The Vanishing Throne (25 page)

“Keep up, Kam,” Kiaran says over his shoulder.

“I see your patience hasn't improved,” I mutter, catching up with him. This reminds me of our hunts, how I always had to match his hurried pace through the streets of Edinburgh. “So where are we going?”

Kiaran grasps my hand, pressing his palm to mine as we head through another dark close. “When the warning system is triggered, the Seers meet to assess the threat.” He leads me down a set of old stone steps. “You ought to be there.”

The air around us grows colder, as if even the heating system within the city has shut down. “Seers? You mean there are others aside from Gavin and Catherine's husband?”

“Two other featherbrained fools. Together, they have all the sense of a chair leg.”

My lips curve into a smile. “Am I really the only human you can stand?”

“You have a certain charm. It's grown on me.”

I can't help laughing. “Please, don't strain yourself with flattery.”

He's quiet a moment. I can't tell if he's smiling. His touch startles me, fingers threading through mine. “Kam,” he says, voice barely above a breath. “
Bha mi gad ionndrainn
.”

He says it so seriously that I can't help but pause. “What does that mean?”

He leans forward and kisses me once, softly. “I missed you.”

I flush, my cheeks burning. He missed me?
He missed me
. I don't even know what to make of that.

Kiaran releases me and turns away. I hear the click of a latch before he opens a door I hadn't even realized was there. Golden light streams into the dark close.

He beckons me to enter and I follow him into a massive room so lush that it takes my breath away. Polished mahogany lines the walls, glowing in the light from the chandelier overhead. The walls are covered in tapestries, intricate in their detail, sewn with threads that shine like the inside of a seashell.

The tapestries detail epic battles between the fae and all of them show pixies as victors. Some depict the trophies the pixies took: the fallen heads of their enemies. The battles take place in front of a castle of pointed glass, a monstrous thing that towers into the sky.

I notice a familiar face in the threads. Derrick, sword in hand. Derrick, covered in blood. Derrick, standing victoriously over a pile of faery bodies. Derrick—

“What the hell are they doing here?”

I look over at where Daniel stands with his hands clenched at his sides, eye glaring at me in stark anger. Catherine and Gavin stand behind him, and the other two must be the Seers Kiaran just mentioned. The blasted pixie in question zips around Daniel in a trail of gold.

Seeing me, Derrick launches himself at my shoulder and sits there. “Good, now you're here and we can get started finding out who's roaming around outside. Just ignore the angry Cyclops.”

Daniel stalks over, his boots heavy on the spun-gold carpet. I hear Catherine's muttered curse as she follows him. “Daniel, don't.”

He doesn't listen to her. Now that we're in full light, I study his features better. Daniel isn't handsome in any conventional fashion—two days' worth of stubble covers his chin, and his remaining eye has the sharp glare of a hawk.

Daniel does hold himself with a confidence that is undeniably charismatic. Though I must admit: I'm a wee bit surprised at Catherine's attraction to him. She always seemed to prefer men who were the very definition of a
gentleman
: well groomed, well dressed, well mannered, and—dare I say it—men who didn't submit ladies to the torture of faeries.

Still, I suppose I ought to make
some
effort to be nice, since he is her husband.

Daniel stops in front of me. “Get out,” he says. His eye flickers to Kiaran. “And take that
thing
with you.”

Well, never mind being nice then.

“
Daniel
,” Catherine snaps.

“Oy, lout!” Derrick's wings flick my ear in anger. “That's my companion you're being rude to. Say another word and—”

“If this turns out to be something more serious than a scouting soldier,” Daniel interrupts, never looking away from me, “how do we know
she
's not responsible for it? She could have led them right to us.”

Derrick bares his teeth. “We don't know that. Now
calm down
.”

But Daniel isn't listening. He steps closer to Kiaran. “And this bastard would probably just let them kill us all.”

Kiaran's eyes flash with that uncanny light. “Now that's tempting.”

I almost intervene, but Catherine gets there before I do. She puts a hand to Daniel's chest. “Back off.”

