Chapter 31
CHAPTER 31
L ila backed away from the window, pulling her father with her. She looked around for Rafe, but he was nowhere in sight. Worry stabbed her—if wolves were attacking, he was an automatic target for the fae. So did a profound sense of loss. She’d grown used to having him near.
But there was no way to search for him. Fae were crowding in every direction, making it hard to move. She wished she was still wearing the fancy gown and jewels she’d had earlier that night. Right or wrong, the finery earned her a degree of respect. While she was dressed in ill-fitting castoffs, no one thought twice about trampling right over her and her father.
A female in a crimson skirt knocked Lila in the ribs, making her lose her grip on Gareth’s arm. For a heart-stopping instant, he vanished into the crowd, carried off like a twig in a river. Desperate to find him again, she burrowed through the crush of bodies, nearly getting bowled over by running soldiers.
The military captains who had come with Farras were mustering their troops in the banquet room. That made sense. It was large enough to hold most of the fae, and it had few entrances to control. On the surface, it was the logical place for her to go. Then again, the way station was hardly a beacon of hospitality. Which would be worse—to be stuck in the room with Farras’s crew or take her chances outside? Neither guaranteed safety, but her choice couldn’t be for herself alone.
She glimpsed Gareth’s cloak near the banquet room door. By sheer determination—and use of elbows—Lila forced her way to his side.
“There you are,” she said, slipping her arm securely through his. “I thought I’d lost you.”
Clearly too weary to speak, he put his hand over hers, squeezing her fingers. She looked around for Rafe, but there was still no sign of him. She hoped he’d made it outside, where he’d be with his pack.
The crowd carried Lila and her father through the banquet room door. The high-ceilinged hall looked nothing like it had just an hour ago. The lights had been turned up, dispelling the illusion of an indoor night. Most of the tables had been removed to make room for the crowd, although one or two had been pushed against the wall to hold platters of leftover food. Lila entered, immediately sensing the spell she’d cast to decorate the hall was shattered. The vines had withered and falling petals smeared the floor where a hundred heels had crushed them.
Momentum carried them to the far end of the room, where the high table had once stood. Lila steered Gareth to the right once she was finally able to get out of the crush and find a spot against the wall. Her father sank to the floor, almost boneless with fatigue. He needed more healing, but Lila felt weak-kneed herself.
She looked around. No one was fighting in here, just milling like cattle in a pen. The table with the food was only a few yards away. Lila edged toward it, not letting her father out of her sight. Even through the chaos, the scent of food was tantalizing, reminding her she’d spent too much energy and eaten too little at dinner .
Barely looking at what she took, Lila stuffed bread, nuts, and slices of hard cheese into the pockets of Ademar’s fleece jacket. Then she popped a piece of nut-crusted brie in her mouth. The flavor exploded on her tongue, and she could feel the nourishment hit her bloodstream almost the moment she swallowed. She took another bite and grabbed an almost-full wine bottle that stood on the table. She hurried back toward the place her father sat, head bowed and hood pulled down to hide his face.
“Here.” She pulled grapes and cheese from her pocket and offered them to Gareth, realizing she was parched. She paused to take a drink from the bottle.
And nearly spit out the wine. The two gargoyles who served Galeeta were approaching her father with a menacing tread. Lila scrambled forward, putting herself in their path. Galeeta was just steps behind the two monsters. Lila fell back out of pure dismay, nearly stepping on her father.
The gargoyles closed in protectively, flanking her mother. The chaos in the room had notched up a degree, with more people shoving to find a spot.
Galeeta put a firm hand on Lila’s shoulder. Her gaze flicked from the wine bottle to Lila’s clothes to the crumpled figure on the floor. Her mouth flattened in anger. “Where did you go? What have you done?”
Howls sounded from outside. Galeeta gave her a hard look.
“I didn’t invite them,” Lila pointed out. “But there are some things you should know.”
