The Day Human Way (14 page)

“Is that what you call yourselves these days? We must be looking for a normal sidhe,” Devin teased, careful to not use the word witch.

“At least I’m normal where I come from,” Cassie added as she caught on to what Devin meant.

He chuckled. Cassie was far from normal, but anyone that was connected with the night human world, and didn’t know about it, tended to not be normal in any capacity.

“And was he
normal
?” Devin finally asked as he noticed Liam now dancing with his bonded sidhe.

“Oh, he has it all over him, but it isn’t him.” Cassie shrugged casually like it was of no consequence. She was looking for the witch, not one that the witch had touched.

“Of course he did,” Devin replied, thoughts processing the situation. Liam had witch magic all over him, yet wasn’t the witch. “The person cursed him to put him into that coma before.” Devin was really hoping Liam was the suspect, and he would have an excuse to get rid of him. Witch magic residue proved nothing.

“No, this wasn’t from before. Sometime in the last few hours, he touched our suspect,” Cassie explained as she kept looking around the room casually.

“So Liam’s part of it?” Devin asked. He hadn’t been expecting that. Maybe he would be able to get rid of the annoying oaf.

“No. I don’t think so. His love for Nessa feels different than the magic user,” Cassie explained. “His love is purer. There’s no evil in that man, no matter how much you dislike him.”

Devin glanced across the floor to Liam. He was dancing with a girl he loved enough to bond to, but he wasn’t even looking at her. His attention was completely on Nessa. Devin didn’t want to see another man eyes all over his Nessa, but then again it was becoming more obvious; Nessa wasn’t his. He could never be the sidhe she needed. Maybe, since Nessa and Liam both had someone they were bonded to, they did have more in common than everyone else. Liam was still a sidhe, and that put him even higher on the compatibility list. To hear Cassie explain that Liam’s love was pure hurt, but it made it easier to ask Cassie his next question.

“You can see our bond, right?” he asked.

Cassie nodded. Devin took a breath. He was going to cross a line, and he wouldn’t be able to go back. He took one last look at Nessa. Liam was making faces at her as she danced with the tall, lanky suitor. He was an uncoordinated as he was tall. Yes, Nessa needed to be free to make a choice that would help her and her sidhe.

“Can you break it?”

Cassie stared harder at Devin and then glanced across the room at Nessa. Nessa wasn’t looking at the man she was dancing with, but was laughing at the silly gestures Liam was making behind the man’s back.

“Yes. I think I can,” Cassie replied. “If that’s really what you want.”

Nessa danced more, and Devin couldn’t take his eyes off her. He loved her. He knew what love was, but he was unsure if she loved him. She said she did, and he could feel the bond that she did, but he still had doubts. Would she love him if the bond wasn’t there? Would she still pick him? The man she was dancing with clumsily turned her around. Liam maneuvered his bonded so that he could continue to entertain Nessa. Devin peeked through the bond. Nessa was exhausted beyond belief from the day and all the dancing, but the moment her eyes caught Liam, she perked right up. He made her happy. He made her fit in. He was what Devin could never be. Liam was a sidhe.

Nessa sat in
the courtyard next to the first sidhe courtier. She had just met him a day ago, and Nessa would be glad to see him gone from the village as soon as he would leave. The tall sidhe even dwarfed her as they sat. He didn’t seem to care or notice that he sat close enough that she had to bend her neck at an uncomfortable angle just to see him. He just kept talking the whole time. He didn’t even pause for an answer when he asked questions. That was actually good, as Nessa had stopped listening to him ten minutes into the date.

She was worried when they didn’t find the witch sidhe the night before. They’d been sure the ploy would draw the person out, but now Nessa worried that the witch sidhe might have known Cassie was a witch. That could create problems if it got out, and Devin had made sure to whisk Cassie and Maria back to his place in the outcast camp to keep them safe.

Nessa was more than happy to be getting the dates that she was required to do with each suitor over with. Luckily she didn’t have to add any from the night before, as Ronan explained that he didn’t approve of a single one after none were the person they were looking for. It was too bad Ronan couldn’t have unapproved of the ones left over, and she could have been free to help them search for the witch sidhe.

