Chapter 35
CHAPTER 35
H e caught her hand, pulling her across the grassy clearing until they were well away from the way station—and just in time. The remains of the building finally crashed to the earth. A faint glow clung to the rubble, the last of King Elroth’s fiery portal. Perhaps the way station’s collapse had rendered it unstable. The release of that much magic was as good as a detonation.
Bit by bit, the rubble of the way station dissolved to nothing. Soon, the hilltop would be as pristine and wild as the rest of the woods. Lord Farras’s hidden prison in the woods was truly gone.
“Thank you,” she said, still holding Rafe’s hand.
“For pulling you out of a building that wanted to be a forest?”
She gave him a sidelong look. “And other things.”
He frowned. “What happened back there? Why didn’t you leave with the other fae? When I couldn’t find you, I went looking.”
“Farras. He triggered the building to collapse and came back for a last hurrah. A tree ate him.”
Rafe’s brows rose .
Lila sighed. “He blamed me for everything that happened to him.”
Weariness swamped her, and she leaned against Rafe’s side.
He squeezed her hand. “You set us free by refusing to fall in line with his plans. Remember that part.”
“Lila!” Ademar stood a few yards away, at the crest of a rise in the grass. He beckoned frantically. “Come here.”
As she tried to move, all her bruises made themselves felt. Another time, she would have eased them with magic, but she was spent.
“Hurry!” Ademar called.
She started to walk. “I’m coming as fast as I can.”
Her brother quickly moved in to take her arm, putting himself between Lila and Rafe as he urged her along. The wolf’s eyes flashed yellow, but Lila shook her head, silently asking for patience.
“Come along if you must,” Ademar said to Rafe. “There’s no time to waste.”
“What’s the matter?” Rafe asked.
“You’ll see. Maybe you can help.”
“Fine.”
Rafe took Lila’s other arm and fell into step beside them. When they reached the top of the rise, Lila saw what was left of the crowd. Fae lights hung over the scene, supplementing the starlight. From what she could see, most had fled or dispersed to the woods and were now gathered in small knots, some talking but more sitting in silence as if to digest everything they’d just learned.
She glanced to the left. The walkways and pool had vanished. The tents and vehicles of Farras’s followers were swallowed by dense brush. Only the horses had escaped unscathed and were now happily grazing on the new growth.
Then she looked toward where the lawn had been and understood Ademar’s urgency. King Elroth was there with two of his warriors and the leaders of the Undead and the wolves. The king had his hand on her father’s arm, holding him back from—she tried to make sense of what she saw.
“Come on!” Ademar shouted, trying to hurry down the slope with the aid of his cane. “You’re the one they trust. You try talking to her.”
Lila wasn’t sure what he meant, but she leaned on him and Rafe as they hurried toward the scene. At first, all she could make out was the vampire leader—Malatest—in his pinstripe suit, with Izetta beside him. They were looming over her mother, who was on the ground with her tattered green gown pooling over the grass. Izetta held a long blade.
“Wait!” Lila cried, all injuries forgotten. “Don’t touch her.”
“Lila,” her father cried, still struggling to reach his wife. “Lila, help her.”
“Halt.” The king held up a hand. “All of you, halt or I will make you.”
Malatest stepped back, raising his palms in a gesture of surrender. Izetta remained where she was. The vampire’s dark eyes never wavered from Galeeta’s face.
“We’re asking for justice,” Izetta said in a cool, even tone. “Not vengeance, but equitable payback for our imprisonment.”
“She put shackles on my son,” the Alpha said. “Wolves died.”
Malatest spoke up. “While we recognize that the two leaders of this treasonous scheme were dealt with tonight, one remains.”
“Lady Galeeta protected that piece of troll-dung,” Izetta said. “She knew full well what she was doing. And she tried very hard to hurt me.”
“Please. Please ,” Lila begged. “You don’t know the full story.”
Izetta ignored her. “I demand justice, Your Majesty. That is my right.”
Malatest folded his arms. “What do you say, sire?”
Lila’s heart thundered. The accords between the supernatural species were simple. All players more or less observed basic principles of justice in order to avoid costly war.
“Galeeta of House Fernblade,” the king said. “Our allies have brought charges against you. How do you respond?”
“I did what I did to protect my family,” Galeeta said from her position on the ground. “And for the record, I truly believed my husband was in your custody, my king.”
