Kaitlyn
Gloriana clucks her tongue at me.
“Those brothers, they’ve done a number on him,” she grumbles, and digs into her basket, producing a small cake.
“Um…Linton only eats…blood,” I say as she approaches him with it.
“I am fully aware of how Bluecaps feed. It doesn’t mean they can’t take ordinary food,” she replies as she pulls open Linton’s mouth and shoves the cake inside it. “Chew,” she orders.
Linton looks at me and I nod. He chews.
“Swallow,” Gloriana growls.
He doesn’t need to look at me for confirmation, doing exactly as he’s told. Within seconds, he blinks hard, and then he’s on his feet with a snarl.
“The brothers.” Linton bares his fangs. “They gave me up to Tam Lin.”
“They did something to you.” I put my hand on his arm, and he looks at it before his gaze rises to me.
In less than a blink of an eye, I’m in his arms, his lips on mine, taking me in a dominant, possessive kiss which makes my toes curl.
“The brothers had to find a way to control Linton,” Gloriana says quietly as I am released but every inch of my skin is tingling. “My guess is a form of charm, given they are good at such things.”
“I thought they were helping me,” Linton says. “But because of you, my sweet mate, I know they were not.”
“What did I do?”
“You showed me what real care is.” He nuzzles into my hair, his wings wrapping around us both like a cloak.
I shiver with pleasure. Having Linton finally back with me, body and soul, makes me happier than I ever thought I could be.
“We should move,” Gloriana says. “I doubt Tam Lin and the brothers will find your escape route for a while, but the further we are from it, the better.”
I narrow my eyes at her. “How did you know we would be here, anyway?” I query.
“My dear, I’ve always known how important you were.” She smiles, her eyes crinkling at the corners. “I’ve had a tracking spell on you from the moment we met.”
“Important? I’m not important. I’m just a human.”
“Oh, my sweet, you are so much more than just a human.”
Linton looks at me, runs a thumb over my cheek.
“You are my mate,” he says.
I wrap my arms back around him, holding him tight.
“Yes, Linton. I am.”
I am pleased to have Linton back with me, even if it means he has a lid on his cuteness and is attempting to be angry to make up for what he clearly feels are his past failings. Gloriana has already accused him of having a sore head and that made him growl at her, sort of proving her point.
Having trailed us through the wood out onto a track and informing Linton in no uncertain terms we were not far enough from the stronghold for him to fly anywhere (which he wasn’t pleased about) and would have to walk, we’ve been walking for around three hours.
My feet ache, my back aches, and I’m dusty and dirty.
“Here we are,” Gloriana trills as she points to a small track, no greater than an animal track, off the main one.
“Where?” I ask wearily.
“The portal.”
“What portal?” Linton growls.
“The one which will take us back to Moranick,” Gloriana says.
“We can’t go back to Moranick,” I say, looking at Linton who has taken on an impressive glower, his wings shivering and scales falling from him. “If Tam Lin found me there once, he’ll find me there again.”
“But this time we’ll be ready, and this one”—Gloriana points at Linton—“will be able to do his job properly.”
“I already did my job,” Linton grumbles.
“What do you mean?”
“This one was supposed to protect you. That’s the reason he’s been hanging around, even before Lord Guyzance met his end.” Gloriana chuckles. “He already had his instructions, from Long Meg herself, the centre of all the resistance here in the Yeavering.”
I gaze at the woman I shared my life with up until recently. She’s always been a wily one, but now I’m seeing a whole new side to her.
“You are a jewel, my sweet. Tam Lin needs you to pay the tithe to hell and gain power over the Yeavering and that’s why he sent this Bluecap.”
“Is this true?” I look at Linton. His entire body is vibrating.
“I don’t know,” he says, teeth gritted. “Things are…scrambled.” He puts the heel of his hand against his forehead. “My head…it doesn’t work right sometimes.”
I glare at Gloriana. “This is intolerable. Why is Linton being used in this way?”
“The resistance didn’t expect the Brag to take him to the brothers. Once he was in the stronghold, they were powerless to stop the charms instilled within him to repress his memories and to make him into an assassin in the outside world.”
“They lost control?”
She sighs deeply. “They did, it’s the reason I’m here, to make sure one way or the other you got out of the stronghold.”
Gloriana takes hold of my hand, staring into my eyes.
“All I wanted was for you to be happy and safe.” She sighs.
“And finding out Long Meg chose you and by such choosing ending the Faerie rule here in the Yeavering would become a reality. But to do so, they needed a creature capable of being on both sides as well as some bait to draw them out.” She gestures to Linton and to me.
“He has to perform his true purpose, one of keeping you from Tam Lin, not delivering you to him. And you were to provide the reason Tam Lin would draw close. If we go back to Moranick, you can find out so much more.”
I move my gaze from Gloriana to Linton. My mind is a whirl of confusion. He drops to his knees in front of me.
“I didn’t know, my Kaitlyn.” He pants as if it’s hard for him to push through the myriad of truths. “All I knew was I had to watch you, I had to be with you, and when the Redcaps attacked, I had to protect you.”
I cup his face with my hands as he grasps at my arms, his eyes wide and wild. I’m not sure he knows what to believe anymore, and I don’t blame him. There has been double cross after double cross in this game of monster chess.
“All I know, all I’ll ever know is the first time I saw you, I knew you were mine. My fate, my destiny, my life and light. Nothing has changed, no matter what Tam Lin said or did, no matter where I was. It was you. It was always you, my Kaitlyn.”
Anger bubbles up inside me. We’ve both been used, but Linton, my dangerous, feral, innocent mothman has been badly used. There’s so much we don’t know, and I have no desire to find out.
“I know this is not your fault, Linton.” I lift my gaze to Gloriana. “The Yeavering has many tricks up its sleeve, but I’m not prepared to be tricked or coerced anymore. I think we’re done.”
“You’re done?” she queries.
“We quit,” I clarify.
“We do?” Linton stares up at me. “What’s quit?”
“We’re done. We’re finished with the Yeavering.” I return my gaze to him. “Let’s use the portal and go somewhere none of them will find us, including the so-called resistance.”
A smile spreads over Linton’s face.
I think I have finally found my chaos.
With my mayhem mothman.