rogue shifter 07 - cut off (28 page)

Caelen responded to his sister with a wry smile. "Fionna. Your treatment of Garrett has broken the agreement made between us almost thirteen hundred years ago. You have also broken the promise you recorded in the note you sent to Cascade after Garrett's illegal kidnapping. If you release him immediately, I will not take action against you."

A few of the spectators gasped. The queen's consort jumped up and stepped forward. "How dare you speak with such disrespect? Kneel before your queen." The courtiers had not yet risen from their kneeling position, apparently waiting for some sign from the queen. Tillion stood behind her and to her right, the same position I took when I was working for Isaiah during a meeting. It seemed like he was more her guy Friday than her partner.

Caelen's eyes flashed gold. "Who are
you
, Tillion, to speak so to
me
? I am your queen's brother, your former king." He'd used his most patronizing tone. And believe me when I say, Caelen has patronizing down to a science.

"This is my latest consort." Fionna gave a bored flick of her hand in his direction. If your only duty was to please the queen, it kinda made you expendable if you weren't that good at it.

Tillion was determined to be an even bigger asshole, because he strode down the three steps and stood in front of Aedus, who towered over him. "I said to bow before your queen."

Aedus smiled a dangerous smile. Every warrior had one. His was particularly creepy. "I come before the queen, my aunt Fionna, as an official representative of the Cascade Sidhe. I show her no disrespect." Aedus took the consort by the neck of his tunic and raised him up so that he was barely on his tiptoes. "I do not, however, take orders from males of no consequence."

The idiot must have tried a magical attack, because Aedus and Caelen both laughed, while Tillion turned purple with effort. Finally, in an even more insane move, he drew his dagger on Aedus. "Put me down, or I shall end you," he sputtered, squirming to get away.

This time Aedus' smile made the hair stand up on my arms. A moment later, the consort was splayed on the stairs, whimpering, the flesh of the hand that had held his dagger, charred and smelling rather disgusting.

Aedus nodded toward Fionna. "Forgive me, Your Highness, for damaging your property. He threatened me and I reacted as I've been trained to do."

Fionna groaned in agitation, then motioned toward one of the ten guards standing behind her. "Get this idiot out of here. Throw him in with number four."

"No, Fionna. You cannot!" Tillion was wailing in terror. Being sent to number four must be worse than it sounded.

"You have not pleased me for weeks. I do not know why I have kept you." A guard stepped up and took the poor guy away. Man, it sucked to be
her
boyfriend. I couldn't imagine that she had many males lined up for the job.

Caelen cleared his throat. "These power games are not necessary. Where is Garrett?"

"Patience." She strode forward. "Charles." She looked Brina over, not seeming to notice the disguise. "I am pleased to see that you resemble your true father."

Brina smiled and knelt, playing along with Fionna's megalomaniacal bent. "Your Highness, it is a pleasure to meet you at last. I trust that my foster father, Garrett, is well?"

Brina looked and sounded so much like my son that I couldn't stop myself from constantly glancing in her direction. Her choice of words weren't really "American teen" but Fionna wouldn't know that. I forced my face into neutral and searched the room once more for either Kennet or Garrett. No luck.

Fionna reached for Brina's hand, but Brina stood and took a step back. "Your Highness, although he is not my true father, I am fond of Garrett. May I greet him before we are separated?"

The queen scowled and gestured toward a large fae near the door behind her.

The sound of chains should have alerted me to the shape of my mate. He was covered in blood, shirtless, much of his skin flayed away from a recent beating. Two large fae guards dragged him in then threw him to the floor. Kennet followed behind, then moved to Fionna's left, his gaze raking over my body. He was limping, although he tried to hide it.

Gasping, I took a few quick steps toward Garrett. Farrell stopped me by reaching for my hand, squeezing it and shaking his head, reminding me to stay strong.

"May I go to him?" I asked the queen, at the same time attempting to pull away from Farrell.

Garrett, heard my voice and struggled to lift his head. He wasn't healing which made it clear that he hadn't fed today. I needed to give him my blood so he could recover. When he saw me he managed to smile, but when his gaze took in who he thought was his son, his expression changed to horror. I tried to send him a mental message, but his magic was blocked.