“But—” Lila interjected, but the king held up his hand to silence her.
Rafe put his arm around her shoulder. Ademar went to their father, all but holding him upright. The others remained stock-still.
“Izetta of the Undead, though your charges are indeed grave, might we conduct this with all players on their feet?” Elroth asked with a drop of sarcasm.
“No,” Izetta replied, still as death as she loomed over Galeeta. “I’ve caught her. I keep her.”
Elroth exchanged a look with Malatest. “The rules of this proceeding state that all parties are equal, free to speak, and none shall stand on ceremony. However, this is beyond the bounds of civilized behavior.”
Malatest shrugged. “Izetta, give it up. You’ll get your chance if the verdict is a thumbs-down.”
Slowly, very slowly, the vampire stepped aside, sheathing her blade. Lila darted forward to help her mother to her feet. Galeeta barely glanced at the vampires as she smoothed back the hair that had escaped her elaborate braids. Her face was a pale, haughty mask that failed to hide her fear. Lila’s chest tightened with grief. There was no way her family would walk away from this unscathed.
The group—fae, Undead, and wolf—regarded Lila, clearly expecting her to retreat now that Galeeta was on her feet. She looked around for Rafe. His expression held the same fear and confusion she felt .
She stubbornly stuck by her mother’s side.
“Very well,” Elroth said. “Galeeta, what did you know of Farras’s plan to commit treason?”
“Nothing, Your Majesty.” Galeeta swallowed, as if still feeling the shadow of Izetta’s knife. “It was supposed to be a celebration. No one knew we would be attacked. No one knew you would come, Your Majesty. Whatever plans Lord Farras had, tonight he simply seized the opportunity. That is my guess, at least.”
The king looked unimpressed. “And what do you know for certain?”
Lila wanted to hear the answer and yet didn’t. She held her breath and lifted her gaze, meeting Izetta’s eyes. The vampire was close enough to touch. The look she gave Lila held a shred of pity, but she looked back to Galeeta with the intensity of a hawk.
“I knew he meant to deliver Lord Teegar into your custody,” Galeeta replied. “Lord Farras desired to win your trust.”
“And then once that happened, he would slit my throat?”
Galeeta swallowed again. “He did not say that to me. I would not doubt it.”
Silence hung over the group long enough for a wolf to howl in the distance. Another answered. Once again, she sought Rafe among the wolves, their gazes meeting. She took a shred of courage from the warmth and concern she saw there.
“Tell them what he used against you,” Lila said unsteadily.
“My children,” Galeeta said softly. “Sala and her children were the latest.”
“What do you mean latest ?” Elroth asked.
“I bore five children. Four were daughters—Sala, Rosemund, Arabelle, and Lila. Rosemund and Arabelle were serving at the court of the May Queen when I received a letter to say they had vanished without a trace.”
“I remember,” Elroth said with a nod. “There was a search.”
“I found out later what became of them.” Tears stood in Galeeta’s eyes .
“You did?” Lila cried. She heard Ademar and her father’s voices rise in shock, too. “Why did you say nothing?”
“Did Farras kill them?” Ademar asked, furious now.
“Worse.” Galeeta fell back a step, putting space between her and Lila. She hugged her arms, as if suddenly cold. “The gargoyles. He twisted my daughters’ bodies and minds into monsters.”
“What?” Lila cried, but the word was drowned in the general chorus of surprise.
Gareth sagged in Ademar’s arms, and Lila helped him lower their father to the ground. Images flashed through her mind—the creatures disappearing around corners, avoiding the light, and fading away when they might have captured their father. Her head swam as if she might faint.
“Farras swore me to silence on pain of their deaths,” Galeeta added, sobbing openly now. “And he promised to restore them if I did everything he said.”
“That’s tragic,” Izetta said, still fingering the hilt of her blade. “But a sad story doesn’t make up for what she did.”
“I’m sorry,” Galeeta cried. “I apologize for what I did to you. I was certain you had come to harm my family.”
“Izetta,” Rafe said. He stood with his father now, back with his own pack. “I know what she did to us and agree there must be a price, but Lila helped us. She freed the wolves. She freed me.”
“Lila is not on trial.” The vampire shot him a quelling look.