Her mother pushed Lila aside, not bothering to reply. Lila was forced to skitter sideways to avoid the nearest gargoyle. She’d barely found her balance when Galeeta bent to examine the cloaked figure beside the wall, her emerald ballgown pooling around her feet.
“Who are you?” she said to Gareth, who was eerily still.
“Mother…” Lila began, but Galeeta held up her hand, cutting off any more words .
Her mother’s gaze drifted down to Gareth’s feet, which were encased in a filthy but familiar pair of slippers. Her father’s captors hadn’t even allowed him to find shoes before he was dragged away.
Galeeta visibly swallowed. By the Abyss , Lila thought. Some part of her knows.
“I wrote the invitations to this banquet,” her mother began. “I know every guest here, and you were not invited.”
Slowly, her father lifted his hand and pushed back his hood. His pallor was evident in the brightly lit hall. His gaze swept over her elegant dress and jewels before searching her face. “Hello, wife.”
The gargoyles were the first to react, springing away with a soft squawk of surprise. The sound vanished beneath Galeeta’s cry of horror. Her mother collapsed to her knees beside him.
“Gareth!” her mother’s voice rose with surprise. She touched his face, shivering a little as her fingers found the unexpected roughness of his beard. “Oh, Gareth.”
Galeeta fell on him, holding him hard. Tears turned her eyes to glimmering stars as she turned to Lila. “Where was he?”
“What is going on here, Lady Galeeta?” Farras emerged from a knot of fae nobles who huddled a dozen yards away. They were dispersing now with purposeful strides, presumably to carry out Lord Farras’s orders.
Lila shrank back as Farras came forward, using his spear like a walking stick. She’d heard it was his weapon of choice, wielding it on foot or on horseback with equal ease. Light flared on its silvery tip, as if it held more than a hint of power.
Then her gaze fixed on the diamond-shaped metal amulet on a thong around his neck. Was it the object he’d taken from his henchman earlier that night? She reached to sense its power, expecting something dangerous. It was nothing of the kind, but a cheap shield against fae compulsion—the kind anyone could buy if they knew the right witch .
As he neared, his attention remained on her parents. Lila edged closer and noticed the gargoyles did, too. They were ready to protect Galeeta, even against this lord of the fae.
Her mother held Gareth close, though her features settled into a bland mask. “Lord Farras, you’ve already brought my husband back to me. How did you get him free of the king so soon?”
Farras looked as if he’d swallowed a porcupine. He glanced around, his eyes narrowing when he caught sight of Lila. “How did you do this?”
Before she could answer, Ademar emerged from the crowd, hurrying forward as fast as he could with his cane. “There you are, Mother. What … Father!”
“Hello, my son,” Gareth replied.
Ademar spun to face Lila. “Where was he?”
She stared Farras in the eye. “In the cells beneath this way station, near the pack of wolves that Lord Farras spelled into a fatal sleep.”
Galeeta’s mouth dropped open, speechless. In contrast, Ademar rounded on the lord, his face flushed with rage. Lila’s whole body clenched with fear.
“Ademar,” she said softly. “Have a care.”
“Yes,” Farras repeated, loud enough for all to hear. He tilted the spear head in Ademar’s direction. “Have a care what you say. You’ve only got one leg to stand on as it is.”
Gareth managed a caustic smile at Farras. “I see you’ve lost none of your diplomatic touch since you threw me in a cell.” Then he gave in to a wracking cough.
Lila passed the wine bottle to her mother, who held it to Gareth’s lips.
Farras’s lip curled in derision. “It was Teegar who arrested you.”
Her father took a second swallow of wine. “Does it matter? He never put on his drawers without your explicit order, at least until you tired of him trotting at your heels.”
Farras lifted his weapon, but stopped when one of the gargoyles twitched. He backed away, eyes Arctic with displeasure. “You’ll regret those words.”
Ademar’s sword flew from his cane, but he froze as the stained glass on the opposite wall exploded with a crash.
Someone screamed as sharp-nailed hands grabbed the window frame and ripped it away. A gaping hole revealed the pale faces of a dozen Undead, their eyes glowing as they reflected the indoor light. More hands grabbed the edges of the wound in the wall and tore. Sections of wall peeled away like the rind of a fruit.