Charlie, annoying suitor number one, paused for a breath, and Nessa considered excusing herself and not returning. A bathroom break seemed appropriate. She didn’t get the chance as he continued to talk, now with even more energy than before. Nessa caught Ronan’s eye as he sat across the empty courtyard, and she rolled her eyes at him. Charlie was back to his one and only topic, what a smart guy he was and why he was essential for Nessa’s rule.

Nessa let her mind wander as he droned on. Everything was still too complicated. She had hoped that becoming queen would ease her life— Devin’s iron fist rule that scared almost all the palace sidhe into submission didn’t hurt anything—but there were still problems. Would her life get any better? Was Nessa always going to be a target? She was beginning to regret even coming back. If they had stayed with the dearg-dul clan, she wouldn’t have had to deal with any of it. And now deal with suitors. That was just icing on the cake of annoyingness. Nessa was already sure what she wanted. Why did she have to follow tradition? What about what she wanted? Why couldn’t she just say no to everyone and be done? It was pointless and a waste of time to listen to the self-absorbed sidhe beside her drone on.

Finally, Nessa turned to Charlie, noticing that he had stopped talking. She looked at his smiling face and still didn’t understand what was going on. Was she supposed to say something? Was he waiting for an answer? Nessa glanced over to her cousin, but he wasn’t paying attention either. Turning back to the sidhe that was courting her, he held her hands. She hadn’t even notice that he had taken them in his own. He was that dull.

“Umm,” Nessa wondered. She had no clue why he had a stupid grin on his face.

“I can’t believe you accepted it,” he replied, finally.

“Accepted what?” Nessa asked. There was nothing she wanted from him other than for him to go away. That she would have accepted.

“My ring, of course.” Charlie smiled proudly, staring at her hands.

Nessa looked down at her own hands in shock. There was a ring on her finger. For a moment panic set in. Sidhe law was you were wedded once the man asked you, and you accepted his ring. Nessa always thought that required a vocal response but then again, maybe not. With the stupid sidhe in front of her smiling proudly, she was sure no verbal response was needed. Nessa tugged at the ill-fitting ring and took it off. Her suitor’s face dropped when he saw her do so. She handed it back to him.

“But I asked you,” he said.

“But I never said yes,” Nessa replied. She cringed at what she had to say next. She didn’t want to admit the truth brashly, but she had to say it. “In fact, I didn’t even hear you ask me.”

“It doesn’t matter if you heard or not. I got the ring on your finger. That means we’re married.” Charlie was now starting to get upset. He sat stiffly with the ring in his hand. “It shouldn’t have come off.” The sidhe was pouting at the ring now. Even Nessa knew their law. The only way a ring came off if you were married was by death. He was right, it shouldn’t have been able to come off. Nessa let out a sigh. They were not wed.

“You have to ask and be accepted,” Nessa replied a second time. It couldn’t be as easy as just slipping a ring on a girl; at least, Nessa hoped it wasn’t that easy.

“I have to ask, and you letting me put the ring on your finger is accepting. No verbal reply is needed. Trust me. Remember, I’m the smart one here.” He was still baffled at the ring.

Nessa bristled at his answer. She may not have paid attention to sidhe laws, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t smart. She was sure he had to be wrong.

“He’s right,” Ronan said from across the way. He didn’t even stand or come close; he just continued to look at the sky. “He asks, you take ring. That’s all it takes.”

“Well, I didn’t take his ring. Obviously. It let me give it back,” Nessa replied. Charlie reached forward and shoved the ring on Nessa’s finger again. Nessa pulled her hand back and ripped the ring off a second time. He really wasn’t wanting to take no for an answer. “I’m not marrying you.” Nessa was being as firm and blunt as she could. It was obvious that the sidhe wasn’t getting the hint by her giving the ring back to him.

“You don’t get that choice since I got the ring on your finger. We are married, and as your husband and the king, I get to decide everything.” Charlie stood, still confused by how easily the ring was off once more. He didn’t attempt to put it on again, but it didn’t seem to matter to him. “I don’t know why it isn’t staying on, but that doesn’t matter. I’m king now, and the sidhe will finally have a ruler they are fit to have. With my knowledge, we will …”

Nessa stood up and was still a whole head shorter than him. That didn’t matter to her. She was used to being shorter than everyone around her as she spent years training with the male sidhe since women typically didn’t train unless they were at the assassin village. Charlie kept rambling on about how he was going to change everything and how much better it would be. Nessa reached up and slapped him across the face, hard enough to get him to stop talking.