“Stay out of this,” he growls.

If Catherine was angry before, now she looks downright murderous. “I said.
Back. Off
.” When he doesn't move, Catherine grips his arm hard. “I believe I need to speak with you. Right now.” She looks at me. “We'll be back in a minute.”

She leaves with Daniel, shutting the door behind her with a slam that echoes through the room. After that, everyone is quiet. Then I remember we still have the company of three other men who are unabashedly gawking; Gavin and two others I haven't met.

Gavin finally clears his throat to fill the awkward silence. “Tavish, Lorne. Will you permit me to introduce—”

The large man—Lorne—laughs, and it's a deep rumble in his chest. “
Permit me
. Well, la-di-da Lord-I-Have-an-Earldom.”

“Don't be an arsehole, Lorne,” Tavish says. “There's a lady present, for god's sake, man.” Then he looks at me. “I'm Tavish—uh, Mr. Gray.” He smacks his companion in the stomach, who lets out a hearty
oof
. “And this impolite son of a bitch is Mr. Candish.”

“If you call me Mr. Candish,” Lorne says, “I won't bother responding.”

“
Well
,” Gavin says, “after that unseemly introduction . . .” He gestures to me. “This is Lady Aileana Kameron.” He turns to Kiaran, rather reluctantly. “And you've already seen Kiaran, who is—”

“Leaving,” Kiaran interrupts briskly. “My threshold for human tolerance is now exceeded. Send the pixie for me in the event I get to stab something.”

With that, Kiaran turns on his heel and strides out of the room.
Damn him
.

“The fae are a crabbit lot, aren't they?” Lorne says thoughtfully. Then he glances at Derrick. “No offense.”

Out of the corner of my eye, I see Derrick smile sweetly. “At least we're not oafish simpletons.
No offense
.”

“Gentlemen.” Catherine's voice cuts across the room. Daniel comes in behind her looking rather . . . well, rather like a man who just received a verbal lashing. “As much as I
adore listening to you all squabble like children, we've a situation to address.” She nods to Tavish. “Are you ready?”

Tavish takes a seat in his chair. He moves his head from side to side and wiggles his fingers as if to relax. With one long, drawn-in breath, he settles into his seat, his body slack and relaxed.

I glance at my shoulder to see Derrick staring at Tavish intently. “What's he doing?” I whisper.

Derrick's wings brush my ear as he leans in closer. “Seers have different abilities,” he says in a low voice. “Many, like Gavin, can see into the future. Tavish can project himself outside of his own body to view things at a distance.”

I watch Tavish with renewed interest. His entire body goes still, fingers clenching and unclenching on the armrests. His breathing is even deeper, deeper still, until his chest expands far outward with every breath. “Almost there,” he breathes, “almost there.”

The entire room is silent; no one speaks or moves. I watch as Tavish's breathing quickens, faster and faster as if he's running.

Suddenly, his eyes open wide. They are stark white, smooth like marble. He exhales slow, and then it's as if he isn't breathing at all. “They're at the west boundary,” he says. His voice is calm, mechanical, barely human. “Fifty, at least. Spreading out through the trees.”

“Should we get ready to fight them?” I can't help but ask, dreading the answer.

Lonnrach might be out there looking for me, and I'm not ready to battle him yet. I need more time.

Daniel raises an eyebrow. “
We
?”

Gavin moves to stand right beside me. He leans in, so the others can't hear. “Don't even think about it,” he says. “We wait until there's an immediate threat before we draw attention to ourselves and risk more lives.”

Before I can respond, he addresses Tavish. “Are they just passing through?” He says it lightly, but there's an edge to his voice. I wonder if they've lost people before when the fae
just passed through
.

“It seems so,” Tavish says. The tension leaves his body. “Looks like a normal sweep. They should be out of the territory in a few minutes.”

A sudden movement from Derrick draws my attention. He appears to be in deep concentration, wings fluttering as fast as a dragonfly's. His fingers press a little too hard into my skin and his halo grows brighter, the taste of his powers increasing on my tongue.

