10. Trust And Loyalty
Chapter 10
Trust And Loyalty
As Alexander Bennett drove her home, bodyguards left behind to celebrate with the pride, Liliana stripped off her bright flower print blouse that was coated in the dead lion's blood.
She wore a black leotard underneath her sapphire blue skirt. The leotard hid the few spots of blood on it. Underneath were warm powder blue tights, now ripped in a couple of places, and matching blue satin ballet slippers she would have to throw away when she got home. The blood stains would never come out of the satin.
The prince, driving manually as seemed to be his habit, had trouble keeping his eyes on the road. It would have been safer if he let the auto-drive take over like Pete usually did. He took her out of the seemingly unguarded gate, although she saw a few of his SET unit’s soldiers watching them pass by. Since they were on the opposite side of Fort Liberty from her house, he drove in a wide circle around the large base.
Her skirt had very little blood on it. She used it to make a temporary sling for her broken arm.
While she wrapped and twisted the cloth, she opened her fourth eyes to check on her favorite red wolf. As she expected, Pete, with Doctor Nudd at his side and the legendary sword Fraegerthach in his hand, killed all four assassins from the order of the Wolfhounds.
It was a good thing he did not need her help. Once the adrenaline rush wore off, Liliana was overwhelmed with exhaustion and pain. As badly as both she and Alexander might desire each other, there was no chance of them consummating anything that night.
"Pete is alive," she informed Alexander.
He raised an eyebrow. "Why wouldn't he be?"
"Four Wolfhounds tried to kill him tonight. Pete was ready for them."
A faint twitch at the corners of his mouth appeared, a sign she now understood that meant he was pleased. "Pete surviving was your doing?" the prince asked her.
"Pete defeated the assassins. He fought valiantly. I warned him and gave him the training he needed so he would be ready. I also made certain that he had his sword tonight."
"William said the sword had been stolen. I assumed Aurore had it by now."
Liliana shook her head. "No, I stole it, not your sister. I gave it back to Pete yesterday. If your wizard had succeeded in taking his sword, Pete would be dead by now. Without it, he could not have defeated the Wolfhounds' protective magic."
The prince's eyes widened for a moment. "I nearly got Pete killed."
"Yes, you did. What I do not understand is why. I know you don’t want Pete to die."
Alexander’s lips flattened into a thin line. "I was trying to get the sword to my sister so she would stop sending assassins after him."
"You were trying to protect Pete." Liliana smiled. That was a good reason to do the wrong thing. "I said you could not stop the Wolfhounds this time."
"I wasn't going to just let Aurore's lapdogs kill him and do nothing," he almost growled. Most of his expressions were subtle, but he seemed to be very expressive when it came to anger. He glanced at the spider seer. "You told Pete how to thwart William's spell on Giovanni."
"Yes." This could be a dangerous turn of conversation.
"Thank you for that. Did you tell Pete who sent him?" Alexander asked the question in the same bored voice he used when she held a sword tip over his heart. She wasn't fooled. The question was a trap.
"No." Liliana sighed. She could see how her life may have just become far more complicated. "I do not tell Pete your secrets, nor will I tell you his. So, do not ask."
The prince did her the honor of considering things from her side. "You're in a delicate position."
"You should tell Pete who you are."
"I plan to. When the time is right."
"Your sister wants the sword. She will not give up."
"Why? What's so special about that sword?"
"The sword is special in many ways. For one thing, it can pierce all protective magics, even those created by your mother, Queen Titania, or your sister."
"That takes some serious power."
Even with only her human eyes open, Liliana could almost see the calculations happening in his thoughts. "Tell the red wolf who you are," she told him. "Let him know that you have been protecting him. Once he knows you are his ally, the sword will be used in his hands to protect you and yours. Its power will be yours by extension. Neither you, nor any other royal Sidhe must ever possess it. That would be catastrophic."
Every trace of smile disappeared from the prince's face as she spoke. "I don't appreciate being told what to do." His voice had an edge of warning.
She was treading in dangerous territory. Liliana sighed, almost too tired to care. "I make my living giving people advice. Sometimes, I give advice for free. Some people take my advice and prosper from it. Some choose not to, even those who paid me for it." She shrugged with just one shoulder. The other one hurt too much to move. "You can take my advice, or don't."
They drove in silence while the prince thought about that for a while.
Liliana fell asleep.
She woke up when Alexander unbuckled her seatbelt. She opened several eyes to look around. The back of her own house is what she saw. They were in her driveway. When she started to get up, an involuntary moan of pain escaped her. Deep bruises covered more than half her body in addition to the broken arm. Also, she must have twisted her ankle. She didn't even feel it at the time, but now it was swollen and hot.
The prince lifted her out of his car as if she were a small child. "Are you sure you don't need to go to a hospital?"
"Nothing they could do would help. Tell Doctor Nudd about my injuries. He will know what to do."
