Steal the Sun (19 page)

“Oh, thank the goddess. That could be anyone, Zoey,” Dev said with a relieved sigh.

I looked up at him, surprised at his reaction. It was an hour after my talk with The Three. We were safely ensconced in our private rooms, having fled the shocked scene in the ballroom. The Seelie nobles were having a distinct “rats on a sinking ship” reaction to the news that the newly ascended god had been elected to be fate’s bitch.

There had been a lot of crying and yelling. There was also some irrational blame being tossed about. Many of the nobles were certain the Unseelie had something to do with Devinshea’s impending death. It was the reason Dev asked the Hunter to return to our apartments with us.

When Dev had finally gotten me to calm down, he’d requested the full story of my episode with the banshees. I was sure I was red-faced and puffy, but I recounted everything I could remember about my conversation with The Three, hoping it would help Daniel figure a way out of this. Dev had been unimpressed with my tale. He’d taken an academic view of the entire quandary.

“Well, it couldn’t be me,” Declan offered. “I am a first born.”

“Fine, it couldn’t be you, but it certainly could be Braden,” Dev pointed out.

Daniel’s head came up. “How could it be Braden?”

Dev turned to me, ignoring his partner for the moment. “Please repeat what the
bean si
said, sweetheart. It’s important you get the wording right. If they’re anything like the other prophets I have dealt with, then the words will be precise, though they can have multiple meanings.”

“How many prophets have you dealt with?” Daniel asked curiously. Danny and I have dealt with many an odd creature, but they were usually the fangs and claws kind, not the irritating psychic kind.

Dev shrugged a little. “Oh, it’s a typical business start-up expense. If I hadn’t listened to a prophet, I would have built Ether right under a site where the city council is now building a train station. Can you imagine the noise? It did take Albert and me a while to decipher the prophecy though. It was something about great steel horses and the multitude of humanity stomping across the plains. It sounded bad so I changed locations and I’m happy to have done so. That’s the way these things go.”

“This was fairly simple, Devinshea,” Miria said from her place on the settee. She was still pale. “They stated that the victim was to be a male. He was a second born, though his mother had carried only once.”

Dev nodded. “Yes, that’s what I thought. Like I said, it could be any number of Fae nobles. We rarely have more than one child so most of our women have only had one pregnancy.”

Declan slapped himself on the head. “Of course. That makes much more sense.”

Even Miria looked hopeful now. She reached up and grabbed Padric’s hand. He squeezed it reassuringly. “Well, I do not think it means it is not Devinshea, but it does open up other possibilities.”

“Someone explain this to me before I scream,” I announced, frustrated at being out of the loop.

“It’s why I mentioned Braden,” Dev explained calmly. “He’s the second child of a mother who bore only him. He’s the child of a relationship similar to ours. His father took two wives. His first wife bore a daughter and the second gave birth to Braden. As Daniel and I will be fathers to the child in your belly, so the wives shared their children. Braden’s mother claims his older sister as her own though she isn’t the biological mother.”

It made sense but there was something inside me that was still wary. “They said this man was important.”

Declan relaxed back against the sofa. “Oh, I assure you, the Duke of Ain is important, indeed. He’s responsible for vast acres in the north. His armies patrol the gate between the Seelie and Unseelie
sitheins
. His lands provide much of our trade with the Unseelie. His death would leave a huge power vacuum.” That last brought the slightest smile to Declan’s face, as though he highly anticipated a chance to fill that power vacuum.

“Could it start a war?” Neil stopped pacing briefly to ask the question.

“It would depend on the circumstances of his death,” Miria replied, warming to the idea. Her eyes had a calculating look in them and I wondered briefly if she was thinking what I was. I was wondering if killing the Duke of Ain would fulfill the banshee prophecy and protect Dev. I didn’t like the bastard anyway.

The Hunter, who had been staring out into the night, now turned. His face was serious as he contemplated the room. “We’re on the brink of war anyway, Your Highness. It wouldn’t take much to push us over that line. The nobles on my side wish for Seelie blood and I can see it’s the same here.”