“And the wards are still up,” he says. “Good, now I can get back to—”

“Christ,” Tavish breathes, spine going rigid as he sits upright. “They're starting to dig.”

Daniel shrewdly assesses me. I know what he's thinking: They're looking for me.
Lonnrach
is looking for me.

All I care about is finding the object hidden in your realm. And you're going to help me with it, willingly or no
.

I swallow back the curse that almost escapes my lips, my body tensing.

“Is their location above any tunnels to the city?” Daniel asks.

“Aye. They're just above the long passage to the center of the island. If they keep digging, they'll find it.”

Daniel shuts his eye briefly. “Then we'll have to lead them elsewhere.” He looks at Catherine, his face softening for the first time since I've met him. “You know what to do if they breach the wards. Lead everyone through the tunnels, and don't wait for me.”

I watch them embrace, and I have a sudden sense that I shouldn't be here as they say their goodbyes. It's too intimate. Too final.

Derrick tugs on my ear. “Don't just stare.
Do
something.”

I step forward to grasp Daniel's arm. He turns to me in surprise. “You can't go out there,” I tell him.

“It's nothing to worry about,” he says, somewhat gruffly, possibly because I'm showing any concern for him at all. “We've done this dozens of times before.”

“For god's sake, Cyclops,” Derrick says from my shoulder. His wings flick my ear. “Listen to her.”

Daniel glares at Derrick; Derrick glares back. Even though Daniel
knows
the fae are coming for me, he's still going to risk his life to lead them away. I can't let that happen. I may not be ready to fight Lonnrach, but I'll be damned if I allow someone else to die for me.

“Then I'm coming with you,” I say.

I recognize the look Daniel gives me then—it's the same expression men gave me at tea parties and balls when I tried to talk to them about science or engineering. The same gentle, patronizing look of a man who wants to thank me for
contributing but ultimately doesn't believe I know what the bloody hell I'm doing.

Derrick's wings are humming so fast they hurt my ear. “Aye, and I'm going, too,” he says. At Daniel's sharp look, Derrick says, “What? I'm immortal and she's a Falconer. We stand a better chance at holding them off than the rest of you. I've seen you with a sword. You're shite.”

Daniel is unmoved. “I recall her yelling something about a Falconer in the underneath, and it doesn't mean a damn thing to me.”

“And it makes no difference. She's not coming.” Gavin joins us, his expression harsh. “Aileana stays with Catherine. Tavish will remain here and watch from afar; he'll alert you if anything happens.”

What on earth is he doing?

Daniel, Gavin, and Lorne turn and stride to the exit. Catherine glares at her brother's back. “Don't listen to him. You should be out there, too.”

I nod. “Derrick, give me a minute.”

“No,” Derrick says. “I don't want you alone with him after what he did to you.”

I still don't trust Gavin either. I can't help the hurt of betrayal every time I look at him, even after he explained why he didn't tell me about the wisps.

With a quick stroke down Derrick's wings, I say, “I'll be in your view the whole time. I promise.”

He grudgingly flies off my shoulder and I hurry after the men. I pull Gavin back by the fabric of his shirt before he can escape.

“Let me pass,” he says.

“No. Have you gone daft? You
know
what I am.”

Gavin crosses his arms. “And that's why you're staying.”

“I beg your pardon?”

“If you go out there with us, they'll stop at nothing until they have you. They'll call reinforcements and we might not make it out alive.” He keeps his voice low so Catherine doesn't overhear. “We're trying to lead them away, not incite a battle.”

“I wouldn't fight them,” I say. “Just let me be there in case something happens.”

“I said
no
.” Gavin speaks so sharply that I almost back away. “I can't take your word that you won't start slaughtering them out there. I've seen you kill. I've been there. What was it you told me?
You revel in it
.” He shakes his head. “Even if you kept your promise, you'll do nothing but give them more of an incentive to find us.”