Chapter 11
ELEVEN
I woke to the sound of aggressive whispering.
“…so stop trying to blame me.”
“Did you even…”
“I did everything I could.”
Angelica and Ryker. Arguing in their not-quite-inside voices.
“But you’re conveniently forgetting that there are rules and I have to follow them. Just because you’re a feckless adventurer who refuses to grow up doesn’t mean the rest of us have the luxury of…”
An ominous thud punctuated the diatribe, and I decided I should probably let them know I was awake before they embarked on all-out war.
“Time out,” I muttered sleepily. “For the both of you.”
A disheveled auburn head appeared over the back of the couch. “Sorry we woke you.” Ryker, at least, had the grace to sound genuinely repentant.
“What time is it?”
“Ehhh… around 7:30.”
Ugh. That meant I’d gotten about five hours of sleep. On top of the two from the night before, that was almost one good night’s rest.
“Any change?” I tried not to sound too pathetically hopeful.
Ryker shook his head. “I’m sorry, Raine. He’s still the same.”
“And no word from Draven or Rath?”
“Draven is en route back to the Fae Court, but Rath texted a few hours ago,” Angelica replied, striding around to the front of the couch and casting a death glare at Ryker before returning her attention to me.
I noted absently that she was barefoot. And wearing… sweatpants? I would have wagered money that she didn’t even own sweatpants.
“They’re still working on figuring out the poison that was used. The herbalist got spooked by the kidnapping attempt at the park, and now she’s scared to meet. But Rath is going to keep trying.”
She sat on the chair facing me. “You can trust that he’s not taking this lightly, but there are… complications.”
I could imagine. Rath was fighting for his father’s life as well, and for a future Fae Court that would pose no threat to the peace between Idrians and humans.
The fact that his life had been saved by the shapeshifter king would create a whole new power dynamic and change the merits of his own claim to the throne.
Some would say he was now a liability, others that he brought powerful alliances.
“I get it,” I told her. “We can’t rely on him for a solution.”
She nodded in grim agreement.
“So why did you want Callum brought here instead of the Shapeshifter Court?”
Her eyes suddenly dropped to her hands where they twisted in her lap. When she didn’t say anything, Ryker spoke up.
“You can’t hide this from her, Anj.”
When she remained stubbornly silent, he turned to me.
“It’s possible that someone in the shifter court may have been involved in the attack.”
I stared at him as an icy shiver of warning shot down my spine.
“What makes you say that?”
“The types of poison needed to counteract fae and shapeshifter magic are different,” Ryker said.
“Shapeshifter healing can burn through a lot of poisons without difficulty. The fact that Callum hasn’t…
I think someone at the shifter court may have sold secrets.
Also, I’m not convinced any assassin trusted enough to make an attempt on Rath’s life during a court session would have missed, which means Callum may have been a secondary target.
There’s no one in the Fae Court who truly benefits from his death under the circumstances.
Not with their own succession insecure.”
The chill at my core only grew deeper. “Angelica? Do you agree?”
I could tell she was at war with herself. Anger sparked in her amber irises, and her hands clenched in her lap.
“I swore an oath,” she said stiffly. “Both to Callum and to the court. And I’m doing everything I can to uphold both, but this…”
“Forget your oath,” Ryker snapped. “You know what the right thing to do is. Are you really going to let your king die for the sake of what… your honor? Your misbegotten worship of the rules?”
Weirdly, I understood both of their points.
“Is there anything you can tell us without feeling like you’ve betrayed your oaths?” I asked coolly, running my fingers through my hair and wincing when they snagged on a knot.
“It was not an accident that your summons came when it did,” she admitted in a low voice.
“But I did not become aware of it until after the deal was made. They know I’m loyal to Callum, so they don’t talk in front of me.
But better than half the court is afraid that you pose a danger, not only to our people, but to all Idrians, and they want you dealt with. ”
Dealt with.
“Is that just a pretty way of saying dead?” I inquired bluntly.
“If necessary.” She didn’t try to sugarcoat it, and I appreciated that.
“The court is split on that question. Most of them want to meet you first. But I believe…” She let out a long breath and closed her eyes.
“It scares them that Callum defends you. And they hate change. Are suspicious of anything new. Callum is very, very good at moving them slowly towards a new way of thinking, but he doesn’t listen to reason where you’re concerned and it’s begun to destabilize all of his efforts to build a better form of government for our people. ”
I needed to know. “Do you hate me for refusing to walk away?”