But she was. Her family was. What happened to Galeeta would impact them all. If her father had been the heart of the family, her mother had been their muscle, bone, and mind. And now, with a long recovery ahead, Gareth would need her more than ever.
“Your Majesty, is no one here to defend my mother?” Lila asked the king. “Will no one argue her case?”
His expression softened, but not much. “This is not that kind of trial, and she has spoken for herself. ”
Her mother struggled to silence her weeping. “There will be a vote, Lila.”
“Guilty,” Malatest said, wasting no time.
Lila sucked in a breath. Galeeta was utterly still.
“Guilty,” Rafe’s father said. “Though I am heartily sorry for everything that she suffered. No one’s children should be threatened. But that includes mine.”
King Elroth shook his head. “I couldn’t change the verdict even if I desired it. But I don’t. Lady Galeeta of House Fernblade, you are guilty of treason and of harming our friends.”
Guilty .
Rafe bowed his head as the word settled over the clearing. The verdict made sense in a tragic way. Whatever her reasons, Galeeta had collaborated with the fae who had tried to murder the king—among a long list of other heinous acts. That was a death sentence.
“Good,” said Izetta.
Galeeta stiffened, drawing herself up as if leaning into a strong wind. Gareth deflated where he sat in the grass, collapsing into his son’s arms.
“No, no please.” Lila fell to her knees, her expression stricken with grief. “I beg for mercy, sire. She is my mother.”
“Lila.” Lady Galeeta stared straight ahead, but her mouth worked as if unable to decide what to say.
Rafe expected her to silence her child, to say that fae didn’t beg.
Instead, she surprised him. “Thank you for being my daughter.”
“This is very touching,” Malatest said. “However, there is a verdict and a debt to pay, and we’re wasting darkness.”
The words were like battle lines, keeping the species in their separate corners. No one truly trusted the fae and recent events had done nothing to bridge that gulf.
“I know that look, son,” his father said softly. “Don’t you dare start a fight.”
There was a shadow of their old fights in his tone. He was still an Alpha, and Rafe was still his rebellious son. This was no time for that fight.
“I won’t.” Rafe understood Izetta’s anger—he had been in the dungeon, too, and although his imprisonment had been longer, it had been far gentler than hers.
But there had to be another way forward.
Rafe went to Lila and lifted her from where she knelt on the grass. She raised her face to his as she stood, her eyes wide and frightened. The sight stopped his breath, and the ground seemed to move all over again.
“You and I built a bridge,” he said. “It shouldn’t have worked, but it did because I told you the truth and you listened. You showed me fae were capable of a kind of honor I understood.”
“We both wanted the truth,” she said softly. “But how does that help now?”
“My question exactly,” Izetta put in, her voice like ice.
Rafe squeezed Lila’s hands, then released them as he turned to face Izetta. “While we agree on guilt, we have yet to decide on a sentence.”
So much was in the balance. He’d just started to feel like pack again, but that wouldn’t last. His father was angry. So was Izetta. His life would be so much easier if he kept his mouth shut and stayed within the boundaries of expected discipline.
But duty looked different tonight. He turned to the king. “The fae have stood apart from the supernatural community for too long. Tonight proved we’re stronger together. Let’s learn to work together before another Farras or Teegar comes along.”
The king raised his brows. “And you believe sparing Galeeta’s life will further that goal? ”
“Life leaves room for options.” Rafe folded his arms. “Death does not. And you granted me a boon, sire. I want a better solution.”
“I vote with my son,” the Alpha said. “If he’s calling in a royal favor, I should listen.”
Rafe closed his eyes for a moment, drinking in his father’s words. They had finally achieved at least some understanding now.
“I will listen,” Izetta said, exchanging a glance with Malatest. “I’m not in the business of mercy, Rafe Devries, but that’s what you’re asking from me. Make this good.”
Rafe was acutely aware of Lila beside him. A hollow place was opening up inside him. Soon the king and his Forest Fae would fade into the woods, leaving nothing but a jumble of memories behind. He should have known better than to let himself imagine a future with them—with Lila—in it. Years ago, Rafe had learned the hard way to keep all four paws on the ground, but that resolve was fading like the stars before the approaching dawn.
“I’m not looking to give the fae a pass,” Rafe said quietly. “I’m looking for a world where our communities can learn from each other instead of ending up at war.”
“I’ve rarely granted a wish that pleased me more,” Elroth said with a regal nod.