds up here in the pines of the White Queen’s demesne.”

“A portal would have been quicker.”

“A portal would have alerted the queen. She has spies everywhere. She’s like a spider. One twitch on her web and she knows. ”

“But still, you could have hidden your passage.”

Logan’s eyes shifted away from Kian’s. An odd look crossed his face. “And, there’s something else.”

Kian wished he could hold a glass of whiskey in his claws. He needed one right now. Something bothered the huntsman, and it couldn’t be good.

“Trina’s pregnant, and the babe is mine,” Logan blurted out.

A rush of envy mixed with joy had him tongue-tied. “A babe,” he said. Children were few and far among the fae. Not all of them were ever blessed with off-spring but he’d never given it much consideration. Before now. He recovered quickly, grateful his shape hid his surprising surge of jealousy. “You are blessed, Logan. You’re uncles must be thrilled.”

“They’re pretty pumped.” Logan grinned. “The Fir Bolg will continue for another generation. I think they were beginning to think I’d be the last.”

“I’m not so thrilled.” Solanum glared. “Another whining charge to watch out for, and thousands more years of binding.”

Logan winked at Kian and slapped Solanum on the shoulder. “Sorry, old son,” he said. “The world will be safe from your evil for another generation.”

“Congratulations,” Kian said. “All babes are blessings. I’m sure the boy will be welcome.”

“It’s a girl.” Logan’s grin lit up at Kian’s surprise, but it faded fast. “So you see, no gates for Trina. I need to find somewhere safe for her and the babe. I would have left her at Oberon’s, but fuck-up here said he’d found another MacElvy and there was no stopping her.”

Solanum pretended to examine his nails.

Logan snorted. “I’m in. Finding more MacElvys will ease her soul and make my life easier. I’ll help you fulfill your vow to the girl.”

Kian glanced outside. “It’s nearly noon. We eat, then we ride.”

Bryanna hadn’t said she’d stay, he still had his mother to find and deal with, and he wasn’t close to cured but, seeing Logan toast to their journey with a glint in his eye gave Kian a boost he hadn’t felt in years. A trickle of something magical, possibly an inkling of hope ran inside him. He was out, he had Logan, and they had a plan. He grinned in anticipation.

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

Bryanna threw her losing cards down. “I can’t take it!” She rose from the table in the parlor where she and Trina had been playing cards for hours, and crossed to the window. “It’s going to be dark soon.” She gestured outside at the long afternoon shadows tracked across the snow. “I thought Logan was supposed to be some kind of hunter?”

She didn’t like the tall, dark man her older cousin had fallen in love with. He was fae and naturally she distrusted him, but it was the changes in Trina that set her hackles on edge.

“Hunting is his Gift and he is amazing at tracking, but they’ll be slower because Kian can’t ride.” Trina gathered up the scattered cards and shuffled. “Tracking isn’t instantaneous, it’s not a spell. It might take them a day or two to find Aunt Theresa and Cassie, and that’s if they’re even in this part of Underhill. If they’re not, they may have to open a portal and go somewhere else.” She paused in her shuffling. “Are you sure they’re here in the White Queen’s demesne?”

“No, I’m not sure.” Bryanna toyed with the curtains and brooded at the cold, empty clearing. “We should have scryed for them ourselves.”

“Logan can find them, Bree.”

Her spine stiffened. “Do you listen to him about everything now?” She turned and faced her cousin. “What happened to you? What happened to that determined girl who led us into so much trouble as kids and led us out of it as adults? Where’s the real Trina MacElvy?”

Trina glared back. “I learned the hard way not to mess with Underhill…and to trust Logan.” She slapped the deck on the table, stood up, and crossed to Bryanna, pulling her into a long, fierce hug. Bryanna resisted. She loved Trina, but this new person who defended the fae and even depended on one—this wasn’t Trina.

“Fae magic is different from ours, Bree. It’s wild and unpredictable.”

Hot pressure built up behind Bryanna’s eyes. “But this is Mom and Cassie,” she whispered, giving in to her misery and burrowing into Trina’s shoulder.