“You are not the king, so just shut up,” Nessa said, anger growing inside her. The sidhe was already getting on her nerves, but the fact that he readily told her he was tricking her and now was assuming power was too much.

Charlie’s calculated eyes changed, and anger flared behind them. It was probably the first time anyone told him to shut up, or maybe it was the first time he had been slapped. It didn’t matter which, but he was clearly upset with her. Most female sidhe were a bit more docile, and Nessa could only imagine the man that had raised such a disagreeable sidhe. Charlie reached down and grabbed her wrists. Nessa stared back at him as Ronan now stood and came beside her, ready to help her if she needed.

“You. Are. Not. King,” Nessa repeated, emphasizing each word.

She went to pull her hands from his grasp when she noticed that even though his hands were around her wrists, he wasn’t touching her. Devin’s protective barrier was still completely intact. Nessa laughed, and that was enough to cause Charlie to loosen his grip. Ronan quirked an eyebrow at his cousin’s reaction.

“You can think what you want. I put my ring on your finger. That makes us married,” Charlie sneered at her. All attractiveness was completely gone with his change in attitude.

“We aren’t married. In fact, if I even hear you doing this to another sidhe, I will inform the girl that if she chooses to kill you in your sleep, I would give her a pardon. Marriage isn’t something you go into by trickery. Marriage is a choice.”

Nessa was completely calm, and her offer to let someone kill him in his sleep made his mouth drop. She reached for his hand, and he involuntarily pulled back a fraction after her blatant threat. Nessa kept her giggle inside as she took the ring from him. Slipping it on her finger she looked closer at it. It was around her finger, but not a single part of the metal touched her skin. Ronan now noticed also and grinned.

“Well, that day human is something else,” he commented. Charlie was still in the dark, but didn’t dare speak.

“You see,” Nessa explained. “There have been many attempts on my life. So to keep me safe, Devin created this nice bubble of protection around me. It seems his protection included the likes of scum like you. This ring never touched my finger. We are not married.”

Nessa held her hand up for Charlie to see. Shock lined his face. Nessa slipped the ring off and stepped closer to him. His flinch was enough to keep her from seriously hurting the stupid boy.

“Like I said—if you ever trick a sidhe into marriage as you tried to do to me, I will pardon her, or anyone else for that matter, in any crimes against you, including murder. Marriage is something both people have to agree to without deception. Make sure you remember that.” Nessa turned on her heel and left Charlie standing there. While he had been angry only moments before, she could feel the relief slide off of him as she let him go.

Ronan followed behind as Nessa left the palace courtyard.

“Where to now, Your Highness? That is, if I’m allowed to ask without you possibly threatening to kill me in my sleep?” Ronan asked as she paused at the gate. He held up his hands like he was afraid she was going to turn on him next, but his grin said he knew otherwise. He was just being extra cheeky after her words with the suitor.

Nessa rolled her eyes at him as he walked forward through the gate. As soon as she left, the alarm would sound. She hated the damn gate that kept everyone alert to where and when she left.

“I need to see how everyone else is doing,” Nessa replied, still on the inside of the gate.

“You know, as queen, you can just tell the gate to knock it off,” Ronan told her as he suspected why she was waiting.

“What?” Nessa asked.

“I’ve seen my dad do it before, actually tons of times,” Ronan added. “He has to turn it off all the time if the gates throw up the alarm that you aren’t safe.”

Nessa swatted at him. Ronan jumped back out of the way on the opposite side of the gate to avoid being hit. “And you are really just telling me this now?”

Ronan rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. “Well, I wasn’t sure it would work until after you were officially queen. I knew it worked for my dad when he was regent, but I wasn’t sure if you needed authority or something to activate it,” Ronan babbled on.

Nessa rolled her eyes again. She was going to get dizzy if she spent much more time with her cousin.