Chapter 19
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Kane
Deirdre gripped my hand, her other out in front of her, searching the shadows.
This was a dangerous move to bring her back to her chambers. Not only couldn't I order guards to stand outside her door for protection, but I would have to lie to the priests and her handmaiden about the events of tonight, something I did not find enjoyable.
And if the truth was ever discovered? The repercussions would be disastrous. Not even I could ignore my court’s tradition, no matter how fickle it seemed.
Here I was risking my character and kingdom for a human who wanted me dead.
If my father were still alive, he’d laugh, then send me on a sojourn to purge out my weakness.
If I wanted any future where this arrangement with Deirdre worked, I had to take the risk.
This idea to finally take my human bride had been a game at first, a brief enjoyment out of a boring few decades, but all that changed the moment the black unicorn blessed her, not just blessed her, but bonded.
Something that had never been heard of, at least not in the past few centuries.
Not even I could deny that maybe there was a bit of truth to the child of prophecy.
Deirdre stumbled and I quickly turned, grabbing her waist to steady her.
“Are you okay?” I asked.
“Do I really need to wear this?” She dug into my chest with her free hand before quickly removing it.
“I promised I wouldn’t hurt you. My word may mean nothing to you, but it means everything to me.”
“I know.” Her voice lowered, and I wondered if she really believed that about me.
Even when we had fought, I had not hurt her physically, emotionally… well, there was a lot of damage.
“We're almost there,” I said, holding her hand tight within mine, a warmth that seemed to intensify with each step we took.
Turning down the steps, we headed to the western hall of the royal wing.
There were secret passageways all throughout the castle.
Some the servants knew of, some the guards did, and ones only my pixies knew about.
There were no torches or lights to guide the path in this area, not that I needed any.
I knew these halls better than any fae, outside of my pixies, of course.
I didn't give Deirdre my mother's chambers or any of my sisters’. There were plenty of royal rooms in Caste Castle and I had found one that hadn’t been used for decades but had a pleasant view of the gardens. Something I thought my little thorn might enjoy.
Not that I cared what she liked, but I found that fighting with her was not as enjoyable as I had hoped.
The passageway ended and the lantern on the wall signified I had reached her hallway. The iron hooked lanterns were a common marker to the various secret corridors.
Reaching out with my shadows, I twisted the knob, bathing the area in a dim light. Though this entryway didn't enter her room—there were no secret entryways into her room, another reason I had chosen it—it entered behind a tapestry very close to her chambers.
“We’re leaving the passageway,” I whispered. “When we get to your room, we must be quiet and quick.”
She nodded.
I pressed the round disc right under the lantern and the stone wall slipped away.
Dark, thick fabric blocked our path and I listened for any steps or breathing, something signifying someone else was in the hall.
When I was sure we were alone, I pushed the tapestry aside and pulled her out into the hallway, replacing the fabric quickly and pushing the button to close the passageway.
I pulled her down the hall, my hand sweating within hers.
When we got to her chambers, I removed the blindfold.
She rubbed her eyes, staring at the door with a shocked expression.
“These are your new rooms.”
“I'm not staying in the spire anymore?”
“You’re queen now. You belong in the royal wing. Do not leave these rooms tonight, under any circumstances.”
“Okay.” She tugged her robe tighter around herself.
“I will say that I brought you back in the morning before any of the servants were awake. You must—”
Her eyes widened, her gaze going past me.
“Your Majesty?”
I turned around to see the younger priest of the three I had told to leave my room. He was walking with incense, swinging the ball back and forth.
He looked past me at Deirdre, then back at me. “Why are you two not in your chambers? We all…”
A moment passed as the priest’s gaze danced between Deirdre and me, analyzing why we were here in secret.
I’d already angered the priesthood by defying tradition and kicking them out. What would they do if they learned the truth?
Before he could speak another word, I shot forward and slammed a shadow blade right into his heart. He gurgled on his sentence, blood splattering my chest. The incense ball he carried dropped to the floor with a loud thunk.
Deirdre gasped and ran forward. “Why did you kill him?”
I grabbed her, pushing her back toward her room. “Get inside quickly.”
“Why is it that nobody can know the truth? Is it that big of a deal?”
“You're not truly queen—”
“But the unicorn said I was not to be harmed.”
“It is a protection he might revoke if our marriage is not consummated… and you’re not ready.”
“This is my fault, then? His death is because of me?” Her bottom lip trembled, and she stared at the body behind me, those dark eyes welling with tears.
Was I going to be the source of her misery forever?
“No. I made the choice to stop, and I killed him. This is not your burden to bear. Get in the room and stay there until dawn. Lock the door and do not make a sound. Do you understand?”
She nodded and when I went to turn, she grabbed my arm. The skin-to-skin contact sent an unexpected rush through me. “What are you going to do?”