She still smelled like Trina, of green herbs and earth magic, but underneath lurked Logan’s fantastical, manly smell. Her cousin had been touched by his magic in ways Bryanna could only imagine. Would that happen if she stayed with Kian? Would she become something else? Someone else?

“I don’t understand, Trina. You’ve always put family first.”

“I know, but I’m thinking for all of us now. It’s not just us girls anymore.” She pulled back and took Bryanna’s hand, placing it on the slight curve of her belly. “I can’t afford to be a risk taker right now. It’s dangerous out there. You’ve no idea how dangerous.”

Bryanna swallowed her tears back and tried to keep her voice steady. Trina had always taken care of her, but now she needed to do something. She needed to take action for her mother and Cassie.

“But we’re not out there,” she said. “How about we don’t leave the lodge. We could scry for them right here. My Gift isn’t strong enough, but yours is. ” She swept her hand off of Trina’s stomach and encased the parlor’s four walls with a wave. “You’ll be able to see if the men have found them, and you’ll be able to check on Logan.”

And Kian. She didn’t want to admit it, but she was worried about him. Somewhere out there the queen and Agrona hunted him. Somewhere out in the cold, dangerous forest he put himself at risk for her family. And her.

Trina sighed and shook her head. “It’s too big a gamble.”

“I can’t take this Trina. It’s my fault they’re lost. I tried to hold onto them. I had them in my arms, and they were ripped away.” The tears for her family that she’d been holding at bay for weeks built up again and Bryanna’s vision blurred. “Mom and Cassie might be dead,” she whispered.

“No. I don’t believe that. You’d know. I’d know.” Trina wiped a tear from Bryanna’s cheek. “What about that locket?”

“What about it?”

“It works, doesn’t it? It shows you how to find them? That means they’re still alive. You need to trust Logan and the prince. They’ll find them.”

“Two selfish elven lords? How do you know they’re even looking?”

“Elvatian,” Trina said, her lips curving up in a gentle smile. “It’s elvatian, not elven, that’s actually an insult. And I know they’re looking because Logan wouldn’t lie to me.”

“They say they can’t lie, but they find ways to do it, don’t they?” The words were sour on her tongue, the tang growing stronger as she watched Trina’s eyes fill with faith.

“He loves me, Bree. He truly does.”

Envy stabbed deep into Bryanna’s heart. She wanted that. Wanted the utter conviction that Kian would do what was best for her and not for himself. But he hadn’t always shown that, and now that he was gone, she had doubts. He’d been sincere when he’d pledged his vow to help her, she just wasn’t sure he could keep that vow.

“One look,” Bryanna wheedled. “Just to be sure they’re looking in the right direction.”

“It’s not a good idea.”

“We’re safe here. Kian said the lodge is shielded, and I saw how protective Logan is about you. He wouldn’t have left you here if he’d thought it wasn’t safe. It’s getting dark, and there are wolves out there.” She looked outside and shivered. “And other things.” Large predatory cats, Troll-kin, Agrona. “Please?”

Trina stepped to the window and frowned. Her hand went to her belly. “Okay, but just one look. And if we can’t find them, I’m done and we wait for them to come back. Learning patience has been hard for me, but I can’t see how this can hurt. Fetch a bowl of water.”

Bryanna found a clean, silver bowl and a fresh pitcher of water the brownies had left in the dining room. It was time for some action. Soon, she’d have an answer for all the anxieties churning in her stomach. Answers about her mom and Cassie. And maybe some answers about Kian.

Trina cleared the cards off of the small table, centered it in the room, and placed four candles at the directional points. As they had since the first time they’d done a spell together, they walked sunwise around the circle, lighting the candles and entreating the four corners for protection.

Once the directions had been called, Trina asked for Danu’s protection. Deep green earth energy flowed into her aura. “You, too,” she said, unsheathing her athame. “You should connect with the Goddess, too.”

“I don’t…we’ve never done that before. You always take the lead.”