The door to Liliana's home was only locked at times when she foresaw a reason to lock it.
Alexander opened the door with one arm while holding her full hundred-ten-pound weight in the other. And that was in his human form. In demi-stone form, his strength must rival Pete's in his demi-wolf form.
With some directions, he carried her straight to her bedroom to lay her in bed. He knelt beside the bed to unwrap the satin ribbons around her ankles with nimble hands. His big hands were warm and gentle when they slipped her bloody shoes off. She pulled her legs under the covers as he tucked her in.
"Thank you." For a man she’d never seen bend for anyone, it was far more tender care than she expected. She placed her hand in the center of his chest. Perhaps his heart wasn't as cold as she thought. Or, perhaps his tenderness was a calculated move to win her loyalty. He’d seduced the wizard into his service. She didn’t want to fall for that sort of manipulation, but she did want him to kiss her again. The more he did it, the more kisses she craved.
"Does Pete take your advice?" he asked her. He must have been giving her words deep consideration, even while she slept.
"Pete is alive tonight and the assassins your sister sent are dead because he listened to my advice. Sergeant Giovanni is unspelled because Pete trusted me. Eliot planned to kill her, you know, even after he got the sword."
His jaws tightened. A muscle jumped on the side. "I found that out after the fact. I would never intentionally give orders that would get my sergeant killed." His teeth showed in an angry grimace that was neither pain nor a smile. Liliana had a feeling the wizard got off lightly with mere rejection. "I could never trust him." His face turned thoughtful. He brushed her hair back from her face. "Can I trust you?"
"I make mistakes, but I would never give you advice if I didn't think it would benefit you. I will never give you advice that would hurt Pete, though, even if it would benefit you."
"Your loyalty is to Pete first?"
That was a difficult question to answer. Her pull toward this prince of shadows and Green earth seemed to grow stronger every time she spoke with him.
Pete was her best friend. Beyond that, he was a good man. Pete did what he believed was in the best interest of everyone.
Alexander Bennett was not a good man. He was a beautiful man, a compelling and powerful man. In his own way, he was even an honorable man. But in the end, Alexander Bennett would do what was in the best interest of Alexander Bennett.
Liliana knew she should not be angry with the prince for being himself, but she also knew who she would choose to fight beside if the two men became enemies. "My first loyalty is to the Others of Fayetteville. I watch over their lives." She fiddled with the blanket, putting folds of it between her fingers and pulling them out, watching the motion. "Pete is good for Fayetteville. He brings justice to the most dangerous predators, but he does it with compassion and fairness. We need you, too, though." She glanced up at the prince's face for just a moment, then back down at the blanket. "You bring living power to a land that has been fading for a long time. You have the strength of will that the Others of this land need." That was all true, but it avoided the real question, and they both knew it.
"That's the first time you haven't answered a question I asked you."
Liliana sighed. She told him what he wanted to know, even though she knew he wouldn't like it. "I will do what I can to keep Pete safe, even from you."
The prince's face hardened. He drew back from her, hands on the bed as if to stand.
Liliana put a hand on his arm. "You like me because I tell you only the truth. If you want honesty, you have to accept that the unvarnished truth may not always be what you want to hear."
His lips twisted a little, not quite amusement. Irony, perhaps. It made a tiny dimple appear in his cheek. "Fair enough.” He settled again, face on level with hers. “I am many things, but I try not to be a hypocrite, at least."
Liliana touched his forehead, tracing the outlines of the crown of sliver horns that he wore in his Fae form. She knew the moment when he realized what she was doing, because he snatched her hand, pulling it away from his skin. His huge hand on hers was rough, abrupt, as if he stopped an attack.
"I have looked inside you, Alexander Bennett. I have seen the faces you hide."
He held onto her hand hard, keeping her from getting too close.
She’d seen him, the core and all the complex layers of him. "Knowing you, I desire all that you are. I will risk my own life to keep you safe."
His expression didn't change in any way she could identify, but something softened in his eyes. His grip gentled until he held her hand as if it were a tiny fragile bird he'd caught. His thumb stroked her skin. He swallowed. For a moment, he showed hope and fear and a potent mix of the emotions she’d only seen before boiling under the surface. "That is more than anyone else has ever given me.”
In that moment, she didn't doubt that he had a heart. She also understood that while she risked all in this gamble, she wasn't the only one with something at risk.
The Fae prince leaned down to kiss her. Liliana suppressed an inappropriate urge to giggle. It was like a fairy tale, being kissed by a handsome prince while she lay injured in bed. She opened her third eyes and felt a different inappropriate urge.
The flood of scarlet desire she’d seen in him after he watched her fight was back. His heart was filled with a promise of far more than a chaste kiss. "I'll come back when you're feeling better." There was a rough edge to his deep voice.
"Spider-kin heal quickly."
He left with a chuckle. "I hope so."