Dev had a big smile on his face as he pulled me off my chair and into his arms. “You see, my wife, it could be any of a number of people. They didn’t use my name so we have to consider the fact that they were talking about someone else.” He tipped my chin up so I was looking him in the eye. “So you and Daniel should wipe the morose looks off your faces. I have no intention of dying. I just got married and we’re having a baby. I promise I won’t die before I get a chance to be a horrible influence on our son. I have to live or Daniel will turn him into a comic book geek.”

Daniel grinned, obviously buoyed by the possibility that it wasn’t Dev. “I’d like to see you stop me.”

I let Dev pull me close, but I thought he was wrong. There had been something personal about that prophecy. Why had the matron touched me and spoken directly to me, as though we had a connection? They had been much more interested in me than in the Queen of the Seelie, whose territory they were in. She’d been more of a distraction than anything else. They had spoken to me and I knew deep down that their prophecy would have a direct impact. I wouldn’t weep for the Duke of Ain. I wouldn’t fight for him.

I turned my head and saw that Daniel was still wary as well. I knew what his first instinct would be. He would want to take me and Dev and get the hell out of Dodge. He would prefer to take us all back to Ether where he felt more in control. But the prophecy would follow us wherever we went. We needed to figure this out here. I just wished I knew how long we had before whatever was going to happen came to pass.

“I am going to contact our best soothsayers.” Miria stood, her decision made, and shook out her strawberry-blonde hair. “It is what I should have done the minute the
bean si
began their song.” She turned to Padric. “I believe one of the women in the village has shown great potential as a medium. Perhaps we can ask the spirits to guide us.”

The royal guard nodded. “I shall go and fetch her myself, Your Highness. If you would have the temple prepared, we can hold a séance as soon as I get back and we can try to get to the bottom of this.”

Miria turned to Sarah, who looked pale and sat quietly holding Felix’s hand. “You are a witch, correct?”

“I am, Your Highness,” she replied.

“Would you mind overseeing the preparations? You will know which herbs to use and which candles to burn.”

Sarah stood and bowed her head. “It would be my honor to do this for you. I know exactly which herbs to use. We must cleanse the space before we begin.”

Everyone was up and moving about as there were preparations to be made. It was like a great weight had been lifted because we now had something to do. Dev kissed me and once again promised me things would be all right before joining his mother and brother. They began to plan what questions they should ask the hopefully non-corporeal dead. Sometimes these things went awry and the corporeal dead showed up and they tended to be pissed off and usually carrying weapons of some sort. Daniel pointed this out and they all began to argue the probability of their conversation with the dead beginning the zombie apocalypse.

I watched as they plotted and felt distant from all of them at that moment. I let my arms cross and rested against the wall, watching Dev and Daniel and wondering just how far I would go to protect them.

“You don’t believe this shit any more than I do, Your Grace,” the Hunter said quietly. His brown eyes regarded me seriously. His voice was quiet. As Neil was caught up in the undead argument and Zack was patrolling, I doubted anyone else could hear our conversation.

“I still think it’s Dev.” There was a knot of anxiety that told me this loss was mine, not all of Faery’s. It would hurt my heart the most.

“I agree.” He leaned casually against the wall next to me. To the rest of the party, it probably appeared to be a meaningless conversation. As the Hunter continued, I knew it was anything but. “I know more than I have said to this point. Celebrating your marriage is the least of my reasons for being here. It would do nothing to help if I bring up my information now. It would only confuse the issue and stop me from coming to his aid.”

“If you know something, you have to tell me,” I whispered back urgently.

“I will,” he promised. “I need your help. The
bean si
were right. You are the only one who can stop this war. If you want to know how, I will tell you in an hour. Be ready when I come for you.”

My heart skipped an anxious beat. “When you come for me? Are we going somewhere? I don’t think my husbands are going to let me go anywhere alone with you.”

“If you want to save Prince Dev, that is exactly what you will do,” he hissed my direction.

“How will my being alone with an Unseelie noble help my husband?” I shot back at him. “That sounds like an excellent way to start a war and perhaps to lead Devinshea into a trap.”

I watched as the Hunter receded and Herne took his place. I noticed that they tended to function like this. They traded places whenever one seemed to fumble. This time the Hunter couldn’t handle a touchy female, so he tagged out and brought in the charmer.