“Hey, I can see your aura. It’s a nice, healthy, cornflower color. You’ve been wielding some magic lately. Give a little pull and see what happens.” Trina raised her eyebrows and gave her a look. “And while I know Aunty T. was trying to protect her youngest the best way she could, by not letting you try a little more I think she didn’t let you get strong. Go ahead.”

“Bossy.” Bryanna stuck out her tongue and Trina laughed.

“That’s the spirit, now try.”

Bryanna opened her Gift and the energy rushed in. Small hairs on her arms and legs lifted, and inside her confidence rose too. She could do magic. And it wasn’t just Kian who thought so.

“See, more practice makes perfect, cuz. You set the circle.”

Bryanna pulled energy from the ground beneath the lodge’s stone floor and the stars that stretched unseen overhead, and set the boundaries for the spell. Trina blessed their space and tools, and Bryanna emptied the pitcher into the wide bowl.

The water stilled.

Trina’s magic was wide open, the browns and greens twining through her aura and pouring out into the spell.

“What do you see?” Bryanna craned her neck over the bowl, wishing she could see what her cousin saw, but this was Trina’s part of the spell.

“I see the men. They’re approaching a stone castle. There are creatures patrolling the tops of the walls.”

Cold touched Bryanna’s neck. “What kind of creatures?”

“Troll-kin. Part troll, part elvatian. We’ve been under the protection of King Oberon’s court and the full lords despise them, won’t let them in at all. They call them abominations.” She arched her brow. “Apparently the Black Court is less picky. I’ve heard that your Kian’s fiancée has some troll-kin blood as well.”

“She’s not his fiancée.” Bryanna knew she shouldn’t be defensive but heard it in her voice anyway. He wasn’t her Kian either. “She might be there. Do you see a woman? She’s like a troll-elf combo, heavy on the troll.”

“I’ll look.” Trina frowned, and the power pulsed. The surface of the water in the bowl shimmered.

“What was that?”

Trina’s aura wavered, and the spell wavered with it. “You see it?”

“I see something.”

In the water, a face with the sharp features of the fae and pale blue skin the color of a winter sky appeared. A slim hand rose from the surface of the water. Dripping, long fingers wrapped around Trina’s neck. She jerked and her aura quivered.

“Trina!” Bryanna screamed.

Cobalt blue veins spread from the point of contact, twining out over Trina’s skin. Between the lines she paled, until her skin was the same icy-blue as the hand choking her throat. Her breathing grew labored.

Bryanna pulled power from the earth and sky and threw it at the arm, but it slid off, hitting the skim of ice forming on the water’s surface, and dissolving back down to the floor. She looked around for help, but there was no one but her listening to Trina’s rasping gasps grow shorter and shorter.

There was no one else to come to the rescue. No one but her.

She fumbled for Trina’s dropped athame as the veins spread up her cousin’s face and down into the neck of her shirt. She raised the knife high. “I call on you, Danu. Aid us!” Focusing all the power she could muster into the blade, she stabbed the arm.

The point hit the smooth, pale skin and there was a sharp crack. The fingers tightened on Trina’s throat, the knuckles bulged out and Trina gasped. Bryanna held the knife steady, pushing it further into the gash and prayed harder.

Dark red blood oozed from the cut. “Help me, help me, help me,” was all she could say, and hope the Goddess heard.

The hand spasmed, the fingers clenching and unclenching as if reluctant to release their victim. For a moment she thought it wasn’t working, but the hand let go, retreating back to disappear under the surface of the bowl.

Bryanna panted, athame at the ready in case it tried again. The face in the bowl twisted, its mouth opened wide in a silent raging scream. And then it disappeared leaving a bruised handprint collared around her cousin’s neck.

Trina sucked in a ragged gasp, her wide eyes filled with pain. “Something’s wrong,” she said in a hoarse whisper. “Something’s wrong. I think it’s the baby.” She held out her hand and Bryanna clutched it.

“I’m sorry,” Bryanna said. “So sorry. I didn’t know this would happen.” She wanted to go to her cousin, but what if she relaxed and it came back? She sent more power into the athame, charging it with as much energy as it would hold.