The Day Human Way (6 page)

Nessa turned back to Devin, and her forced fake smile changed to a real one. The love she felt was the same as his at that moment. Devin, with crossed arms, tightened the grip he had on his biceps to keep from reaching out to her. The waiting game for her to choose him was going to be impossibly long.

‘
To officially court them I have to go on one chaperoned date with each man. After that I can decide that they aren’t for me,’
Nessa explained. She had to be reading Devin’s thoughts, and while most of the time it bothered him, he kind of really didn’t care too much that she did. He could already tell that it was going to be impossible to keep anything from her.

‘
And I can be the chaperone?’
Devin asked in reply. Images of killing all three men kind of sprung to mind.

Nessa covered up her laugh with a cough.
‘Sure, if you can promise not to kill them.’

Devin paused and thought about it. Nessa on a date with someone else might just bring out his protective side a little. He doubted he would kill them unless they tried to put a move on her. Yes, there was a probability that he would kill them. He wanted to do bad things to each of them right at the moment for just suggesting that they date Nessa. He wasn’t the best choice for a chaperone if they wanted to keep a sidhe war out of the picture.

‘
Then you’ll take Ronan with you,’
Devin amended. Nessa was more correct than he wanted to admit.

‘
Is there anyone else you would let protect me?’
Nessa probably had already guessed that much.

Devin thought for a bit.
‘For the moment it would have to be Ronan or
Turner,
if he sticks around after the coronation.’
They really were the only two people Devin trusted to keep her safe.

‘
So you’re good with this?’
Nessa questioned cautiously.

‘
Good with men trying to win you over, three men at that?’
Devin asked sourly in reply. There was no way he was ever going to be “good” with that idea.

‘
Can you handle it?’
Nessa rephrased her question.

‘
Oh, I could handle them if you left me alone in a room with them for five minutes,’
Devin answered. He was back to playing scenarios over in his mind where he could cause each of the men the same pain he was feeling at the moment.

Devin could sense her eye roll even with her back to him.

‘
One date with
each,
and I can tell everyone that they are not what I am looking for,’
Nessa answered.

‘
Fine,’
Devin agreed. It was probably the best he was going to get. He was trying to be all valiant by letting her date and find out if she really wanted to be with him, but as he stood in front of the men eyeing over his Nessa, he knew it wasn’t going to happen like that. He couldn’t just sit back and watch her go away. And he couldn’t hide those feelings from her and the bond, either.

Rolf was returning to their side of the stage with each of the three men behind him. He had stopped before each man, and they spoke, but Devin hadn’t been listening. He’d been too focused on Nessa. Now he had no clue what was going on, but he kept his place and straight-faced composure as they each passed Nessa and bowed to her again.

The three men lined up beside Rolf and next to Devin. Rolf addressed the crowd.

“These three men standing before you now are publicly acknowledging for you that they intend to honorably court Princess Vanessa. Each has pledged to apply all courtly customs and to abide by her final choice. In accordance to custom, they will be given a chance to tell everyone why they are the best choice,” Rolf explained before nodding to the first man.

The tall, skinny man with fair hair glanced at Nessa and then the crowd.

“I stand before everyone now pledging my desire to date our future queen. Princess Vanessa has known my family since we were both kids, and I have grown up hoping to get the chance to court her. I come from a strong family and know that we will be the perfect match. She can provide the beauty, and I can provide the brains to make us the strongest royal family the sidhe have had in centuries.” The man walked over and knelt at Nessa’s feet. “Please accept my pledge to honor you and my desire to court you.”

“I do,” Nessa replied. The man reached forward and kissed Nessa’s hand.

Devin gritted his teeth as the man stood and returned to his spot.

‘
It means nothing,’
Nessa told Devin, trying to calm him. It wasn’t working.
‘Besides, why would I want a man who thinks I’m only good for my beauty?’