Herne was gracious. “I apologize again, Your Grace. The Hunter is anxious about certain events, and it does nothing for his already questionable manners. He very much wants to avoid war. It’s not that he minds bloodshed but rather that he fears no one will win this battle. He’s an old and venerable spirit, but he’s still dependent on us. It brings out the worst in him at times when he’s reminded of his flaws.”

I accepted all of that. It must be difficult to have such power yet be forced to deal with the limitations of a human host. The Hunter could strengthen his host, could give him amazing powers, but he was still limited. “Why does he want to meet with me?”

“We need you,” Herne said firmly, trying to convince me of his point. “You are the only one who can stop this war. If you will aid us, I believe we can have everything settled by morning.”

I sighed, wanting to believe him. I wanted to think that there was something I could do to fix this. I was just like the rest of them. I needed to feel like I was doing something useful, but holding hands in the dark and hoping someone from beyond would show up just wasn’t my thing. Herne was offering me another option. “Fine. My wolf and I will go with you.”

“No, it must be the two of us alone,” he explained quietly and with compassion. “I’m sorry but that’s the way it must be.”

“You want me to lie to my husbands and ditch my guard to run away with you?” I said the words and they were improbable even to my own ears. The last time I’d done that I’d gotten into big trouble.

“It’s the only way to deal with the problem,” Herne insisted. He frowned and looked down at me. “Zoey, Devinshea is my friend. I’ll do anything I can to aid him. I promise that I intend no harm to you.”

I sighed because I knew what he was doing. Promises are important to the Fae. Bad things tended to happen when they broke their vows. If Herne lied to me, then I could call the Wild Hunt and they would aid me, even against their master. If he was willing to make an oath, then I had to consider his proposal. “I have your oath?”

“Yes, Your Grace, I give you my solemn oath that I mean for no harm to come to you,” he replied with all the sincerity he could muster.

“I want his, too.” I wasn’t taking any chances. I wasn’t sure how the rules worked concerning ascended gods and their hosts, but I was going to cover all the bases before I trusted these two.

Brown eyes blinked. “You have my oath. I intend you no harm.”

“Then I will go with you.” I looked at my party. Even with all the activity going on around them, Daniel and Neil were looking my way every couple of minutes, likely wondering exactly what I was saying to the Hunter. “How am I supposed to get away?” Daniel and Dev would be working on the whole
Ghost Whisperer
episode they were about to enact. It wouldn’t be so hard to get away from them, but Neil was an entirely different story.

“I do not know. That is your dilemma,” the Hunter said with no sympathy. “I will be at your windows in an hour. Be prepared for a walk in the woods.”

The Hunter made his good-byes and departed.

So, he was going to be helpful. I watched him close the door. I faked a yawn and let myself sink onto the couch. It was time to make the whole “knocked up” thing start working for me. I looked at Dev and smiled my tired soldier smile.

“Sweetheart, you look exhausted,” Dev said soothingly as he fell right into my trap.

“It’s been a long day.” I managed a nice yawn while gesturing at the activity in the living room. “How long do you think this will take?”

His mouth turned down in chagrin. “The better part of the night, my goddess. I’m afraid it isn’t a good place for you.”

“No pregnant ladies!” Sarah shouted from across the room. “Sometimes non-corporeal beings look for new bodies, and a tiny soul is just too tempting. Zoey needs to stay in the palace.”

“Oh,” I said, mustering my disappointment. “Really?”

“You heard her.” Daniel frowned. “They’ll have to make do without us. We can just go to bed and they can tell us all about it in the morning. You need your rest, baby. You’ve had an emotional night.”

“Danny, I’ll be fine.” I started to panic a little. There would be no way to get away from Daniel. None. He would be a brick wall, and there was a good chance he would behead the Hunter for even suggesting I leave with him.

“Actually, I need you, Daniel.” Sarah instructed Felix on which herbs to ask Albert for and then turned to complete her thought. “If things get bad, I have a spell to banish just about anything but it requires a certain type of magic. You’re the only one here with a plentitude of death magic.”