“Get rid of him. Now get inside.”
Once I heard the distinct click of the lock, I ran and grabbed the body, realizing there was nothing I could do about the splash of blood on the floor. Tossing the incense ball onto the dead priest’s chest, I dragged the body into the secret passageway and all the way back into my room.
Leaving the body on the floor, I ran to the door, placing my ear against it.
They must have all left.
Slowly, I creaked it open. The priests had gone and only my guards remained.
I needed Acaden and quickly.
Moving to the window, I opened it and whistled for a will-o’-the-wisp. There was always one close by.
A tiny orb of light flew down, hovering right outside.
“Bring me Acaden and tell him to use the passageway. No one must see him enter my chambers.”
The tiny creature bobbed up and down before buzzing out of sight.
Will-o’-the-wisps were one of many loyal fae creatures. The wisp would find Acaden, and then we would deal with the mess I had made.
Moving away from the body, I grabbed the wine, only to find the carafe empty. With a yell, I threw it into the fire.
What am I doing?
Why am I allowing a human to cause me such grief?
It was foolish of me to not continue the consummation.
“Why is there a dead priest on your floor? And where's the queen?”
Acaden appeared from the secret passageway and stepped in the middle of my chambers, arms folded.
I grabbed the shirt slung over the chair and wiped the blood off my chest. “There was an incident.”
Taking the soiled shirt, I tossed it into the fireplace. I’d made quite a mess of things.
“I can't help you if you don't give me all the facts.” Acaden kneeled by the priest, examining the area by his heart, the thin rectangular sliced wound a clear indicator it was one of my shadow blades that had made the killing blow.
“He saw something he shouldn't have.”
Acaden had been loyal from the day he agreed to be the head of my guard. He had given me no reason to doubt that loyalty. Over the years, I had trusted him as one would a friend.
“I couldn't do it,” I said, leaning on the edge of the bed, staring at the body bleeding out. “I returned the queen to her room.”
“You didn't consummate the marriage.”
It wasn't a question but a statement and one that had dire repercussions.
“No, I did not.”
Acaden nodded, standing. “I'll take care of the priest, but there will be questions. His brethren will want to know what happened. Where was he?”
“In the western hall, right outside of the queen’s new chambers. There may be blood there. I took the body and got here as quickly as possible, then sent a will-o’-the-wisp to find you.”
“Tonight is a night of drinking and fools.” Acaden took his blade and slashed at one of the curtains of my bed. He then took it and rolled the dead priest into it. “I'll head out back through the servants' quarters and leave him in the swamps.”
“Give him to the bogey,” I said. “Act as if it's an offering for his obedience. The creature will devour it and there will be no remains to be found. The room outside the queen’s chambers will need to be sanitized quickly. We can leave no remnants of what took place.”
“As you command. Do you require anything else?”
I shook my head. “No, that'll be all.”
Acaden went to the passageway and hit the switch, then disappeared with the body, leaving me to think on all that had taken place.
While fae were fickle, traditions involving their king and queen were taken seriously. The entire court would expect Deirdre and me to spend the night together, truly becoming husband and wife, king and queen, partners…
It wouldn’t be me they would question, but her, assuming I was too disgusted to lie with a human since I hated them so much. Yes, I could admit the truth, but that would not appease the highborn elves, and some of those nobles were critical to the entire fae kingdom.
There were few farmlands here on the mountains and we needed our fae nobles to provide food, soldiers, and to keep the kingdom running efficiently. Many of them were fanatical when it came to the priesthood and our traditions.
“I knew you wouldn't do it.”
I turned my head around to the fireplace mantel where Olivia appeared, sitting on the edge, legs crossed.
“What are you doing in here?” I hissed. “Spying on me?”
She scoffed, looking at her nails. “I wanted to see if you would actually do it, but I knew you didn't like her.”
“I've told you before, don't hide in my room.” I dashed forward and she flew up toward the ceiling, hissing and flashing her pointy teeth at me.
“I told you she would never be our queen,” Olivia sneered. “And you've just made sure of that.”
“Weren't you the one who said things were boring? That we should give the court some entertainment?”
Olivia flew over to where there was a secret passageway, only small enough for the pixies.
She moved the grate aside. “You should never have brought the human to the cave of blessings. That wasn’t our plan!
When the court finds out what you’ve done, murder and all, they’ll have her head for it.
You’ve made it clear that humans are manipulative and can’t be trusted.
No fae wants a human on our throne. We need a fae queen. ”
“This situation is under control. She is under control.”
“That’s your problem. You need to control everything. You don’t see the danger, but I do, and I won’t let her be your downfall.
“What are you saying?”
The sneer disappeared into the fiendish grin that only appeared when Olivia schemed. “I would do anything to protect my king, even from himself.”