This time Devin had to stop from laughing. He was too focused on his anger to have registered what the man had said. While the other sidhe women in the crowd were fainting at the man’s speech, Nessa wasn’t a normal sidhe woman. There was no way she would be even remotely interested in a man that thought she was only good for her beauty and nothing else.

The second man stepped forward. He walked over to Nessa and instead of making his plea to the crowd, he was completely watching Nessa. His dark eyes matched his dark hair and tanned skin.

“While we have never met, Princess, I’m sure that won’t hinder our relationship. I am Henry from the southern village. I have traveled through the villages for most of my life, yet have never seen a sidhe quite as graceful and beautiful as you. I couldn’t help myself but to ask to court you, for I’ll never get another chance quite as great as this one. I know you know nothing about me or my family, but I promise to tell you all you want to know. I come from a strong line and would be able to protect you with more than just knowledge. I pledge to honor you and hope you will accept my pledge to court you.”

This time Devin listened closer and couldn’t get mad at this man. He was as delusional as the first one. They might have thought that was what women wanted to hear, but Nessa didn’t need a man to think for her, or to protect her. She was quite capable of both on her own. Devin wanted to make a smart-aleck remark, but he could already feel how much that man rubbed Nessa the wrong way. She was gritting her teeth as she forced herself to reply.

“I do,” she barely got the words out.

Devin held back the chuckle that wanted to escape. That man stood no chance with his Nessa. He was beginning to think maybe he would need to chaperone that date to keep her from killing the willow of a sidhe that planned to protect her.

Liam Kay was the last one, and he was just as amused by the man before him as Devin was. Devin tried to keep his anger in check at seeing that. He hated that the sidhe could possibly know Nessa that well.

“I’d make some great elegant speech like the first two idiots,” Liam began, to the shock of the men next to him and the audience watching, “but that’s not what Nessa needs. Trust me. I know her. If you think she’d make a pretty object to sit next to, or that she needs protecting …” Liam jabbed at each man. He turned back to Nessa and knelt at her feet. Taking her hands in his, he continued. “Then you’ve got another thing coming. Nessie, I pledge to honor you and hope you accept my proposal to court you. Well, actually that last part is unnecessary since your father already accepted my offer ten years ago.”

The crowd gasped and cheered in anticipation, and Devin felt his anger rise. There was no way he was going to be able to stay calm much longer with the oaf touching Nessa.

Devin heard the whispers and tried his best to ignore them. Nessa’s father’s promise seemed to mean more than she was letting on. It was clear that several people in the audience thought that it was a match that was already made. They were all eager to get rid of Devin. Many even made the comment that it was an arranged marriage. If the King sanctioned it, then the idea must have been floating around. Devin gritted his teeth. He was going to have to leave. There wasn’t much more he could handle. Everyone sitting around was eager to give Nessa away to Liam because he was a sidhe. Not a single person there was on his side in the matter, or on Nessa’s side either. They were all too eager to have her with a sidhe. Devin could see the prejudice against him.

Liam kissed Nessa’s hand, and Devin couldn’t stay another minute. It was too much, and he was too likely to do something he’d regret later. Nessa turned to him as his emotions traveled over the bond. Devin was likely to haul off and hurt one or more of the men if he didn’t leave.

‘
Sorry,’
Devin told Nessa. He had to go.

Suddenly all three men fell to the ground at Nessa’s feet. Devin was as shocked as everyone else, but Nessa glanced up to him. He had been filled with rage just moments before. Devin’s manner completely changed. He was no longer jealous, but worried. He grabbed Nessa and protectively put her behind him. What was this new trouble? There was no sidhe magic being used. It had to be the witch. Devin scanned the crowd, but no one stood out. They were all as shocked as Devin was by the sudden change in events.

Nessa peeked around
Devin’s shoulder to the men on the ground. Had he done something to put them there? All three had just been standing there professing their desire to court her, and now they were all on the ground before everyone. She felt the magic in Devin before she could respond, and was encased in the protective bubble he was getting better at casting every day. At least she was also getting better at sensing it. Nessa stopped moving where she was trapped.