She looked right at me, her eyes sharp, cool, and predatory.
“I want to.” Harsh, but honest. “But I’m a gryphon before I am anything else.
We honor and cherish mate bonds, and while I may have attempted to convince you to walk away before it was complete, I would never consent to any attempt to break up a fully bonded pair. ”
I swallowed hard, feeling a sizable lump in my throat. “And you believe we’re fully bonded?”
Her chin fell. “I don’t know for certain. But if you are, you should know…”
“No,” Ryker interrupted. “You’re not going to sit here and try to prepare her for what happens if…”
The gryphon’s attention suddenly snapped to Ryker, and I would have sworn she was about to attack him with her bare hands.
“So you would allow her to be blindsided by that pain? Of losing her mate without warning? With no one to tell her that it feels like being buried alive? That she’ll have to fight for life, for breath, for purpose, for even a shred of desire to go on each day? ”
She was glaring, breathing hard, and I think Ryker and I realized the truth at the same moment.
“Anj…”
“Don’t you dare.” Her eyes flashed with anger, along with something else far more painful. “If you have even a scrap of intelligence or decency, you will never speak of this again.”
Ryker, thankfully, seemed willing to let it go. At least for now.
And I… I didn’t know her well enough to offer either comfort or platitudes.
At some point in the past, Angelica must have lost her mate. I was suddenly forced to reassess everything I thought I knew about her. Everything she’d said and done. Even the way she’d looked at Ari…
“I don’t want to plan for his death,” I said instead, my voice a little more wobbly than I liked. “I can’t. But if the time comes…”
She didn’t look at me, but she nodded as if she understood. If that time came, she would walk beside me—no matter how much it hurt her to relive the pain—and in that moment, I wasn’t sure I’d ever respected anyone more.
“So we’re going to fight.” I drew in a deep, steadying breath. “I just don’t know where to start. What’s the situation with the fae prisoners from last night?”
“That’s now a court matter between Faris and the fae,” Ryker informed me. “And he’s aware of where things stand with Callum. If there’s a way to leverage them as hostages, he’ll take it.”
Okay, so I didn’t need to think about that particular problem right now. Out of everything else still on my plate, what were the biggest priorities?
Angelica clearly noticed my hesitation and somehow guessed the reason.
“He wouldn’t want you to hover,” she said briskly. “Let him know you’re here, and then do what needs doing. Ryker and I will protect him.”
With their lives. I absolutely believed that. Callum had so many people who loved him and would fight for him. And because I loved him too, I knew Angelica was right. He would want me to trust them and keep moving forward.
So that’s what I was going to do.
First—ensure the safety of my family. They needed a place to stay while our apartment was being cleared of water damage.
Somewhere secure, where Shane could continue to guard them.
But also with easy access to Faris for Logan’s lessons, and close to people like Kira who could give Kes a break now and then so Ari didn’t get bored and teleport into The Portal or The Assemblage without warning…
I sucked in a sudden breath.
“Ryker, were the renovations on this building ever actually completed?”
He frowned thoughtfully. “Only the ground floor, the offices, and the apartments on this floor. I think the rest are still untouched.”
Apartments.
I’d seen four other doors besides Callum’s. One led to the roof, but the other three…
“Do you know what Callum had planned for the other apartments?”
Ryker’s eyes lit up. “Eventually he planned to rent them out, but he wasn’t in a hurry. Two of them are two-bedroom units, and the other is a studio. Ready to go.”
“I’m going to do something presumptuous,” I warned him. “So tell me now if you’re against it.”
“You’re his mate,” Ryker said easily. “Whatever you need, he would tell you to take it.”
“Then I’m going to move my family in here while our place is renovated.”
He agreed without hesitation. “It’s perfect. We can add security, and the kids can have the run of the building to keep them busy. Anj and I can help watch out for them.”
The gryphon sent him a scathing look. “Speak for yourself, dragon. I’m going to have my hands full keeping the court off our backs and out of our business.”
“The kids will be fine,” I assured them. “And they’ll have a… I guess a bodyguard of sorts already.”
Ryker’s eyebrow twitched. “Anyone I know?”
“Shane Isaacson.”
Both eyebrows shot up at that. “I wouldn’t have thought he’s the type. Did you hire him?”