"Leave now. Both of you, " Garrett pleaded, his voice a dried croak.

"Too late, vampire. The young fae is mine." Fionna took hold of Brina's hand and led her over to the steps in front of the throne. "Sit down. Your foster father will be leaving very soon and then you can get reacquainted with your true father." Kennet moved behind who he thought was his son with a self-satisfied expression. Brina's eyes were glittering with excitement as she lowered herself onto the top step.

Garrett forced himself to stand, the heavy chains difficult for him to manage in his weakened state. "Fionna, don't start a war over my son. The fae need to band together before Naberia arrives with her army."

The bitch queen ignored him, her gaze now on Caelen. "Brother, you can gather up the vampire and leave, although I insist that Aedus stay. Your son is the perfect match for his cousin, the princess. Why you allowed him to bind with the Cascade whore I'll never understand."

Aedus stepped forward, then knelt. "I will not dishonor my chosen mate. We have a child."

"And you'll have another with Zerian. That child will be the future ruler of Faerie. I may still allow you to visit the other female and child on occasion."

Caelen saw it now, as we all did. The queen was past redemption. "You are forsworn." Caelen drew his sword as did Farrell and Aedus. Then Brina, still holding on to her glamour, stood, backing down the stairs and drawing hers. I pulled out my Arcane dagger and took in a slow breath. Kennet only smirked, knowing that we were in a shaky position and hardly likely to win against Fionna on her own turf.

The queen fisted her hands. "You are at court where I have full power and many who support me." She indicated the listless group of spectators behind us along with the guards behind her. Somehow I didn't think all of them were going to be drawing their swords in support of this bitch, but there would still be too many. She'd blocked my group's ability to take the lines home. However, since my powers were not fae, they were still online. If I could somehow get to Garrett, we could make it home.

My group and I had already discussed this scenario, and it was decided that I should take the opportunity if it presented itself. As much as I hated leaving my friends behind, they were much more capable of surviving Fionna than Garrett or I.

Fionna was pacing. "Charles and Aedus will stay or I will destroy your entire Sidhe, beginning with your females."

Caelen took a step forward. "Your pet slaugh is dead."

"I have several more, all being fed by unseelie or half-blood flesh. They are strong and able. Not many of your warriors have Kaera's skills. I fear Lady Erin or even Lady Silvus would not survive their first attack."

Aedus placed a hand on his father's arm, his face had grown pale. Their gazes met. "Protect Philly and Linn." He bowed his head in Fionna's direction. "If you swear to leave the fae of Cascade in peace, I will do as you ask."

"I've already agreed to that." she snapped.

"A blood oath, Aunt."

She frowned then nodded. "Of course. Come and meet your mate, Aedus."

Zerian was tall and lovely, with thick dark hair and fine features. She didn't smile or speak, but stood stoically next to her mother.

"Aedus will stay until she is pregnant. Then he may visit Cascade for one turning of the moon. That should give him some motivation to do his duty." She grinned wickedly. "Take his hand, Zerian," she snapped. Her daughter did as she was told, not looking at her new mate. seemingly indifferent to the chaos around her.

Fionna continued, looking very pleased. "There's one more thing. According to our laws, Jacqueline is bound to Kennet, so she will also be staying." As I opened my mouth to object, she swept her hand through the air in a gesture that crushed my hopes against the sea cliffs.

I couldn't speak or run or strike out, but inside I was screaming. She'd frozen time with only herself and Kennet able to move. I watched in horror as the male who'd raped me sixteen years ago moved like a snake down the stairs to take me to hell, scored by the sound of Fionna's laughter.

CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE

While everyone else was watching the queen and listening to her bull, I was watching this really tall hooded guy who'd magically appeared behind her. He was using that blend-into-shadow magic that Isaiah had managed, but for some reason, I could still see him. He'd snuck past the guards who were completely oblivious, waving a hand to freeze them in place. Then he'd continued to move toward the queen as I watched.