Devin moved forward and bent down to the closest person who happened to be Liam.

“What’s wrong with him?” Nessa asked over the noise of the audience freaking out. Devin had cast a spell to both keep the stage safe, and to keep the three men’s families from rushing the stage. They didn’t seem too happy about it, but it was better that way

He placed a hand on Liam as he had done each time when saving everyone else. Devin was getting stronger by the minute.

While Devin checked over Liam, Nessa watched the crowd. Some were visibly scared and trying to flee the room while others stared in anger at Devin. Most of the angry sidhe were visitors and didn’t understand how strong Devin truly was, but they did get that he was the one stopping them from getting on the stage. Nessa looked back at Devin.

“What’s wrong with them?” Uncle Rolf asked as he stopped next to Devin.

“I’m not sure,” Devin replied, his hands hovering over Liam. He paused and looked up at Nessa. Releasing the protective bubble, he let her move forward.

“What’s wrong?” she asked tentatively. She wasn’t interested in Liam romantically, but he was an old friend. She hated to see him unconscious as he was.

“I don’t know. He’s barely holding on,” Devin replied quietly. The relatives of each of the three men were pressed to his barrier.

“What’s going on?” one of the men yelled.

“Let us in,” another yelled beside the first. He banged his fists on the see-through barrier.

Devin looked back down at Liam and closed his eyes to concentrate. Suddenly, he pulled back his hands and Liam began to shake.

The faces of the men trying to get in matched Devin’s horror at the sight. Something was gravely wrong with Liam.

‘
What is it?’
Nessa asked silently.

‘
Magic,’
Devin replied. Not surprising news. Nessa had figured out that much on her own already.

‘
Day human magic, witch magic,’
Devin added

Nessa gasped and couldn’t help herself. Her surprise made the men outside the barrier even angrier. If anyone else had told her that she would have argued back that it wasn’t possible. But from Devin, and after what Keaton had told her, she was beginning to see that maybe she didn’t see the sidhe the way they really were.

‘
I think touching them made it worse,’
Devin told Nessa.

‘
But Uncle Rolf touched them.’
Nessa has seen her uncle touch the one nearest him as Devin rushed over to them. In fact, her uncle actually caught the first guy from dropping off the stage. Why would Devin make it worse?

‘
Because I’m a day human, and this is day human magic. I think I’m the catalyst for it. No one else will make it worse. You’ll have to take care of them until I can get some help here,’
Devin explained, standing back up.
‘I can’t help them, and I doubt any sidhe can unless you can find the witch in here and convince her to. I need to get some friends to help us.
’

“He’s killing our boys,” the first man said, pointing at Devin.

“He’d never do that,” Nessa snapped at him from her lost thoughts. “He’s already saved several of the sidhe here in the village.”

“And killed a few more,” the second man answered. “We’ve all heard. Finn Ferguson was killed by the day human.”

The first man nodded. “Wasn’t Finn your betrothed? Does the day human have a problem with men being promised to you? Maybe he was acting first this time and attacked Liam.”

Nessa could feel the anger bubbling beneath the surface for Devin. Their words were hard for him to hear as it was for her also. She hadn’t done enough to explain who Liam really was, but she got a clear idea that Devin knew now. Liam shook more beneath Devin. His anger seemed to trigger an even stronger reaction from Liam’s friend.

“He’s doing this. Let us through. Let us protect our men from the day human,” the second man pleaded. He was much smaller than the first man who Nessa knew was a relation of Liam’s.

“Devin would never hurt an unconscious sidhe,” Nessa replied. She at least hoped he wouldn’t. She was sure before that Devin was just acting out of jealousy, but now there was much more anger inside him. Nessa was unsure how long he would be able to hold it together. She should have told him the truth earlier, but she was afraid he was going to leave her.

“Never?” the second man questioned.

“Never,” Nessa replied, sure as she could be. She was more positive the anger was something he wouldn’t act on. Devin had more self-control than anyone she had ever met.