“Impossible,” Galeeta murmured, her voice shaking with terror.
Lila’s knees trembled as she moved to stand beside Ademar. She’d hoped for an army to stop Farras and his troops. She’d even planned to go find one. But this—this wasn’t what she’d imagined.
“Do you have a weapon?” Ademar asked without taking his eyes off the far wall—or lack of it.
“Only my magic,” she replied. All she had in her pockets were leftovers from the banquet.
“Then that will have to do, but hold your fire for now.”
He was right. One of the nobles lobbed a defensive spell at the vampires, but only succeeded in scorching a section of the wall.
“Stop, you fools!” Farras pounded the butt of his spear on the floor. The noise was like thunder. “Conjure a barricade!”
No one listened. Fae warriors were without peer, but this was not a field of war. It was pandemonium. Panic had seized the room, and those with the discipline to fight were swamped by terrified civilians. More spells blasted the wall to splinters before the fae realized they were doing the enemy’s job .
“Where is my barricade?” the lord snarled as he stalked to the center of the room, brandishing his spear in the air.
No one replied, because it was too late. The Undead spilled into the room, Izetta in the lead. The dark-haired vampire paused long enough to scan the room before she marched straight for Galeeta, a grim smile playing around her lips. She pulled a long blade from her boot. Not a gun—some of the vampires had them, because Lila heard the rat-tat-tat of automatic fire—but a weapon guaranteed to inflict pain. The vampire tested it on her thumb as she approached, then licked the wound.
Ademar took a step forward, but Lila caught his arm as the gargoyles surged forward, blocking Izetta’s path.
“I’ve come for you, Lady Galeeta,” she said with sinister courtesy. “Call off your monsters and fight.”
“I will not leave my husband’s side,” Galeeta responded. “He was freed from prison tonight.”
At some unseen order, the two creatures parted just enough to show Lila’s parents huddled on the floor. Lila’s breath hitched. Her father slumped against Galeeta’s shoulder, eyes closed, as if he’d used up the last of his strength. Tears tracked down her mother’s face.
“Fireballs and damnation.” Izetta’s face twisted. “Where’s the sport in this?”
She did not have a chance to say more. Brilliant light flooded the room, searing everyone’s eyes. Lila flung up her arm, but it was no good. The radiance had a weight of its own, pressing into her skin and on down to her bones. It flared to a teeth-jarring pitch and then receded, the air tangibly cooling as it did.
When Lila’s vision finally cleared, she saw an arch of flame where the hole in the wall had been. The Undead had fled that spot, giving the ferocious light a wide berth. Even so, not all the fighting had stopped. Wolves and fae and vampires still battled, both inside and out.
“Freeze!” boomed a disembodied voice .
The words rolled over the scene, as deep and resonant as thunder in the mountains. Lila’s knees bent under the weight of compulsion. She could not move. No one could. An eerie quiet fell over the scene.
And then Lila heard the silvery tinkling of bells.
The air beneath the arch rippled, then broke like the surface of a lake. The head of a gray-dappled horse emerged, the golden bridle richly decorated with silver bells and tassels. A moment later, the rest of it was visible, including the rider. He was tall and dressed in robes rich with the shifting hues of autumn. His face was broader than most fae, with a cleft chin and square jaw. A golden crown shaped like twisting branches circled his brow. This was Elroth, the Forest King.
A dozen lesser light fae swarmed around him. No bigger than hummingbirds, they shed a sparkling radiance from their transparent wings that broke into rainbows where it glanced off the king’s armor. It was like looking into a miniature sun.
King Elroth rode into the middle of the banquet hall, filling it and yet, with subtle magic, making the space stretch to accommodate him and the procession of riders that followed him through the portal.
He came , Lila thought with wonder. He came, and now everything will be fine . Except one person was not frozen in place. She’d forgotten the amulet.
Lord Farras’s spear twisted through the air toward the king.