I suddenly realized that shadows seemed to follow him wherever he went. This was a cool trick since the light was so bright in the room that there was no shade to be had. No one else seemed to be aware of him, not even Caelen or Kennet, which totally blew my mind. He wore a dark robe and a large hood that fell over his head, hiding most of his face. But the fleeting glimpses I got of his mouth, made me think he might be smiling.

Was this a slaugh? I'd never seen one. Maybe he'd been called in to keep us in line. I shuddered and rested my hand more firmly on Mom's arm, but realized immediately that there was something wrong. Kennet was moving closer and she wasn't reacting. She simply stared at him, frozen in place.

I glanced around. Holy crap! Everyone in the room except for me, Kennet, Fionna and Sneaky Dude had gone all sculptural. I jumped in front of her and pulled out my dagger, blocking Kennet. He hesitated, then frowned, beginning to move down the steps a little slower now.

"Farrell, move away and live," he said.

I narrowed my eyes and watched his progress without moving an inch. Inside I was grinning like a cat with a bowl of cream.
C'mon daddy dearest. Come just a little closer so I can rip out your rotten heart with the blade you gave me.

He stopped on the bottom step, staring at me in confusion. When the blade lit up in triplicate colors, his mouth dropped open.

"Stay the fuck away from Jacqueline," I snarled. I kept in character for Mom's sake, although it was probably too late to fool Kennet.

Fionna's scream broke the time spell and shattered the window near where one of the guards was standing. He didn't move a muscle, even though colored glass was raining down on him, cutting up his face. The hooded dude had pulled Fionna out of the throne and was shaking her, whispering in a language I couldn't understand. When she caught a glimpse of his face, she collapsed before him or at least made the attempt. He was holding one arm so tightly, she could only get down on the opposite knee.

Oh man. This looked bad. I shoved Mom behind me and held my dagger in position. Kennet shouted out, "Guards," then ran back up the stairs to see who had the nerve to attack his sister. He soon found out that none of the guards had come out of Scary Dude's frozen spell.  Gee, too bad.

I tried to nudge Mom toward the door, hoping we could get away without the big guy noticing us, but she seemed to be in shock. Well, fine. My only choice was to pick her up and throw her over my shoulder and dissolve out of the room. As much as I loved Garrett, I had to leave him to his fate and save Mom. He'd want that too.

When the stranger's scent hit the air, sweet and strong, there was a communal cry as every fae in the room knelt or prostrated themselves before this guy. Even our group of fae were on their knees. Even freakin' Kennet. I figured I should do something, so I knelt quickly, then rose again, trying to keep Mom out of his line of sight.

His head was still covered slightly by the hood, but his eyes shone though with a golden light, sending out streams of laser-type beams. It didn't seem to be burning into anything. It was more like some kind of scan to see what was up. When his robe and hood dissolved, I was able to get a better look, although what I saw wasn't reassuring. At all.

All I knew for sure was that he was definitely fae. Dressed in a black on black brocade tunic, solid black leggings and high black leather boots, the male's expression was lined with intense rage. He growled, the sound rumbling through my body as if an earthquake were shaking the building. His fangs looked as sharp as any vampire's and as long as any demon's. He was more beast than fae.

He took Fionna in hand, pulling her up so they were eye to eye. Her feet were no longer touching the floor, her body magically suspended in the air. "What have you done to my people?" he demanded, using the Seelie I knew. No one responded. "Speak." He shook her so hard I could feel my own teeth rattle in sympathy.

She winced. "Our people are thriving, Father." She lowered her face, maybe in submission or maybe because she wasn't able to meet his burning gaze any longer.

He scanned the room with alien eyes, searching the faces of the fae behind us. "They starve." He marched down the stairs, dragging her along, then thrust her in front of a female fae with a large gash across her cheek. "They do not heal."

His eyes lost their heat as he reached out to the female and lifted her chin. "Why are you blocked from your magic, child?"

"Our queen needs our magic. We give it freely."

He shook Fionna again and said, "She gives it back." The female gasped as her wound healed. Then other shouts and sighs occurred around the room as everyone was healed at once. Fionna groaned.

"Father...my magic..."

"You don't deserve your magic."